METHODOLOGY
VPU
Internal Deliverable
Work Package 6
October 2009
1
Introduction
Part 1 – Preparation of training packages based on problem-based teaching of science
subjects on the basis of interdisciplinary integration
1.1. Brief background.
1.2. The development of training packages is based on four key strategies and content analysis.
1.3. Methodology description.
References
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Introduction
The aim of the VPU team is to promote the use of interdisciplinary relationships with the help
of problematical situations while teaching non-integrated science subjects in general education
school. Student-teachers and science teachers compose the target audience. It is intended that
three didactic training packages for science subjects (physics, chemistry and biology) will be
created. The aim of each training package will be to teach student-teachers and science
teachers how to create problematical situations on the basis of interdisciplinary integration.
We plan to prepare training packages described below during the work of WP5.
Part 1 - Preparation of training packages based on problem-based teaching of science
subjects on the basis of interdisciplinary integration
1.1. Brief background
The necessity for the transformation of teaching science subjects appeared in the USA, UK,
Scandinavian and other countries in the 1970s. Science and technologies developed quite
quickly and were followed by the enrichment of information and modernizing of society.
These factors influenced scientists to find ways of managing scientific information.
Representatives of natural sciences came to the conclusion that it is necessary to interconnect
science subjects and teach them as an integrated unit. This idea was accepted by educators as
well, and problems of teaching integrated science subjects became the object of pedagogic
studies (New trends in integrated science teaching, 1991).
In Lithuania, as a former country of the Soviet Union, separate, non-integrated subjects of
biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics were taught till 1990. After independence in
1990, Lithuania started to change its educational system, and the reality of teaching integrated
science subjects appeared. In newly created documents regulating education, such as Concept
of Lithuanian Education (1992), Guidelines of Reformation of Lithuanian Education (1993),
General Programs and Standards of Education (1994, 1997, 2003, 2008), a need for a new
quality of teaching of natural sciences was stressed.
Transformation of education theories in Lithuania tackled many problems and questions, as
there was no experience of teaching integrated science subjects. Subjects of natural sciences
are not only connected through interdisciplinary relationships, but also through common
concepts and conceptions, methodological principles, and solutions of general practical
problems. Therefore it was decided to integrate these subjects into the general course of natural
science with the aim of helping pupils understand nature as a whole, to understand concepts
and acquire skills, and to form comprehensive (holistic) views of man, society, nature and the
world. In Lithuania, the integrated course of science subjects is taught at primary school
(grades 1–4) and it is continued in classes of lower secondary school (grades 5–6). The course
consists of Biology, Ecology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth science, Health education, and
Technology (some elements of Geography are integrated at the 5th grade, while it becomes a
separate subject from the 6th grade). Biology, Chemistry and Physics become separate
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disciplines starting from grades 7–8, by which time use of interdisciplinary relationships has
been well established.
The realization of integrated interdisciplinary relationships would be quite difficult without
specific teaching programs. This was understood in the middle of the XXth century when J.S.
Bruner (1966) as the representative of structuralism pedagogy, stressed that assumptions of
knowledge systems should be already fixed in the teaching programs. This position is
supported by many educators.
The results of PISA survey show that Lithuanian pupils have weak skills in solving problems,
and skills of exploratory work are not sufficient. The results of national surveys reiterate the
problems disclosed during international studies. Pupils have better skills using theoretical
knowledge, but they encounter problems when performing practical tasks. They do not have
adequate abilities to plan and realize experiments, to read and analyse measurements, to use
different sources of information. Lithuanian pupils lack deeper understanding of concepts,
processes and phenomena and they encounter difficulties in applying knowledge in practice. So
it is necessary to improve pupils’ skills towards problem solving and exploratory work.
Interdisciplinary situations could be used during problem-based teaching (Allen et al., 1996).
The solution of a problem cannot be limited to the material of only one theme, rather in the
educational practice of interdisciplinary integration, different themes from various subjects
should be combined. It is necessary to shift pupils’ knowledge from one subject to another in
each interdisciplinary teaching situation (horizontal shift). The shift of knowledge from one
subject into the contents of the teaching situation of another subject provides new character,
creates problem situations and encourages acquiring new information or envisaging new
aspects of the knowledge acquired. A similar psychological situation is created when applying
inner integration, but here vertical shift is used whereby more intricate competences and skills
are formed.
