Running Head: COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 1

Final Assignment: Part 1

Combined Curriculum of Biology and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for
Development of 21
st
Century Learning Skills:
A Review of the Literature



Jose Bill Colorado
Student #: 24011108
University of British Columbia
ETEC 500 Section 65B
Instructor: Dr. Stephen Carey
April 17, 2012
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 2




Introduction
The purpose of this literature review is to review current research work on combined
curriculum, interactive learning and 21
st
century skills. This will be followed by a synthesis
section that identifies common themes and a conclusion that will guide my potential research on
a course that combines curriculum standards set by the British Columbia Ministry of Education.
The combined curriculum will feature Biology 12 and Information and Communications
Technology 12 (ICT 12).
Key words: Combined curriculum; interactive learning; 21
st
century skills; digital
literacy.

Review of Related Literature
21
st
Century Skills
What goes on in our daily lives affects what goes on in the classroom. The constantly
progressing applications of the Web 2.0 and the affordances they provide their users, has likely
made the biggest impact in the world of education to date. Mark Prensky (2001) refers to our
new generation of learners as Digital Natives because they have grown up with computers,
video games and the internet. The advancement in todays digital world has resulted in smart
phones with more capabilities than computers of ten years ago, tablets with touch screens and
computer applications that have become easier to use. In order for education to remain relevant
it has to change with the demands of our ever-changing society.
One of the current movements in education is to incorporate learning activities that utilize
and develop 21
st
century skills. It is believed that these skills will prepare todays children for
the evolving pressures in the job market of tomorrow. With globalization and growing
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 3




environmental-concerns the future workforce and its leaders will need to be able to collaborate
and communicate with each other while being creative and innovative thinkers that assess
situations critically (Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills, 2011). Also, within this description of
21
st
century skills includes the mastery of core courses such as English, world languages,
mathematics, economics, social studies and science and the ability to be digitally literate
(Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills, 2011). According to Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan (2006, p.
9), digitally literacy refers to a persons ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital
environment. This includes the aptitude to read and understand media, the ability to assess new
digital information and the capability to digitally manipulate data and images (Jones-Kavalier
and Flannigan, 2006). Todays educators are faced with new challenges in order to meet the
needs of their students but these challenges can be seen as opportunities for innovative lesson
planning.
In British Columbia, The Premier's Technology Council (2010) created a document that
provides a vision for 21
st
century learners in the K-12 education system in BC. This article
recognizes other countries such as China, Singapore and Finland who have revolutionized their
educational practices and the authors suggest that the education system of BC must adapt its
current model if it plans to be a leader in education in the future (Premier's Technology Council,
2010).
Part of Finlands progressive scholastic procedures is to incorporate project-based
learning (PBL), which fosters these 21
st
century skills (Premier's Technology Council, 2010).
PBL encourages students to be independent thinkers while utilizing different learning styles.
During PBL, students can decide how they plan to meet learning outcomes and by setting their
own goals they create engaging authentic real-world tasks. Giving the students control over their
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 4




learning activities provides opportunities for personalized learning in which students can
showcase their unique skills and cognitive strengths (Premier's Technology Council, 2010).
When I consider the project activities I have used in the past I realise students have to
access skills that would meet learning outcomes from other courses. In a math class I have had
students create skits thus partaking in a class that contains an element of creative writing and a
drama class. I have also asked my biology students to create a story to demonstrate their
understanding of a body system using a computer application of their choice. Stephanie Bell
(2010) also recognizes that PBL forces students to combine curriculum while fostering 21
st

century skills in a situation that is personalized and brings about metacognitive awareness. Bell
also draws on the work of others to demonstrate the effectiveness of PBL on learning.
Bell reported on the increased success by students involved in PBL on various
standardized tests such as: the British National Exam, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the Stanford
9 Open Ended Reading Assessment and the Maine Educational Assessment Battery (as cited in
Boaler, 1999 & Thomas, 2000). As an advocate of PBL, Bell acknowledges many of the
benefits of PBL but she did not carry out any firsthand research nor does she provide suggestions
for further research. The original direction of my research was not to delve into PBL but I agree
with many of the advantages suggested by Bell and she also promotes the incorporation of
technology for PBL which does follow my original research path.

Technology
Several years ago, I was working at a private school and I was required to complete a
personal professional growth plan and the focus that I chose was to increase the amount of
technology I used in the classroom. I believe I was successful in this endeavour but I thought
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 5




that the biology/chemistry webpage I created lacked an interactive element. I decided to search
the Web to find existing interactive biology websites but the most interactive websites usually
were forms of summative assessment and I wanted to provide interactive learning opportunities
in the process of knowledge construction for my students. A recent study in Greece investigated
this concept to see how computer games can be used for learning content.
Marina Papastergious (2009) pretest/post-test research experiment produced statistically
significant results suggesting that the engaging aspect of computer games increased student
motivation and student learning. In her experiment Papastergiou randomly selected students and
placed them in two groups. The groups learned the same content but the manner that the content
was delivered varied.
The researcher created web pages that taught computer science curriculum and she then
created a game based on those web pages, thus the difference between the two groups was the
interface that the students interacted with. In her observations, Papastergiou noted that the group
using computer games was more attentive and engaged in the learning activity as compared to
the group navigating through the web pages.
Papastergiou attributes the effectiveness of digital game based learning because it has the
ability to draw on past knowledge and it provides immediate feedback in a multi-sensory
environment. In her conclusion, she identifies a difficulty for educators in competing with
commercially produced recreational games that utilize high-end graphics. In a separate study of
high school students, Thomas (2011) found that students who created computer games were
completely engaged for several days but this level of motivation dropped quickly. He attributed
this phenomenon partially to his inability to keep up with the demands of student on the subject
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 6




matter of computer programming. This suggests that a highly qualified educator is needed to
oversee a program of this type.
As I mentioned earlier, I plan to combine biology with information technology
curriculum but when I used these key words to research the ESCO database, I was not able to
locate any literature that was this specific. This result suggested two things to me: (1) that there
is a need for such research; (2) that I needed to broaden my search. After I altered my research I
selected an article that combined English as a second language (ESL) curriculum with nursing
curriculum.

