Problem- and Task-Centered Approaches

Problem- and task-centered approaches often refer to educational technologies designed to situate instruction in authentic or meaningful settings. Such approaches are organized around questions specific to the discipline where technology can serve as a medium for problem solving.

Problem- and task-centered principles are used to facilitate learning in a wide range of disciplines, such as medicine, science, law, business, and mathematics. For example, problem-centered learning in medicine requires students to work in groups to acquire skills needed to diagnose patient cases and integrate clinical knowledge required in practice. Inquiry-based learning in the sciences or humanities requires students to formulate explanations for a phenomenon under investigation by defining a question, seeking evidence, and outlining an argument. In legal and business education, case-based learning is used to encourage students to identify and summarize important information from selected cases and then present their cases to the classroom where the instructor provides feedback. Project-based learning activities in math and science require students to work together on joint projects where constructive feedback is provided to each other or by tutors or teachers.

Although these instructional approaches have been implemented in different domains, they share core assumptions that are organized around situating learning in meaningful situations. Students collaborate to solve problems, search topics under investigation, and discuss and reflect on the outcomes of their efforts. This entry first briefly reviews the historical roots of problem- and task-centered approaches used to design educational technologies and outlines several mechanisms that account for learning in these situations. The entry presents an analysis of these tenets by drawing on research by Susanne P. Lajoie and Eric Poitras where problem- and task-centered frameworks guide the design of technology-rich learning environments (TREs) in several disciplines, including medicine, avionics troubleshooting, and history.