ERIC Number: EJ1058754
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1541-5015
EISSN: N/A
A Cognitive Support System to Scaffold Students' Problem-Based Learning in a Web-Based Learning Environment
Ge, Xun; Planas, Lourdes G.; Er, Nelson
Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, v4 n1 p30-56 Spr 2010
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of question prompts and peer review on scaffolding students' problem-based learning in a web-based cognitive support system. Ninety-six pharmacy students were randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. The students in both conditions were asked to generate solutions to a real-world problem on clinical communication in a web-based learning environment. The results indicated that students who received question prompts significantly outperformed those who did not in each of the five problem-solving steps in both initial and revised reports. The results also showed that students in both conditions significantly improved their problem solving scores given a chance to revise their initial problem-solving reports. In addition, the study revealed a positive effect of the expert modeling mechanism in supporting students' reasoning and problem solving processes. Implications are discussed for designing web-based scaffolds to support students' problem-solving processes.
Descriptors: Problem Based Learning, Web Based Instruction, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), Questioning Techniques, Peer Evaluation, Pharmaceutical Education, Cues, Instructional Effectiveness, Logical Thinking, Problem Solving, College Students
Purdue University Press. Stewart Center Room 370, 504 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Tel: 800-247-6553; Fax: 419-281-6883; e-mail: pupress@purdue,edu; Web site: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ijpbl/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A