Discuss the characteristics of effective technology-enhanced problem-based learning tasks

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary, but should include some of the points below.
? Involve learners in gaining and organizing knowledge of content — Inspiration and other concept-mapping software is useful for this.
? Help learners link school activities to life, providing the "why" for doing the activity
? Give students control of their learning
? Have built in and just-in-time scaffolding to help students — tutorials are available all over the Web for content, language, and technology help.
? Are fun/interesting
? Contain specific objectives for students to meet along the way to a larger goal
? Have guidance for the use of tools, especially computer technologies
? Include communication and collaboration — tools to support these goals are described in chapter 3.
? Emphasize the process and the content
? Are central to the curriculum, not peripheral or time-fillers
? Lead to additional content learning
? Have a measurable, although not necessarily correct, outcome.
More specifically, PBL tasks:
? Use a problem that "appeals to human desire for resolution/stasis/harmony" and "sets up need for and context of learning which follows" (IMSA, 2005, p2)
? Help students understand the range of problem-solving mechanisms available
? Focus on the merits of the question, the concepts involved, and student research plans
? Provide opportunities for students to examine the process of getting the answer (for example, looking back at the arguments)
? Lead to additional, "transfer" problems that use the knowledge gained in a different context
Not every task will necessarily exhibit all of these characteristics completely, but these lists can serve as guidelines for creating and evaluating tasks.