Theories of psychology (conditioned reflexes, generalization and transposition) stongly justify
the need for relationships of inner- and interdisciplinary integration in the generalization of
teaching contents, and reveal a positive influence on the development of thinking, memory and
other mental abilities of pupils.
It is easier to use the method of problem-based teaching during a lesson of interdisciplinary
integration as the contents of interdisciplinary character form the basis of teaching. Pupils have
to shift their knowledge from the contents of one subject into the context of knowledge of
another subject in order to understand the material. Problem-based teaching encourages the
activity of cognition and independence which helps to form the thinking and mental actions of
pupils, necessary in the solution of recognition tasks. It helps pupils to find scientific
information in interdisciplinary situations, under the guidance of a teacher. A typical lesson has
the following components: 1) creation of a problematical (theoretical or practical) situation
(new things appear besides learning and experience); 2) formulation of a problem and creation
of a plan to solve it (known and unknown things and relationships among known and unknown
components are formulated, followed by a hypothesis); 3) organization of the solution of the
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problem (conditions for pupils’ independent search are composed with help from different
methods); 4) verification of the solution.
Problem-based teaching helps to solve only some of the didactic tasks. For example it is not
effective if new material has a descriptive character, nor is it advisable during the beginning
stage of the acquisition of knowledge, or when a practical situation is simple and it does not
require intellectual tension. Consequently, it is very important during the consolidation of
knowledge, formation and development of objectives and general competencies of pupils.
The VPU S-TEAM group plans to study the characteristics of interdisciplinary relationships of
teaching subjects of natural sciences at 7–10th grades in order to encourage and facilitate the
use of problem-based teaching in educational practice. These assumptions help teachers’
creation of problematical (theoretical and practical) situations, formulation of problems
themselves, creation of means of their solution and drawing of conclusions.
1.2. The development of training packages based on four key strategies and content
analysis
We intend to prepare training packages for the creation of problematical situations for science
teachers working with 7–10th grade pupils. They will be prepared according to the following
plan:
1. The analysis of the National (Lithuanian) General Programs (the latest version was
approved according to the decree of the Minister of Education of Lithuania in 2008)
regulating teaching of science subjects and themes for the 7–10th grade pupils,
which leads to the creation of descriptions of interdisciplinary (biology, physics and
chemistry) problematical situations in a lesson.
2. The analysis of national science textbooks for the 7–10th grade pupils, in order to
identify how it is possible to elaborate problematical situations based on the themes
presented in textbooks.
3. Distinguishing of the phenomena that are presented in science textbooks and are
taught during biology, chemistry and physics lessons.
4. Methodologies of interdisciplinary problematical situations are prepared on the
basis of these phenomena. They can be realized in different forms: exercises, real or
virtual experiments, and narration.
1.3. Methodology description
The key strategies should be realized during three phases:
 The analysis of contents of General Programs (2008) of natural sciences and
mathematics on the basis of relationships of integration at basic school.
 Approximation of possibilities of parallel integration of natural sciences and
mathematics in the school contents.
 Preparation of didactic training packages of natural sciences and mathematics
devoted for the problem-based teaching on the basis of interdisciplinary integration.
The first phase: the analysis of contents of General Programs (2008).
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In Lithuania, the contents of General Programs are systemically renewed every five-seven
years. The last renewal of programs regulating teaching processes of 5–10th grades was done
in 2008, and Lithuanian schools implemented this in 2009.
The analysis of General Programs will be carried out during this phase. Qualitative analysis of
contents will be done by didactic specialists of biology, chemistry and physics. Attention will
be paid primarily to these questions:
1. How many chapters suitable for interdisciplinary integration could be identified in
biology, chemistry and physics programs?
2. Is it possible to realize parallel interdisciplinary integration (i.e. to analyze chapters
with integral contents) at the same time on the basis of General Programs?
3. How and when it would be possible to realize problem-based teaching on the basis of
interdisciplinary integration?
