Problem-Solving Environment

NWChem is part of the Molecular Science Software Suite (MS ) which has been recognized by R D Magazine as one of the 100 most technologically signihcant new products and processes of 1999. The other elements of MS are Ecce, which is a problem-solving environment, and ParSoft, which is the underlying libraries and tools for parallel communication and high-performance input/output. All of the MS components are available publicly. 

The last-mentioned property of a synthetic process, i.e. versatility, is frequently an important consideration in research on optimally effective therapeutic agents in which the synthesis of a large series of structural analogs from a single intermediate is desirable. This aspect of the problem-solving environment can play a decisive role in synthetic design. 

Chapter 5 shows how schema theory can be practically implemented. It gives a detailed description of one example of schema-based instruction, the Story Problem Solver (SPS). SPS is a computer-based system of instruction constructed around schema theory, using the basis set of schemas developed in chapter 3. It provides fundamental instruction enabling students to build schemas. A second computer program, the Problem Solving Environment (PSE), is also described in chapter 5. PSE provides an exploratory environment in which students can practice and utilize their schema knowledge about story problems. 

The Story Problem Solver and The Problem Solving Environment... 

The Story Problem Solver (SPS) is a computer-implemented program of instruction about arithmetic story problems.1 My research group and I developed SPS as an explicit instructional test of schema theory.2 Its companion, the Problem Solving Environment (PSE), is also a computer-based system, one that provides no additional instruction but that serves instead as a practice arena in which we can evaluate students acquisition of schema knowledge. Both SPS and PSE are written in Lisp and run on Xerox 1186 computer workstations equipped with 19-inch display monitors and three-button optical mice. In this chapter, I first describe SPS and its instructional objectives and then explain the contributions of PSE. 

In chapter 8, the nature of students planning is examined. The research reported here centers on problem solving as it is manifested in the extended problem-solving environment of PSE. 

Two studies have incorporated the use of the Problem Solving Environment (PSE) in their design. One was the second experiment of chapter 7, which contrasted learning from abstract and specific instruction. As the final part of that study, one group of students worked for one session with PSE while another group completed the original SPS instruction. The essential conclusion we drew from the study was that 1 hour was simply too brief a time for the students to become comfortable in the interactive environment. They were able to use PSE but not as freely as we had hoped, and we suspected that their freedom to develop their own plans for problem solving was hampered by a lack of familiarity with the computer system itself. 

In SPS, markers are used to trigger students recognition of situations. Markers are always miniature versions of the diagrams (like the trash can icon), and they appear in two places. First, they serve as menu items when students are asked to recognize situations in problems, as in Figure 5.4. Second, they serve as small models of parts of complex problems in the problem solving environment, as in Figure 5.9. Students manipulate the markers in PSE to develop a full visual representation of a complex problem. 

Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) (2002) SCIRun A Scientific Computing Problem Solving Environment, http //software.sci.utah. edu/scirun.html (accessed 1 November 2007). 

In this section, I give a brief overview of the SCIRun and BioPSE problem-solving environments and give examples of their use for the solution of bioelectric field problems. 

The SCIRun software system is an integrated, extensible, visualization-driven, open source, problem solving environment that has been developed at the University of Utah s Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute [51]. 

S.G. Parker. The SClRun Problem Solving Environment and Computational Steering Software System, University of Utah, 1999. 

V. A Concept of Problem-Solving Environment for Discrete-Particle Simulations. 769... 

V. A CONCEPT OF PROBLEM-SOLVING ENVIRONMENT FOR DISCRETE-PARTICLE SIMULATIONS... 

FIGURE 26.38 A conceptual scheme realizing the multiresolutional system within the framework of a problem solving environment (PSE) based on discrete-particles approach. 

Yuen, D.A., Garbow Z.A., and Erlebacher, G., Remote Data Analysis, Visualization and Problem Solving Environment (PSE) Based on Wavelets in the Geosciences, submitted for publication in Visual Geosciences, 2004. 

Hypertext research and development work is expanding rapidly. Most of the hypertext projects of the 1980 s, such as Intermedia, IBIS, Nepmne, and Notecards, are powerful multiuser problem solving environments that run on main-frame computers. Within the past two years, hypertext editors for personal computers have expanded the interest in and applications of hypertext greatly. For more information about hypertext and its application, see [1] or [5]. 

Ludwig K, Speiser B (2007) EChem-H- - an object-oriented problem solving environment for electrochemistry part 5. A differential-algebraic approach to the error control of adaptive algorithms. J Electroanal Chem 608 91-101... 

An engineering problem-solving environment does not just make the transition, on its own, from fuzzy to clear, tacit to explicit, or individually-focused to collectively-aimed. If the problem-solving effort is to be successful, that is to culminate in learning, stewardship must be provided to make these transitions. Organisational routines can create contexts and mechanisms that facilitate the problem-solving process. 

---