Abstract:  Current physics education research shows that the traditional passive lecture approach is, by most measures, ineffective for teaching students the basic concepts of physics.  This is due, in large part, to the many alternative conceptions that students have when they first enter the classroom and the diverse educational backgrounds of the students.  Drawing from the physics education research one method to address these issues is to have students work in groups of two or three, once or twice per week, to solve context rich problems, which are well designed to engage the students and stimulate discussion.  The groups solve these problems in class, where the professor or the teaching assistant can monitor their progress.  The education research suggests that these problems help students develop better problem solving and critical thinking skills as well as learning comprehension. In my talk, I will talk about context reach problems and show samples of these problems.