| Abstract: | Many new curricular and instructional models must be developed or adapted as the nation moves towards educational reform in science classrooms. This article describes how problem-based learning, an innovative curricular and instructional model developed in medical graduate school programs, has been adapted for use in elementary and high school settings. Included in the integration of problem-based learning and science are components of all problem-based episodes including initiating learning with an ill-structured problem, using the problem to structure the learning agenda, and teacher as metacognitive coach, with important goals of a reformed science curriculum such as learning based on concepts of significance, student-designed experiments, and development of scientific reasoning skills. |
