Running head: Action Research Proposal

A Research Proposal to Explore the Impact of Curriculum Integration on the

Science Classroom: An Action Research Project

Emily Varga
Student No. 71569107
University of British Columbia
ETEC 500 Research Methodology

Action Research Proposal

August 11, 2014A Research Proposal to Explore the Impact of

Curriculum Integration on the Science Classroom:
An Action Research Project

Introduction
Many teachers can relate to the frustrating phenomena of students
studying by merely staring at the textbook; I tend to call this learning by
osmosis. What students dont understand is that words do not have a
concentration gradient; knowledge, however, does! I intend to explore how
to motivate the unmotivated in the science classroom, often as a result of a
hydrophobic relationship with science, and a different teaching technique,
curriculum integration that has shown to be beneficial in the classroom. My
hope is that the outcome of this study will inform my teaching practice, as
well as other teachers, of the impact that curriculum integration can have on
students in terms of achievement and motivation.
Context of Study
I am a teacher researcher with a background in biology and education,
working as a high school biology teacher in British Columbias Fraser Valley. I
teach, on average, three sections of Biology 12 and one to two sections of
Biology 11 yearly, which will provide to be the context for my research. I
have observed the above mentioned phenomena almost weekly as my
students prepare for one assessment or another, and have decided to explore

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a new teaching method that I plan to implement into my classroom in the
hopes that student achievement and motivation will be positively affected.

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Focus of the Study

The purpose of this proposed research study is to explore the impact of
curriculum integration in the science classroom on student motivation and
achievement. This study is based on the guiding question: how would an
integrated curriculum approach help students acquire scientific knowledge? I
have chosen to define scientific knowledge to include not only the academic
know how of knowledge, but also the motivation-based how know. Thus,
I expect that the use of curriculum integration will increase both student
motivation and student achievement in the subject of science.
The article begins with a literature review of other relevant studies in
the field of curriculum integration and motivation, and proceeds to outline
the methodology and expected outcomes of the study.

Literature Review
Three main bodies of literature have served to inform this research.
The first explores instructional strategies that affect student attitudes and
anxieties towards science. The second explores student perceptions of
curriculum integration and their perceptions of its success to prepare them
for the next phase of their education. The third compares the academic
growth of students in a class integrating student-designed curriculum to that
of a separate-subject classroom.
Laying the Instructional Foundation to contend with Science
Anxieties

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As a science teacher I am consistently vying for my students attention

in an attempt to find a topic or strategy that motivates them. Part of the
issue, Ive learned, is that many students suffer from science anxiety that
negatively affects their attitude towards science (Bryant, et al., 2013). This
anxiety manifests in many ways, and can have many possible causes
including past negative experiences in science classes, science-anxious
teachers in elementary and secondary schools, lack of appropriate role
models, gender, and racial stereotyping, and stereotypes about scientists in
the popular media (Bryant, et al. 2013, p.432). Science anxieties are often
found in weaker students due to their inadequate background knowledge and
their inability to extrapolate ideas and find links to related concepts
(Mbamalu, 2001). While this paper will not look into the causes of science
anxiety, it is my intent to explore strategies teachers can use in order to
begin to increase the motivation of science students.
Much of the modern constructivist theories serve to provide students
with learning environments that foster active learning and the construction of
knowledge based on prior understanding (Bryant, et al., 2013). However
successful these environments prove to be, the reality is that there exists
many variables that can affect a students performance in the classroom.
Mbamalu (2001) outlines four general characteristics that may directly affect
student performance, including a general lack of background knowledge,
deficiencies in verbal skills, weakness in making transition along related
concepts, and the inability to reason by analogy (p. 269). Bryant, et al.

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(2013) conducted a quantitative study focused on determining whether some

of these performance inhibitors contribute to science anxiety and affect
student attitudes about science. The authors designed a self-reported
Science Attitudes Questionnaire and Science Anxiety Questionnaire that
focused on some of the main constructivist beliefs held by science educators
and enabled students to self-report their attitudes about science. Bryant, et
al.s (2013) findings recommend that teachers should challenge students
attitudes as a way to help lower student anxiety (p. 445).
One way to challenge student attitudes about science and target some
of the performance characteristics as outlined by Mbamalu (2001) is to
incorporate instructional strategies that enable the student to understand
the subject matter [and] build their self-esteem (Mbamalu, 2001, p.268).
While one may think of numerous instructional strategies that could begin to
combat some of the above-mentioned criteria, not all are sufficient to provide
a nurturing, inclusive environment for students with science anxieties. For
example, Mbamalu (2001) finds the inquiry method as being insufficient for
academically challenged students because learning by experience is too slow
for students with fundamental weakness in basic scientific concepts (p.
269).
Curriculum Integration as an Instructional Strategy
The learning strategy that this study will investigate is the method of
curriculum integration (CI). There exist many competing terminologies, such
as interdisciplinary curriculum, multidisciplinary curriculum, fused curricula,

