3 Designing problems/ tasks: four steps This section outlines
four key steps in the design of PBL tasks. To illustrate the
discussion, a specific task relating to the UK housing market
will be considered in detail in this section. The design
features outlined in this section are further illustrated by
additional exemplars provided in the Appendix. When designing a
task, one should first be aware of the learning activities that
students will perform when tackling the task and, secondly, try
and visualise (and thus eliminate) possible difficulties that
may arise in the process (Bouhuijs and Gijselaers, 1993). In
relation to the first consideration, one needs to design tasks
that are consistent with the learning outcomes specified for the
module and to ensure that the learning outcomes intended are
actually realised. Poor problem design may result in actual and
intended learning outcomes being different (Dolmans et al.,
1993). In respect of the second consideration, a number of
difficulties may arise that preven