Compare and contrast well-structured problems, ill-structured problems, and issues, and provide an ...

Answer to #1

Examples should be consistent with the following definitions.
a.A well-structured problem is clearly stated, the solution is known, and the evaluation standards are clear. Most problems in mathematics and the natural sciences are of this type.
b. An ill-structured problem is vaguely stated, has unclear solution strategies, and has vague evaluation standards. Most problems in the social sciences (e.g., How can we eliminate chronic unemployment? Should the federal government provide subsidies to farmers of certain crops?) are of this type.
c. An issue is an ill-structured problem that arouses strong feelings and tends to divide people into opposing camps (e.g., Do people have a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons in public?).

Answer to #2

On pages 346349 of the text, the constructivist view of knowledge is discussed.
The first claim of constructivist views is that all meaningful knowledge is actively constructed, at least to some degree, by each individual based on existing knowledge and personal experience. The second claim is that one person's knowledge is never identical to that of another because knowledge creation is the result of how people interpret experiences, and that interpretation is influenced by such characteristics as age gender, race, ethnic background, and knowledge base. In addition, our understanding of any idea or set of ideas is influenced by the discussions and debates that we have with others. The third claim is that self-regulated learning is the basis of meaningful learning because it allows the learner to be an active and somewhat autonomous participant in the learning process rather than a passive recipient of someone else's knowledge. The fourth claim is that meaningful learning is more likely to occur when students are provided with realistic material and tasks so they can see how what is learned in the classroom is relevant to life outside the classroom.

Answer to #3

Discovery learning was one of Jerome Bruner's ideas for improving school learning.
Bruner maintained that traditional approaches to instruction focus too much on preselected and prearranged materials that result in learning that does not generalize beyond the classroom. Rather, he believed that teachers should confront students with problems and help them seek solutions independently, or through group discussions. In his theory, the most important things that students can learn are to discover how ideas relate to each other and to their existing knowledge, and how to independently solve problems. This is best accomplished through personal discovery. This is a constructivist approach to learning, which emphasizes the individual's interpretation and creation of ideas based upon past experience and current interactions with the learning environment. By contrast, traditional educational
practice reflects a transmission model. A subject-matter expert (the teacher) provides to novices (students) a predetermined body of knowledge, often in the absence of a meaningful context. If a context is provided, it is that of the teacher or some other subject-matter expert.

I know you spent a lot of time finding this because I swear it wasn't in my textbook

You're partially right, it's found midway in the chapter, but not at all easy to find. Good luck with the rest