1 / 16

A Pedagogical Approach to Module Integration: Issues, Opportunities and Barriers

A Pedagogical Approach to Module Integration: Issues, Opportunities and Barriers. Outline. Integration as an LTA Tool Modularised Systems (SHU) Unitised Systems (Canterbury) Discussion. Integration as an LTA Tool. Curriculum Integration:

glen
Download Presentation

A Pedagogical Approach to Module Integration: Issues, Opportunities and Barriers

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A Pedagogical Approach to Module Integration: Issues, Opportunities and Barriers

  2. Outline • Integration as an LTA Tool • Modularised Systems (SHU) • Unitised Systems (Canterbury) • Discussion

  3. Integration as an LTA Tool • Curriculum Integration: Curriculum integration is a philosophy of delivery in which content is drawn from several subject areas to focus on a particular topic or theme. Source: The Language of learning; A guide to Education Terms, by J.L. McBrien & R.S. Brandt, 1997, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

  4. Integration as an LTA Tool Why Integration? • Enable learners to see the bigger picture • Mitigate the effect of compartmentalisation • Help improve the learning experience • Promote better use of resources (by staff and students)

  5. Integration as an LTA Tool Two different methods of integration: • Modular Systems Self contained, freely delivered, credit bearing modules. (Parallel Credit Accumulation) • Unitised Systems Design based units, supported by other learning activities outside these units.(In-Line Credit Accumulation)

  6. Modularised Systems • Modular System offers choice, flexibility, quality control of performance in module • Conflict: compartmentalization of teaching and learning; curriculum goal being synthesis of knowledge • Over-assessment • little scope for free-thinking/student ownership of learning

  7. Modularised Systems

  8. Modularised Systems • Relate theory to practice; • Difficulties in integration of assessment; • Importance of individual, not overall, performance; • Integration limited to some design issues; • Integration requires teaching staff to have knowledge of other modules

  9. Modularised Systems • Assessment integration focused on design studio project • Promotion of integration in delivery negated by individual assessment: 1st year students in particular confused • Joint assessment relies on development of the design and attendance of reviews • Synthesis most successful in later years

  10. Modularised Systems • Evolutionary changes concerned with more integration and lightening the assessment load • Enhance student employability by giving them complex problems akin to those in practice • Modular system allows ease of delivery to part-time students: logistics of day release

  11. Modularised Systems • Integrative teaching needs to be agreed by staff :students become aware of holistic nature of design in all modules • Integrative assessment requires; collaboration, forward planning, negotiation, detailed organization • Whilst the emphasis is on the design project, each project has a different emphasis on a module of study

  12. UNIT 1: 30 CREDITS UNIT 2: 15 CREDITS UNIT 3: 30 CREDITS UNIT 4: 15 CREDITS UNIT 5: 30 CREDITS 2 3 1 WEEKS IN ACADEMIC YEAR An indicative diagram showing a typical year structure on a unitised course with assessment activities indicated as shaded areas Unitised Systems

  13. Unitised Systems • Intra-unit Integration Within a “Design Unit” • Inter-unit Integration • Across a “Design Unit” and “Subject Specific Unit” • Reversed Integration

  14. Unitised Systems: Issues • The design brief: a partnership • Staff roles and responsibilities • Assessment focus • Progressive and incremental integration

  15. The Issues • Reflecting real-world ‘messy’ problems (Schon 1983)? No pre-determined solutions but unique and varied responses. • Reflective and non-reflective learning in different modules: contemplation versus memorization. • ‘Metacognition’ (Anderson et al 2001) and cultural context: student awareness and control of cognitive processes and cultural influences. • Retention and transference: experiential learning, problem-based learning (PBL), dialogue, reflection-in-learning and reflection-on-learning (Schon 1983).

  16. The Barriers • Self contained units V holistic nature of design • Integration requires collaboration between the teaching staff • More than often, the architect who runs the year would unilaterally set the agenda • For integration to be a success, we need to keep reviewing the delivery methods for our educational programmes in an evolutionary way, rather than a revolutionary one • Barrier of realist versus relativist learners – different students can have different expectations of the courses. • Barrier of young and mature students’ attributes: pedagogy and ‘andragogy’ (Knowles 1978).

More Related