An integrated, problem-based learning material: The “satellite” module

Curriculum integration has been an integral part of educational literature for many years. In addition, this field has not only been referred to as integrated curriculum but also interdisciplinary curriculum, student centered curriculum and core curriculum. Despite its presence, little research has been done and educators remain hesitant to adopt the concept (Barefield, 2005).

“Curriculum integration” is a term on whose definition scientists still have not formed a consensus. Many researchers have defined the term in different ways. For example, Shoemaker (1989, p.5) defines curriculum integration as “education that is organized in such a way that it cuts across subject-matter lines, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It views learning and teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive” . A different definition of curriculum integration was proposed by Etim (2005). According to Etim (2005, p.3), “curriculum integration involves helping students see and make connections between and among subjects. It is a pedagogical approach that is student-centered and focuses on a theme organized around real life issues and problems drawn from several subject areas.”

Etim (2005) lists some of the benefits of curriculum integration that the advocates of integrated curriculum have explained as follows:

1. Developmental appropriateness and responsibility to the needs of both children and young adults.

2. Enhancement of not only students’ learning but also achievement.

3. Due to the involvement that students have in the selection of theme and learning objectives, they become actively involved in the learning process.

4. Students are at the core of the learning process. The teacher is no longer the center but rather a facilitor to this process.

5. Provides students with the opportunity of making connections between both school activities and personal experiences.

6. Students may choose whatever they want to learn.

7. Promotes cooperation between teachers and students alike.

8. By addressing current social problems in the curriculum, students receive a better preparation for life today.

A number of the integrated curriculum models were listed by Loepp (1999) and are explained below:

In the “interdisciplinary model”, traditional subjects are grouped into blocks of time by schools. In addition, a certain amount of students and teachers are assigned and these teachers are expected to deliver an interdisciplinary or integrated curriculum. This particular model is usually employed at middle school level. It has a number of advantages. Firstly, teachers have time to collaborate. Secondly, class sizes are limited. Finally, although this model supports a traditional curriculum, it also allows some flexibility in scheduling.

The problem-based model is next curriculum integration model and it places technology education at the heart of the curriculum. This is due to the fact that our society revolves around technology, and, therefore, it is only logical that a curriculum is designed in consideration of this. Diciplines work in unison to solve a centural technological problem.

The final model is theme-based education. There are several advantages of this model. Firstly, teachers are able to identify with a dicipline. Next, it is far simpler to connect the curriculum with national standards and state frameworks. Lastly, this model allows students to form links between the objectives from various fields. In spite of these advantages, there is also a possible drawback as there may be circumstances when a particular theme and/or key concept has little relationship to a specific discipline. In these circumstances, teachers may be caused to employ students in irrelevant learning.

The focus of this study is problem-based learning model that is discussed in detail below.

Problem-Based Learning

The fact that traditional methods of education cannot serve the needs and wants of today’s students, the need for lifelong learning, and the latest developments in teaching-learning have altogether paved the way to the emergence of new approaches in teaching. One of these is Problem-Based Learning, which is one of the best examples of modern constructivist learning environments (Savery and Duffy, 1995). Problem-based learning (PBL) was first implemented in medical education by McMaster University, Canada in the 1960s (Barrows and Tamblyn, 1980). Soon, this method was adopted at Maastricht University in Holland and other places in Europe as well (Sezgin Selçuk and Sahin, 2008). PBL is described as a constructivist teaching model based on the assumption that learning is a product of cognitive and social interactions originating in a problem focused environment (Greeno et al., 1996). The theoretical philosophy of this approach is derived from John Dewey and discovery learning (Rhem, 1998).

Fundamentally, PBL is an educational method in which students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in addition to developing an understanding of grasping essential concepts through the analysis of real-life problems (Duch, 1995). Learning takes place throughout a process where learners try to solve real-life problems in groups of seven to eight people. Barrows (1996) labels the main characteristics of PBL as follows:

(a) Learning is student-centered,

(b) Learning takes shape in small groups of students,

(c) Teachers should act as moderator and facilitator,

(d) The problems provide motivation for learning and organizational focus,

(e) Problems provide the basis for the advance in clinical problem-solving skills,

(f) Self-directed learning aids the acquisition of new information.

Advocates of PBL have also stated that besides equipping students with knowledge, this approach could also be employed to improve their problem-solving skills, critical and creative thinking abilities, lifelong learning aptitudes, communication skills, group cooperation, adaptation to change and self-evaluation abilities (Albanese and Mitchell, 1993; Dolmans and Schmidt, 1996). Moreover, it has been expressed that PBL increases students’ motivation toward learning (Albanese and Mitchell 1993), and enables them to build a far more positive approach to learning (Coles, 1985; Newble and Clarke, 1986).

Today, the problem-based learning approach is used in various fields of education, mainly in medical education (Barrows, 1996), engineering (Nopiah et al., 2009), law (Moust, 1998), in-service teacher training (Sezgin Selçuk and Sahin, 2008) and science education (Ram, 1999; Sungur et al., 2006) besides at senior high school level (Barrows and Kelson, 1993). Moreover, it is becoming more and more popular.

This article introduces a problem-based learning material that has integrated some of the physics and mathematics subjects to be instructed at university level education at faculties such as education, engineering and medicine.