Problem Framing: Learning Through Designerly Practices

• In Event: Problem-Based Education SIG Full Paper Session: Problem-Based Learning in K-12, Teacher Education, and Other University Contexts

Abstract

While much is known about problem solving, less is know about problem finding and framing, which are important STEM practices. Little is known about the role these practices play in learning. This study investigates this by contrasting cases: 1) a computer science lab group engaged in disciplinary design; 2) a biogeochemistry lab group engaged in interdisciplinary design; and 3) a chemistry class group engaged in non-disciplinary design. Existing practices were documented with field notes or video-records. A coding scheme was extended to capture how designerly practices co-occurred with learning. We found that problem framing and developing shared understanding co-occurred with attending to constraints in the chemistry and computer science examples, whereas in the interdisciplinary group, these co-occurred with ideation.

Authors

• Vanessa Svihla, University of New Mexico

• Sushilla Knottenbelt, University of New Mexico

• Jennifer Buntjer, University of New Mexico