Teaching science problem solving: An overview of experimental work
F. Taconis, M.G.M. Ferguson-Hessler, H. Broekkamp 2001 Journal of Research in Science Teaching v. 38, n. 4, p. 442-468.

The traditional approach to teaching science problem solving is having the students work individually on a large number of problems. This approach has long been overtaken by research suggesting and testing other methods, which are expected to be more effective. To get an overview of the characteristics of good and innovative problem-solving teaching strategies, the authors performed an analysis of a number of articles published between 1985 and 1995 in high-standard international journals, describing experimental research into the effectiveness of a wide variety of teaching strategies for science problem solving.

Effective treatments all gave attention to the structure and function (the schemata) of the knowledge base, whereas attention to knowledge of strategy and the practice of problem solving turned out to have little effect. As for learning conditions, both providing the learners with guidelines and criteria they can use in judging their own problem-solving process and products, and providing immediate feedback to them were found to be important prerequisites for the acquisition of problem-solving skills. Group work did not lead to positive effects unless combined with other variables, such as guidelines and feedback.

Subject: Education
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Overview/Summary, Research Results, Journal Article
Research on Learning: Instructional Design, Ways Of Learning:Cooperative Learning, Cognitive Domain:How information is organized:Mental models