Combined Curriculum
I chose the aforementioned article because there are commonalities between nursing and
biology but as I read and summarized I realized the important points of the article did not have to
do with common learning outcomes but with pedagogical concerns and research designs. With
this in mind I decided to look at another creative endeavour that combined English and art
curriculum.
In the action research study, Wang, Yang, Chuang, and Chiu (2010) investigated
combined ESL and nursing curriculum. The need for such a program was based on the fact that
many current Taiwanese nurses had difficulties communicating to patients who spoke English.
Following this extensive study that utilized 370 second year college students enrolled in
the nursing program, Wang et al reported that the successes of the program outweighed the
setbacks. Feedback from the student survey suggested an overall positive perception of the
program but this was perception not unanimous. From the post-test survey, students reported
their self-perception on motivation as follows: 5.4% said they were uninterested and 0.5% were
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 7




very uninterested. This could have been due to the fact that16.5 % of the students considered
themselves poor and 7.3 % ranked themselves as very poor in English proficiency self-
perception. Upon completion of the program an error in their methodology was identified.
In this study ESL instructors delivered all the content but they were not qualified nursing
instructors. This led to some difficulties. A suggestion for improvement was to have members
of the nursing faculty involved in the course planning and instruction. The researchers believed
that this modification would lead to improved instructional practices, reduced stress to the ESL
instructors and a better balance between the two curricula being taught. I also believe the
researchers should have considered placing a higher standard of English fluency to students
admitted to this program.
In contrast the research of Roberta Murata (1997) was conducted at a much smaller scale.
She worked with a colleague who was an experienced art teacher and she was the English
specialist. They worked together to create a curriculum that complemented each other and
resulted in richer and more exciting learning experiences for their students. Following the
completion of the course students evaluated their experience through open-ended questions.
Many students believed that the combined curriculum format provided opportunities for
visualizing concepts which they believed increased their understanding. Murata claims her
undertaking to be successful on the basis of these responses but her study would have been more
credible if she would have also investigated student achievement as well.

Synthesis of Developing Themes
From the literature research and review a central theme emerges that education is going
through a paradigm shift where the learning experience should be engaging and provide the
COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 8




learner to utilize his/her unique talents. This personalized learning encourages students to be
independent thinkers who plan their own learning while utilizing various learning strategies.
Also, part of most students skillset today is an aptitude for digital literacy. Thus part of
a students individualized learning should incorporate technology which would place the learner
in a situation to be successful
Conclusion

Although I was unable to locate an article that researched combined curriculum of
information technology and biology I believe that the premise of these two courses can be
interwoven to produce a more meaningful course of combined curriculum. From my past
experience in teaching Biology 12, I have found that content of biology requires a medium that
affords visual richness. Computers and technology provide teachers and students these
affordances therefore it seems logical to combine these two curricula.
As well, combined curriculum and PBL provide opportunities for personalized learning
and the development of 21
st
century skills. I believe that giving students the responsibility for
their mode of demonstrating content mastery will result in the incorporation of real-world
problems thus make their learning relevant and engaging.






COMBINED CURRICULUM: BIOLOGY AND ICT 9




References
Bell, S. (2010). Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the Future. Clearing
House, 83(2), 39-43. doi:10.1080/00098650903505415
Foundations for Success. In Effective Teaching with Technology (pp. 75-105). Retrieved from:
https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/RelativeResourceManager/Template/PD F/Bates-Poole-
Chapter4.pdf
Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P.W. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for
analysis and application (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Jones-Kavalier, B., & Flannigan, S. (2006). Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st
Century. Educause Quarterly, 29(2). Retrieved from:
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolu
m/ConnectingtheDigitalDotsLitera/157395
Murata, R. (1997). Connecting the visual and verbal: English and Art for high school
sophomores. English Journal, 86(7), 44-48. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/detail?sid=e0446ca8-39b8-40cd-
8758-6dc464dee780%40sessionmgr11&vid=5&hid=104
Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills. (2011) Framework for 21
st
Century Learning. Retrieved from:
http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework
Premiers Technology Council (2010). A Vision for 21
st
Century Education. retrieved from:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision%20for_education.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5) 1-6. Retrieved
from: http://www.albertomattiacci.it/docs/did/Digital_Natives_Digital_Immigrants.pdf
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Thomas, M., Xun, G., & Greene, B. (2011). Fostering 21st Century Skill Development by
Engaging Students in Authentic Game Design Projects in a High School Computer
Programming Class. Journal Of Educational Computing Research, 44(4), 391-408.
doi:10.2190/EC.44.4.b
Wang, H., Yang, H., Chuang, M., & Chiu, T. (2010). Towards an Integrated Content-Based
Nursing English Program: An Action Research Study. English Teaching &
Learning, 34(4), 33-74.
Papastergiou, M. (2008). Digital Game-Based Learning in high school Computer Science
education: Impact on educational effectiveness and student motivation. Computers and
Education. 52, 1-12. doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2008.06.004