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transdisciplinary curriculum, and cross-disciplinary curriculum, as well as

many competing definitions for similar terminologies. The ambiguity in all
such similar terminologies makes for a confusing research approach, but the
similarity in all of these strategies lies in melding subject disciplines to create
a learning environment conducive to a quality education. True curriculum
integration provides opportunities for students to choose their learning paths,
create their own curricula, and construct learning instead of absorbing it. It
creates a student-centered, democratic classroom, allows opportunities for
students to reflect and establish links to the real world, and form
innovative ideas (Hudson, 2012, p. 40-41).
According to Christiansen (1998), there are three ways of organizing
cross-curricular activities: 1) within the subject itself; 2) as a harmonization of
subjects; 3) as an interdisciplinary topic where subject boundaries are erased
(p. 22). The terminology I have chosen to explore focuses on Christiansens
first approach, which creates a student-centered learning environment that
integrates subject content in numerous ways while still being within the
boundaries of the single subject (Hudson, 2012, p. 41). The choice to explore
curriculum integration within the subject itself allows me the flexibility to
incorporate other subjects while still adhering to the Ministrys prescribed
learning outcomes of the course. The reality is that even though an
integrated curriculum has been supported by numerous studies over the
decades, the traditional nature of public school design limits my abilities to
teach out of my teaching assignment. Even looking at the dividedness of

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senior-high science class options shows the limitations of school design. No

longer are students learning about general science; high school students are
required to choose a specific discipline within the context of science
Brinegar and Bishop (2011) explore one model of curriculum
integration in a middle school program that examined student perceptions of
curriculum integration using a longitudinal, qualitative study. Their purpose
was to explore whether students found the context of curriculum integration
effective and engaging over the 4-year study, and whether the knowledge
they acquired through this learning approach was transferrable to their high
school years. The authors used a curriculum integration approach that
enabled the student participants to engage in their own learning and relate
their learning to real life situations. Their choice to use curriculum
integration methods instead of cross-curricular, multidisciplinary, or
interdisciplinary designs stemmed from their research into the continuum of
curriculum organization. While cross-curricular, multidisciplinary, and
interdisciplinary designs focus on encountering and mastering content from
the subjects involved (p.208) with blurred subject boundaries, curriculum
integration instead focuses on blurring subject lines by exploring significant
problems and issues using collaborative student-teacher teams (p.208).
Brinegar and Bishop (2011) found that using a curriculum integration
approach to learning allowed the participants to make a clear distinction
between learning that was academic and learning that was about life
(p.220). As this article looked specifically at middle school students, the

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authors recognized that it may be more difficult to implement a similar

approach in the more demanding high school subjects; however, the authors
also recognized the need for teachers to close this gap between learning
that is perceived to be academic and learning that isabout life (p. 220).
Benefits of a CI Classroom
Brinegar and Bishops (2011) context in a middle school setting looked
at an established program that was well known for its curriculum integration
practices. The Alpha program allowed students to remain active in their
learning by determining not only what was to be studied but also how to go
about it (p.210). Student-designed curriculum integration is further
explored by Brown (2011) in a study looking at the advantages of true
integration utilizing student-designed curriculum. Browns intent was to gain
insight into the students perspectives of curriculum integration and compare
academic growth to that of a typical separate-subject curriculum. Browns
findings suggest that students found the CI classroom more beneficial to their
critical thinking skills, literacy skills, discussion skills, research skills, and also
their motivation. Brown theorizes that the ability to make their own decisions
aided to increase the motivation felt by students. Paralleling Browns
findings, Tafts (2007) research leads her to an article that outlined a number
of benefits of an integrated curriculum:
The benefits of concept-based integrated curriculum: reduces
curricular fragmentation; provides depth to teaching and learning;
provides teaching and learning focus; engages students in active
learning; challenges higher levels of thinking; helps students

