Chair: Brenda C. Litchfield

This study compared the achievement and retention of scientific inquiry in teams of students either studying the solution to a problem (Worked-examples, or WEGs) or using a problem solving model (Problem-Based Learning, or PBL). Fifty-three students participated in the two-day study: 29 (9 teams) in the WEGs group and 24 (8 teams) in the PBL group. After teams were assigned by abilities (high, medium, and low), a series of pretests was given, and each team received a packet that included instructions to solve an aquarium problem. The WEGs packet contained the solution to the fishtank problem; the PBL packet did not. Posttests and a retention test were given at the end of the second day.
A team problem-solving posttest was administered, and individuals and teams were interviewed. The results of the study were inconclusive, except that the PBL teams showed a higher ability to solve a near-transfer problem than did the WEGs group.