TY - JOUR
T1 - Linking factual and procedural knowledge in solving science problems
T2 - A case study in a thermodynamics course
AU - Mettes, C.T.C.W.
AU - Pilot, A.
AU - Roossink, H.J.
PY - 1981
Y1 - 1981
N2 - Well-specified problems of the type presented boxed in the introduction to this article are extremely common in science courses. Unfortunately, this does not mean that students find them easy to solve, even when a teacher provides model answers to problems which differ only marginally (in the teacher's eyes) from those put before the students. The central difficulty with such courses is that they do not embody instructional principles that reflect students' need for “direction” in problem solving. In this article, we describe how the necessary heuristics and strategic knowledge were built into the remake of a conventional thermodynamics course. In contrast to mainstream American work on learning problem solving we chose to direct our curriculum reconstruction using the Gal'perin theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and Landa's description of the “through” systematization of knowledge. As indicated by both, we first developed an integrated system of instructional objectives: a programme of actions and methods (PAM) to solve problems in thermodynamics. Then the plan of instruction was designed. This plan indicates which instructional procedures and materials should be used to realize the instructional functions, derived from the learning theory. The evaluation design contained two control and three experimental courses. In discussing our main findings, we consider the generalizability of the procedures we followed in constructing the PAM and the instructional plan.
AB - Well-specified problems of the type presented boxed in the introduction to this article are extremely common in science courses. Unfortunately, this does not mean that students find them easy to solve, even when a teacher provides model answers to problems which differ only marginally (in the teacher's eyes) from those put before the students. The central difficulty with such courses is that they do not embody instructional principles that reflect students' need for “direction” in problem solving. In this article, we describe how the necessary heuristics and strategic knowledge were built into the remake of a conventional thermodynamics course. In contrast to mainstream American work on learning problem solving we chose to direct our curriculum reconstruction using the Gal'perin theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and Landa's description of the “through” systematization of knowledge. As indicated by both, we first developed an integrated system of instructional objectives: a programme of actions and methods (PAM) to solve problems in thermodynamics. Then the plan of instruction was designed. This plan indicates which instructional procedures and materials should be used to realize the instructional functions, derived from the learning theory. The evaluation design contained two control and three experimental courses. In discussing our main findings, we consider the generalizability of the procedures we followed in constructing the PAM and the instructional plan.
U2 - 10.1007/BF00162732
DO - 10.1007/BF00162732
M3 - Article
SN - 0020-4277
VL - 10
SP - 333
EP - 361
JO - Instructional science
JF - Instructional science
IS - 4
ER -