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connect knowledge; addresses significant problems, issues,

concepts; forces an answer to the relevancy question, Why study
these facts?; draws on multiple styles of learning. (p. 16)
Curriculum integration has been most commonly implemented in the
elementary and middle school contexts, as the confines of high school design
limit the teacher. But for students who did not have the opportunity to
experience curriculum integration at the middle school level, why not provide
them with these necessary skills to be successful beyond high school?
Curriculum integration is a highly beneficial method of learning but still
remains to be excluded from the average classroom. Brown (2011) and
Hudson (2012) comment on the time requirements of guiding students
towards the next level of cognitive development and the time restraints often
felt by traditional separate-subject teaching. Curriculum integration provides
a time advantage to elementary and middle school classrooms, allowing for
larger blocks of time in order to conduct learning activities. The difficulties of
curriculum integration at the high school level are mainly due to the
restrictions imposed by the timetable. Teachers and students are at the
mercy of the time allotments set by the school administration, as well as the
requirement to sign up for one particular subject-specific block.
Hudson (2012) alludes to the issue of the sheer amount of curriculum
requirements in a subject-specific class, not to mention the supposed added
curriculum post-integration (p. 41). The intent of curriculum integration is
not to add curriculum, but to instead alter the way in which all curricula is
acquired in an attempt to widen the depth and breadth of understanding.

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Brown (2011) suggests that traditional curriculum delivery methods are not
only restrictive but could also be considered educational neglect by
educators for ignoring the needs of students (p. 205). CI provides
opportunities for students to expand their thinking processes and find links to
other subjects in order to transcend the traditional delivery methods and
construct knowledge instead of acquiring it. In his study of curriculum
integration at the middle school level, Brown (2011) questions:
What if instead of filling students with content, young adolescents
developed their critical and creative thinking processes; became
seasoned researchers; improved their problem solving skills;
became skilled at asking questions rather than waiting for teachers
to ask them questions; and, developed advanced presentation
abilities through frequent class debates? (p.194)
The research I intend to pursue addresses each of these concerns at
the high school level: I will promote and implement curriculum integration
while maintaining the expected learning outcomes for the course; integrating
the curriculum within the context of the course will allow me to maintain the
depth and breadth as expected by the Ministry, while still inviting students
into a learning environment conducive to self-discovery; providing real world
connections and an opportunity for students to design their curriculum
bypasses traditional learning methods.
Methods
Design
I have chosen to use an action research project for this study for the
reason that I intend to reflect upon the impact my use of an integrated

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curriculum will have on students and use the results of this study to inform
my teaching practices. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be
collected during my field research in order to target and acquire the most
relevant data. Quantitative methods in the form of summative and formative
assessments will be used throughout the study to collect data corresponding
to academic success as a result of the teaching methods being used;
qualitative methods in the form of questionnaires and surveys will be used
throughout the study as well as at the beginning and end of each semester to
gather data corresponding to student perspectives and attitude about
science.
Participants
Participants in this study will be Biology 11 students attending a
middle-secondary school located in the Fraser Valley. This school is the first
of its kind in the city with a large focus on fine arts and athletics programs.
Students in this school come from varying socioeconomic backgrounds and
span from grades 7 through 12. Although the catchment areas in this city are
open, much of the schools population lives on the nearby First Nation
reserve or in one of two of the more affluent, higher income communities.
Participants will likely consist mainly of grade 11 students, but may contain
some students in grades 10 and 12. As I am one of two biology teachers in
my school, students will choose to take biology in their previous academic
year and will be assigned to my class dependent on their timetable. All
students assigned to my class will learn in an integrated curriculum

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classroom and will receive an invitation to participate in the study subject to

parent consent. As my class composition depends on the students deciding
to further their education in biology, I expect a fairly represented group of the
high school population. Students who typically choose to take Biology 11 as
their science elective take it for various reasons: they liked learning biology in
Science 10, they enjoy learning about living things, they need it as a
prerequisite for their post-secondary intentions, they found it to be the less
daunting of all the science options, it was the only class that fit their
timetable, or their parents made them take it. For this reason, I expect a
diverse array of ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, learning abilities,
and motivation levels.
Instruments
In order to study the effectiveness of curriculum integration in the
biology classroom, a range of research instruments will be used to collect
both quantitative and qualitative data. Data collection will begin in the first
week of the semester to establish a baseline with regards to academic
success and attitudes towards science. These instruments will be in the form
of an attitude questionnaire and preliminary summative testing based on
previous knowledge. While it is my hopes to move away from traditional
multiple-choice, summative testing over the course of the semester, I want to
use this form of assessment initially as it will likely be the most familiar to my
students. Mid-term and semester-end assessments will also be administered
for comparison of academic growth over the course of the study.

