1 / 9

When is a problem not a problem? “When ignorance is bliss”: a case study

When is a problem not a problem? “When ignorance is bliss”: a case study. Jane Essex and Katherine Haxton. What IS in those jars? Should we get rid of all the contents?. Over to you!. No, we don’t know either. What do school-aged participants think?.

helki
Download Presentation

When is a problem not a problem? “When ignorance is bliss”: a case study

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. When is a problem not a problem?“When ignorance is bliss”: a case study Jane Essex and Katherine Haxton

  2. What IS in those jars? Should we get rid of all the contents? Over to you! No, we don’t know either....

  3. What do school-aged participants think? • “Thanks for a fantastic 3 days! I’ve really enjoyed it!” • “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you and Katherine on the project this week. It was great fun and I learned a lot of new skills.” • “It made it (Chemistry) more interesting. At the start of the week I was worried that something won’t (sic) go right, but as the week progressed I found out things that I wasn’t expecting which was great. If something doesn’t go as expected you have to try something different until you get a result then you get so much more information. I loved it.”

  4. “they all thoroughly enjoyed it and found themselves getting really into the idea of researching then carrying out the experiments (which is fab – and actually quite interesting as this process is something there is absolutely no time for in schools – but it forms the basis of research!). They were very impressed with the labs and the freedom to choose their own analytical journey. I think the fact that the samples tended to be “what the label implied they were” helped too .”

  5. Our task had a number of key PBL characteristics: • Stimulated by a poorly defined problem, where epistemological boundaries are not evident • Requires an authentic problem, so is often context-rich • Is often found to be highly motivating • Is open-ended, so engaging for able students • Encourages group work and constructivist approaches • Has several possible ‘right’ solutions so is not the same as problem-solving • Is not algorithmic, so is not the same as a classic investigation; this may be popular with less academic students who fear getting it wrong • Rewards/ engenders creativity • Makes students into genuine researchers • May change the power relationships between teachers and students, making both co-enquirers

  6. BUT • The problem was selected by staff • Open-endedness is rapidly lost through staff familiarity with the problem • Uncertain ‘supply’ of authentic problems • Tension between risk management and lack of certainty about the test materials

  7. A suggested typology of problems • What determines what sort of problem we use: • Time? • Curriculum pressures? • Assessment pressures? • Fear of loss of status? • Management problems? • Resourcing problems?

  8. How did we use our experiences? After investing time in trialling the approach also led to:Increased confidence about recognising real problemsIncreased confidence about working in an exploratory, non-closed manner: the undergraduate roll out

  9. Bibliography • Essex, Jane, (2013), “Behind the scenes at the Victorian pharmacy”, Education in Chemistry, May 2013,pp 26-29 • Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E., (2004), Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn?, Educational Psychology Review, 16 (3), pp 235-266 • Wood, Colin, (2006), The development of creative problem solving in chemistry, Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 7 (2), pp96-113 • Gijbels, David; Dochy, Filip; Van den Bossche, Piet; Segers, Mien (2005),Effects of Problem-Based Learning: A Meta-Analysis From The Angle Of Assessment, Review of Educational Research 75 (1), pp27-61

More Related