What are Context-Rich Problems?
Context-rich problems are short realistic scenarios giving the students a plausible motivation for solving the problem. The problem is a short story (beginning with "you") in which the major character is the student. Context-rich problems are more complex than traditional problems, reflecting the real world, and may include excess information, or require the student to recall important background information.
Why Teach with Context-Rich Problems?
Context-rich problems offer students opportunities to develop skills that extend beyond the problem in the question. Students learn problem-solving techniques they can apply in real life situations. By engaging in this type of problem solving, students develop expert-like thinking in the discipline.
How to Teach with Context-Rich Problems
As you prepare to use context-rich problems, you will need to consider how to select or create an appropriate problem, implement context-rich problems in your class and assess what your students have done. There are context-rich problems ready-to-use for a number of topics, or you may wish to create your own context-rich problems. Note that students accustomed to working with traditional textbook questions will benefit from help in developing an effective problem-solving strategy as they learn to work with context-rich problems.
Examples of Teaching with Context-Rich Problems
Ready to use examples from Economics and Physics are available. Reviewing examples from your own and other disciplines helps to reinforce the characteristics of a context-rich problem and can help you develop your own context-rich problems.
A wide range of sources including journal articles and web sites are available.