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I will implement bi-monthly student self-assessments where students

will be asked to reflect on their progress and attitudes towards science, as
well as set goals, academic or otherwise, for themselves. After each major
project, students will be asked to self-report their perceptions of the
knowledge they have gained, the grade they believe they deserve with
justification, and their perceptions of the activity itself. Each of these selfassessments will be researcher designed and guided to ensure all students
are receiving the same prompts. I will collect various samples of student
work throughout the semester to analyze for understanding. I will also write
my own reflections after each major project in order to account for areas of
student success and areas needing further improvement in terms of the
activities implemented.
I plan to conduct interviews at study commencement, mid-point, and
semester-end with each participating student to collect verbal data in which
to analyze for perceptions and attitudes. The reason for using verbal
feedback is to provide opportunities for those students who struggle with
written output. Attendance records will also serve to be a useful instrument
to monitor attitude and motivation as high school students often avoid
attending class when they have lost hope in their abilities. All instruments to
be used in this study are yet to be developed.
The integrated curriculum lesson plans will need to be developed prior
to study commencement, as it is the outcomes of these lessons that this
study is concerned with. Copious amounts of further research will need to be

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completed in order to create an informed, student-centered plan that

presents a problem-directed approach to learning. Lessons will serve to
present a starting point in the form of an issue, problem, project, lab, or
otherwise. The lessons will also be designed to be flexible so that neither
party holds complete control over the content (Christiansen, 1998, p.25) and
the particulars of the subsequent discussion and learning is student-driven.
Christiansen (1998) recommends that the topics being used in class must be
rather authentic and with a good deal of the original complexity if it is to
support the development of a broad range of competencies (p. 26). The
lesson therein will unfold with student contributions and ideas as the teacher
provides careful guidance and support.
Procedure
The study will take place over 5 months (one semester) in my Biology
11 class at a middle-secondary school located in British Columbias Fraser
Valley. The duration of the study will ensure for full immersion in an
integrated curriculum classroom, as well as enough time for the designed
lessons to be implemented. Since this action research project is focused on
developing and reflection upon my own teaching methods, I will assume the
role of researcher, developer, teacher, student-guide, data collector, and
analyzer. Before study commencement, I will design lessons aimed at
encouraging a student-centered learning environment while leaving plenty of
room for democratic decisions by the student as curriculum-designers.
During implementation of these integrated curriculum lessons, I will remain

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as a facilitator to lead students towards understanding and provide the

necessary support and guidance.
Limitations of the Study
The time frame of this project (one semester) is a relatively short
amount of time to integrate the curriculum. High school timetables and
bookends of the year are unforgiving and unchangeable due to other subjects
that are graduation requirements. Although I plan to conduct this project
over one semester, it is likely that I will repeat the study with a different set
of Biology 11 students in another semester to gain more insight into the
impacts of curriculum integration in the biology classroom. Another
limitation is concerned with observing the effects of an integrated curriculum.
The benefits of learning in an integrated classroom may not be directly
evident during the limited time I have with each student. The benefits on
motivation could take shape in the next science course the student takes, or
even in another subject. I may need to consider doing a follow-up interview
with participating students after the end of semester in order to gather this
type of data. Lastly, as I am conducting my own research and have vested
interest in the outcome, the objectivity of this study could be affected. I
intend to cross-analyze many different types of data in order to avoid
injecting my findings with any unintended biases.
Research Design and Analysis
An action research project was chosen to be the most appropriate
research method for this topic because the study involves gathering

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information about my teaching practices, is relevant to teaching, is designed

to be informative and reflective in nature, and intends to cause positive
change in the classroom environment (Gay, et al. 2012). It is designed to
address an everyday problem that I have observed over the years
(unmotivated science students) and attempts to find one possible solution
(curriculum integration). My intent is to share the information gleaned from
this study so that my peers may gain insight into a related phenomena they
have observed.
The data acquired from this study will help to inform the guiding
research question: how would an integrated curriculum approach help
students acquire academic and motivational success in the science
classroom? Questionnaires, student work, self-assessments, interviews, and
summative/formative assessments will constitute the data collection in this
study (see Table 1). The information gathered will be used in conjunction
with personal narratives from my reflections and observations. All data will
be evaluated to find trends in perception and attitude among students, and
academic success will be tracked throughout the semester to follow
academic growth. I will report the data from questionnaires and interviews in
tables and graphs to show common trends, and report academic success as
an average in a graph comparing the beginning, midpoint, and end of
semester growth. I dont believe rigorous statistical analyses will contribute
to the overall interpretation of the data, and as such I will stick to simpler
methods looking at trends and averages.

