Gifted Child Quarterly · 1992 · 322 citations · 10 references
EducationInstructionScience EducationGifted EducationProblem-based LearningScience InstructionProblem SolvingProblem-based CurriculumProblem-solving SkillsProblem-solving StrategiesBetween-group ComparisonComparison Group DesignEducational ProgramsGifted IndividualsIll-structured Problem SolvingProblem-based Learning CurriculumProblem-based Science InstructionProblem-solving Behavior
Problem‑based instruction, which guides students through ill‑structured problems and is rooted in their initial questions, is common in medical schools but has not yet been evaluated at the high‑school level. The study examined whether gifted high‑school students in the SSF course spontaneously use more problem‑solving steps than comparison students when faced with an ill‑structured problem. The SSF course, an interdisciplinary problem‑based program for gifted high‑school students, had participants analyze contemporary science issues and were assessed on their spontaneous use of problem‑solving steps. The SSF group demonstrated significant improvements in spontaneous problem‑solving steps that were not seen in the comparison group.
Problem-based instruction is designed to provide students with a guided experience in solving an ill-structured problem. All learning in problem-based instruction stems from students initial questions about a problem situation. Currently used in medical school programs, problem-based curriculum has not been tested at the high school level. Science, Society and the Future (SSF) is an experimental problem-based course for gifted high school students. In the interdisciplinary course, students examine the meaning and impact of current science issues (the effect of electromagnetic fields on childhood leukemia, the health care system). In this study, SSF students and a group of comparison students were tested to determine changes in their spontaneous use of problem-solving steps as they consider an ill-structured problem. Results show some significant changes for the SSF group not observed in the comparison group.
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