Six instruments (comparative tables - Supplement 1 1) devoted for the analysis of contents of
General Programs will be prepared for three non-integrated subjects (biology, chemistry and
physics) by the VPU team. A specialist of didactics of physics will prepare two study
instruments (comparative tables of contents of physics and chemistry, and physics and
biology), while other instruments (chemistry and physics, chemistry and biology, biology and
chemistry, and biology and physics) – by specialists of chemistry and biology didactics. The
tables created will help to structure the analysis of General Programs according to the
following scheme: the contents of a chapter, timetable for the realization of a chapter, possible
relationships of the chapter with another science subject or mathematics (Supplement 1,
columns 1–3). A researcher of the contents (e.g. physics), acquainted with a program of
another subject, selects the most important interdisciplinary concepts and phenomena.
Remaining columns (Supplement 1, columns 4 and 5) are filled up by another specialist of
didactics, e.g. chemistry.
School textbooks are one of the means of implementing the General Programs. They broaden
and elaborate the contents of General Programs, and are systemically renewed as well. It is
necessary to know the contents of textbooks used at school in order to prepare suitable didactic
teaching packages and to plan organizational strategies of problem-based teaching. Therefore
we plan to analyze the latest national textbooks (that are adopted to the General Programs) of
biology, chemistry and physics used in Lithuanian schools. Special attention will be paid to
those chapters which help in the realization of interdisciplinary integration. We plan to clarify
definitions of the same concepts used in textbooks of different science subjects, to ascertain
how natural phenomena are described and how it would be possible to create problematical
situations in interdisciplinary contents.
A method of graphs will be used in the qualitative analysis of textbooks. Using graphs is a
suitable method for such studies. A graph of any type is composed of some points called
‘vertices’ and segments joining the points - edges. A graph-tree has no cycles (Ore, 1973).
They help to describe the structure, the relationships of structural components and the
hierarchy of any object or phenomenon analyzed. This method was used in education studies in
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A fragment of only one table is presented.
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the 1990s (Tchamarova et al., 1981). It is quite valuable for analyzing characteristics/aspects of
teaching contents lying in inner- and interdisciplinary integration. Integrity of textbook
contents could be evaluated according to a form of a graph-tree. The greater the integrity of
contents, the more branches and intricate a graph-tree will be. The contents of textbooks are
very broad, so specific chapters will be chosen, analyzed and graphs-trees will be created.
The second phase: harmonisation of contents of biology, chemistry, physics and
mathematics
Mathematics plays a very important role in teaching of subjects of natural sciences. During the
second phases, the VPU team plans to harmonise the possibilities of parallel integration in
school contents of biology, chemistry and physics with mathematics. We intend to analyze the
contents of General Programs (2008) according to the example given in Supplement 1. The
results of the analysis will be used in preparation of didactic teaching packages of biology,
chemistry and physics.
The third phase: preparation of teaching packages
During this phase, the VPU team plans to prepare teaching modules for biology,
chemistry and physics lessons, devoted to problem-based teaching on the basis of
interdisciplinary integration and using the data from phases 1 and 2. Preparation and realization
of cycles of problematical situations will be based on the methodology of M. Foldevi (1995).
References
Allen D. E., Duch B. J., Groh S. E. The power of problem-based learning in teaching
introductory science courses. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1996, 68: 43–52.
Bitinas B. Edukologinis tyrimas: sistema ir procesas [Educological study: system and process].
Vilnius, 2006.
Bruner, J.S. L’ éducation, entrée dans la culture: les problèmes de l’ècole à la lumière de la
psychologie cullturelle. Paris, 1996.
Foldevi M. Implementation and evaluation of problem-based learning in general practice.
Linköping University, 1995.
Lietuvos švietimo koncepcija [Concept of Lithuanian Education]. Vilnius, 1992.
Lietuvos švietimo reformos gairės [Guidelines of Reformation of Lithuanian Education]. Sud.
P. Dereškevičius. Vilnius, 1993.
Lietuvos bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos bendrosios programos ir išsilavinimo standartai [General
Programs and Standards of Education]. Vilnius, 1994.
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Lietuvos bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos bendrosios programos ir išsilavinimo standartai
[General Programs and Standards of Education]. Vilnius, 1997.
Lietuvos bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos bendrosios programos ir išsilavinimo standartai
[General Programs and Standards of Education]. Vilnius, 2003.
New trends in integrated science teaching. Paris: Unesco, vol. 6, 1991.
Ore O. Grafai ir jų taikymas [Graphs and their usage]. Vilnius, 1973.
Pradinio ir pagrindinio ugdymo bendrosios programos [General Programs of Primary and
Basic Education]. Vilnius, 2008.
Tchamarova S.T., Nikolsakaja I.L., Berezina L.J. [Some Aspects of Realization of
Mathematics With Other Subjects]. Moscow, 1981 (in Russian).
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Supplement 1.
Examples of interdisciplinary relationships between physics and chemistry on the basis of physics contents
Contents of physics
Preliminary
teaching time
Elements of
chemistry contents
Grade and
chapter of
chemistry subject
Preliminary
teaching time
8th grade. Chapter.
Chemical
substances around
us.
September
Aggregated state.
Temperature of
boiling and freezing
of water.
9th grade. Chapter.
Water and
solutions.
October
Burning. Activation
energy. Exothermic
and endothermic
reactions.
Poisonous products
of burning. Burning
reactions.
8th grade. Chapter.
Chemical
transformations.
February –
March
8th grade. Chapter.
Oxygen. Oxides.
Atmosphere.
April–May
9th grade
Chapter 1. Scales of temperature, aggregated SeptemberTemperature of
substances and transformations: different scales of November
boiling and melting.
temperature, description of aggregative state of
substances and their transformations on the
molecular level.
Inner energy of substances and its transformation:
explanation of inner energy, ways of its
transformation, calculation of energy quantity
necessary to heat, melt and evaporate of substances.
Heat-engines, phenomena of heat and ecological
problems: description of heat-engines and the
following ecological problems related to the usage
of different kind of fuel.
Possible interdisciplinary relationships.
8th grade. A theme „Study of characteristics of substances“ - Temperature of boiling and melting.
Pupils study characteristics of substances with a help of laboratory works: 1) melting of some substances and measurement of their melting
temperature; 2) heating of some substances and measurement of their boiling temperature. Pupils understand that gasiform substances boil and
melt at temperatures lower than zero.
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9th grade. A theme „Temperature of boiling and freezing of water“.
Hydrogen links prevent movement of water molecules. Quite a big amount of energy is necessary in order to break these links, so boiling
temperature of water is much higher than other substances of a similar Mole Class.
9th grade. A theme „Structure and peculiarities of a molecule of water“.
We know different states of water: it flows, stands, springs and trickles, it is fluid or solid. It covers large areas of the Earth. Ice covers the
North and South poles, forms icebergs, covers mountains, rivers and lakes. Warm groundwater evaporates, steam spurts from hot streams.
Formation of fogs and clouds.
8th grade. A theme „Features of chemical reactions“.
Burning is a quick reaction of a substance with oxygen followed by the separation of energy. Coal burns with a small flame, as it has few
volatile compounds. Nonvolatile substances burn without a flame.
8th grade. A theme „Exothermic and endothermic reactions“.
In order to reach the top of a hill, a bicycle rider has to pedal quite hard, so a lot of energy is required. If energy is not sufficient,
the bicycle will go down hill. Interaction of two particles can be compared with this phenomenon. Particles meet and bounce from
each other, if energy is not sufficient, so the reaction does not start. It would be possible to heat compounds in order to begin the
reaction.
8th grade. A theme „Interaction of non-metals with oxygen“.
Some non-metals can burn in air, e.g. sulphur, carbon, hydrogen or phosphorous. Meteorites usually burn when reaching the Earth‘s
atmosphere. Carbon burns in high temperature; if there is not enough oxygen (e.g. in a charcoal-burner), carbon monoxide (colourless,
scentless and poisonous gas) is formed.
8th grade. A theme „Carbon dioxide and change of climate“.
Fuel is used in many spheres of life. large quantities of different fuel is burned every year followed by the formation of large
amount of carbon dioxide flowing into the atmosphere. Forests are intensively cut as well nowadays. Carbon dioxide started
affecting the climate, as green plants cannot consume its excess.
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