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Table 1: Data Collection Techniques and Analysis Methods

Research
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Questions
Technique
How would an - Summative testing at the - Graph of average test
integrated
beginning, midpoint, and
results to show academic
curriculum
end of semester
trends
approach
- Student test/project/lab
impact
marks
- Graph of individual student
student
progress throughout the
achievement?
semester
How would an
integrated
curriculum
approach
impact
student
attitude
towards
science?

- Student attitude
questionnaire
- Bi-monthly selfassessments
- Self-reporting after each
project/lab
- Attendance records
- Audio recordings
- Teacher reflections
- Samples of student work

- Bar graph indicating

frequency of trends
- Analyze student responses
- Analyze student responses
- Bar graph representing
attendance over the course
of the semester
- Analyze student interview
responses looking for trends
in attitude
- Analyze for anecdotal
references looking for trends
- Analyze student responses

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Schedule of Activities

Phase 1

Phase 2
Phase 3

Time Frame
August 2014-December
2014

Last week of January

2015
First week of February
2015 (Semester 2
begins)

Phase 4

February 2015-June
2015

Phase 5

June 2015
(Last week of classes)
June 2015-July 2015

Phase 6

Activities
- Identify research pertaining to the
implementation of an integrated
curriculum in the science classroom.
- Begin loosely designing themes and
identifying real-world issues that
pertain to the Biology 11 curriculum as
outlined by BCs Ministry of Education
- Obtain principal approval
- Obtain parent consent
- Conduct preliminary summative
testing with students
- Conduct attitude questionnaire with
student
- Conduct preliminary interviews with
students
- Students self-report after each project
- Teacher reflection after each project
- Bi-monthly student self-assessment
- Midterm interview
- Final interview
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative
data
- Report findings.

Discussion
It is my hope that this study will support the implementation of an
integrated curriculum in a high school context and provide some
encouragement to other teachers looking to increase student experiences in
the classroom. While this study is limited in regards to time and subject area,
it will hopefully reveal supportive data to suggest that learning does not have
to follow traditional, teacher-centered modes of learning.

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Some of the expected outcomes of curriculum integration in the

science classroom include providing students with the opportunity to
develop deeper understanding and transfer across disciplines (Taft, 2007,
p.3), challenge their attitudes and perceptions (Bryant, et al. 2013), and
relate their knowledge to the real world (Hudson, 2012; Brinegar, et al.
2011); Taft, 2007). While these goals may be common to any classroom, the
difference lies in the students ability to make decisions about what they
learn and how they learn (Brown, 2011). Curriculum integration will provide
the necessary boost to learning that is beneficial to a diverse set of learners,
and will create a learning experience that supports active learning across
multiple subject areas.

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References

Brinegar, K., & Bishop, P.A. (2011). Student Learning and Engagement in the
Context of
Curriculum Integration. Middle Grades Research Journal, 6(4), 207-222.
Brown, D.F. (2011). Curriculum Integration: Meaningful Learning Based on
Students
Questions. Middle Grades Research Journal, 6(4), 193-206.
Bryant, F.B., Kastrup, H., Udo, M., Hislop, N., Shefner, R., & Mallow, J. (2013).
Science
Anxiety, Science Attitudes, and Constructivism: A Binational Study.
Journal of Science Education and Technology, 22, 432-448.
Christiansen, I.M. (1998). Cross-Curricular Activities Within One Subject?
ZDM, 30(2),
22-27.
Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P.W. (2012). Educational research:
Competencies for analysis and application (10th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Hudson, P. (2012). A model for Curricula Integration using the Australian
Curriculum.
Teaching Science, 58(3), 40-45.
Mbamalu, G.E. (2001). Teaching Science to Academically Underprepared
Students. Journal
of Science Education and Technology, 10(3), 267-272.

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Taft, T.M. (2007). Curriculum Integration in Senior High School Physics

Courses. Unpublished masters thesis, University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada.