Can decision makers, including students, operate effectively if they gain their basic knowledge
in the traditional, separate disciplcnes and then apply it to the problem in question? Or is
problem-focused education preferable? Using examples relating to energy requirements in the
built environment, the authors will show how the discipline-based approach can result in
knowledge being defined and organized in very different ways from those that follow from a
problem-focused approach. Examples show how the notion of appropriate rigor in analysis of
problems can lead to organization of the knowledge base in ways that facilitate effective
application.
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