Page 124 - International Journal of Process Educaiton (Special Issue)

Grower (Apple, Morgan, & Hintze, 2013) offers example of curricu-
general information about the use of methodologies lum specifically de-
to facilitate and strengthen the learning process, but signed to increase
then immediately introduces the student to the Problem student performance
Solving Methodology as the prime example of learning in solving chemis-
and the application of knowledge. In the section of try-related problems
the experience entitled “In My Class,” students are in a real-world con-
challenged with three different complex problem text. Each activity
scenarios that satisfy the recommendations of a POGIL follows a process-
activity as noted previously (“…have a real-world oriented guided-in-
context, contain superfluous or missing information, quiry structure with
have multiple parts, do not contain overt clues about the sections shown
the concepts needed to arrive at a solution, and may in Figure 3.
not have a right answer”). Again, as in Foundations of
Learning, students are then tasked with applying what The design of these activities is a world away from
they have learned of problem solving to solve a long- “having teachers display how they solve problems,
standing problem in their own life. by giving out sample solutions, by using open-ended
problems or by having peers show their problem solving”
Curricula in Service to Problem Solving (Woods, et al., 1997).

Solving Real Problems in Chemistry (Goodwin, Slush- While Solving Real Problems with Chemistry truly is an
er, Gilbert, & Hanson, 2009) is a special case and an outstanding example of how a disciplinary curriculum

Figure 3 The Structure of an Activity in Solving Real Problems with Chemistry

Activity Section Purpose/Explanation

Introduction Background information that frames the context for the problem

Prerequisite Knowledge What students should be able to do before starting the activity

Applying Your New Skills What students should be able to do after finishing the activity

The Problem A statement of the problem

Information Data and assumptions that may be helpful

Solve the Problem and Document A worksheet for teams to complete. The instructions for the worksheet reads

Your Solution as follows:

“Work with your team to solve the problem. Your instructor can
provide three levels of help called gold, silver, and copper. Au
Help presents a strategy that resembles the way experts think
when they solve problems. The use of this strategy is illustrated
and prompted to different degrees in Ag Help and Cu Help. As the
semester progresses, you should move through these stages of
Help to grow your problem solving skills. Your instructor will tell
you what you need to do to document your solution.”

Does Your Answer Make Sense? (These Help pages are available online for instructors to share with their
students.)

Critical thinking questions that prompt students to validate their problem
solutions and process used

Building Your Problem-Solving Skills Prompts for students to communicate, reflect on, and assess not only their
problem solution, but the process they used to solve the problem

Got It! Additional problems that require the student to take what they have learned in
solving a problem and apply it to different problems in different contexts

122 International Journal of Process Education (February 2016, Volume 8 Issue 1)