Sequences: Steps

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4 Steps (basic)
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Problem Based Learning

Focusing on problems such as problem solving skills, content knowledge, and self regulation through a set of models. Planning
- Identify Topic: More complex than teaching a concept. Planning will be less concrete. Some examples are designing experiments or finding areas of irregular figures. - Specify Learning Objectives: There are two types of learning objectives. These should involve content knowledge as well as problem solving and self-regulation skills. - Identify Problems: Problems are necessary for these models (hence the name). Must be clear, concrete, and personalized. Must determine whether or not the students have enough prior knowledge of problem solving to know how to solve the problem. - Access Materials: The proper materials must be provided for the problem to be solved.

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- Review and Present Problem: Review prior knowledge needed for problem solving to make sure your class has all the critical thinking tools necessary to solve the problem that you then present. > Types of problems >Well defined: one correct solution & specific method for reaching it > ill-defined: more than one solution, ambiguous goal, no single strategy for finding the solutions - Devise a Strategy: Its tricky to find the correct balance of guidance not too much but not too little. - Implement the Strategy: When it doesnt flow smoothly, you must provide scaffolding (hinting) to help the students implement their strategy. - Discuss and Evaluate Results: have students talk about the validity of their solutions. Is the answer correct AND reasonable? Some groups may end up with incorrect results, which is why this phase is extremely important.

Assessing
- Technology can be used to present the students with engaging and more complicated real-world problems. It can provide more information than what is necessary (like textbooks usually only do) so that their problem solving skills are even more well developed. - You must monitor students throughout the lesson to make sure that they are on the right track with their methods of problem solving. Do not tell them exactly what to do, but you have to make sure that they are not wasting time and going a completely incorrect route - Through the discussion and evaluation at the end of the lesson, you will find out if the students arrived at the conclusions that they needed to arrive at and if they completed the objectives that they set out to. That is the entire purpose of the discuss and evaluate results phase of implementation. - make sure that work is authentic through use of things like checklists and rubrics

M!tivat!n
- Students develop critical thinking skills - Students develop the ability to apply what they have figured out to new situations - These models build on prior knowledge of problem solving, so those skills are more finely tuned. - Students learn self-regulation skills - Students, of course, do learn a great deal of content knowledge - ill-defined problems give a certain sense of freedom - Increases student competence in general

Wh are these steps important!

This set of models teaches students problem solving skills, content knowledge, and self-regulation.