Christa Tucker - Tech Grads

1. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method emphasizes students’ own activity in learning about problems, setting up their own learning goals and actively searching for and analyzing information based on their prior knowledge (Murray-Harvey, 2005).  The models that are present in Naturalmath.com seem to be an effort to introduce generic skills through problem based learning.  However, with only having limited access to the website, it appears that either directions are not clear and/or supplementary material is not available.  
2. The models represented on the Natualmath.com website were an un-organized laundry list.  This is said because there is the scope and sequence or flow of how one model relates to the others.
3. Cognition is a process of thought in which a person first becomes aware of stimuli, evaluates the significance of those stimuli and then considers possible responses (Scherer, 1999).  The Naturalmath.com website does present the information in models in order to trigger the learners thought process.  
4. Reigelth (1999) gives the learner the opportunity to form attitudes about leaning and how instruction is given.  Using this application student’s will be able to determine which methods they feel more comfortable with when estimating, multiplying and problem solving and that there are different approaches to each goal in the application.  The creator of the Natualmath website does encourage the learner to find ways that the models can work for other integers such as negative numbers. 

References

Murray-Harvey, R., Curtis, D. D., & Cattley, G. (2005). Enhancing Teacher Education Students' Generic Skills Through Problem-based Learning. Teaching Education, 16(3), 257-273.

Scherer, K. (1999) Appraisal theory, in: T. Dalgleish and M. Power (Eds) Handbook of Emotion and Cognition,

pp. 637–665 (New York: Wiley).