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IN TEACHING BIOLOGY
Abstract
The integrative approach in teaching biology was assessed by evaluating the planned
and implemented biology instruction, describing students’ atitude toward biology when it is
taught using such approach, and by elucidating the advantages, disadvantages, and
problems or difficulties associated with teaching and learning integrative Biology. Planned
and implemented instructions were evaluated based on the Five Standards of Authentic
year high school students, with an equivalent version that was answered by their biology
teacher. Student responses from an open-ended survey questionnaire and focused group
interview were comparatively analyzed with the resposses of their biology teacher to a semi-
structed interview.
develops high-order thinking skills, depth of understanding of biological concepts and their
relevance to real-world issues and other areas of study. When Biology is the core subject of
the unit, or when the theme is directly related to its content, authenticity instruction becomes
more extensive. It is therefore crucial for teachers to ensure the authenticity of integration to
effectively facilitate construction of meanings and prevent confusion and difficulties brought
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Compared to traditional teaching, it poses greater demands to teachers on mastery of
using integrative approach. Themes that students find most enjoyable are those that are
relevant to their experiences and interests. Collaborative planning and team teaching also
help teachers improve mastery of subject matter, reinforce each other’s instruction and
insufficient preparation time make this approach demanding and difficult. Therefore,
Introduction
physics and chemistry; to help students become familiar with the natural world through the
overload in the sciences and to further emphasize application of concepts and technology.
Reformers from the integrative education movement contend that teaching facts and skills in
a school day artificially compartmentalized into separate subjects fails to prepare students for
students’ basic skills in language arts and mathematics while also teaching thinking skills,
physical and sensing skills, and social skills (Shoemaker, 1989). Furthermore, integrative
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approach to instruction addresses three needs in education: authenticity, meaningfulness,
Being the key players in the teaching-learning process, both teachers and students
high school Biology. This study attempted to answer the following research questions: (1)
Does biology instruction using the integrative approach satisfy the five standards of authentic
instruction? (2) What is the attitude of students toward Biology taught using the integrative
approach? (3) What are the advantages of using the integrative approach in teaching
Biology? (4) What are the difficulties and problems encountered by teachers and students?
Conceptual Framework
attributes that set it apart from the traditional mode of science instruction. This particular
student attitude towards and interest in Biology. It also satisfies the standards of authentic
connectedness to the world, substantive conversation and social support for achievement.
Students perceive that they learn and understand better the lessons, explicitly appreciate the
creativity of their teacher, as well as, the opportunity to share ideas and engage in group
activities. The teacher also consider that engaging in integrative biology instruction gives
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Feedbacks from students shed light on the effectiveness of the choices for
affirm the many possibilities for innovative uses of instructional materials and other means to
maximize resources that can be tapped to improve instruction. The problems and difficulties
cited by students and teachers provide the basis for recommendations. They highlight the
challenges and other areas for explorations, as far as integrative Biology instruction, is
Standards of
Authentic Learning Development of HOTS
Depth of knowledge
Connectedness to the world
Substantive conversation
Social support for achievement
Biology Attitude
Challenges,
Scale
possibilities&
Integrative Positive Attitude towards
Approach in areas for
Biology further
Instruction for
High School explorations
Biology
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Methodology
Planned instruction for Biology was evaluated using the rubrics set by Newmann and
Wehlage (Newmann, King, and Carmichael, 2007) for the five standards of authentic
learning. The said standards are: (1) high-order thinking skills, (2) deep knowledge, (3)
substantive conversation, (4) connectedness to the workd, and (5) social support for student
achievement. Actual biology classes were observed and documented to evaluate the
A researcher- made Biology Attitude Scale, patterned after the Modified Fennema-
Sherman Attitude Scale, was administered to 63 second year high school students to describe
student attitude towards Biology. An equivalent version was accomplished by the biology
An Open-ended Survey Questionnaire was also answered by the second year students.
The questions aimed to gather data about students’ feelings and perception about their
biology subject, advantages, problems and difficulties associated with the integrative
approach and their personal understanding about integration. The answers were compared
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(4) Focused Group Interview to Key Student Informants and Semi-structured Interview to
Biology Teacher
A focused group interview was conducted to six purposely selected students while a
semi-structured interview was conducted to the biology teacher to validate the answers in the
open-ended questions.
Planned instruction for Lesson A was evaluated high for standards 1 (HOTS), 2 (deep
knowledge), and 5 (social support for student achievement) while low for standards 3
(substantive conversation) and 4 (connections to the world beyond the classroom). There are
a total of 52 specific indicators cumulative for the five standards. As the over-all assessment,
Lesson A satisfied 37 out of the 52 indicators. Lesson B was evaluated as high for all five
The over-all assessment of planned instruction would clearly indicate that when the
theme is directly related to the core subject or naturally linked with the lesson content of a
particular subject, the authenticity of planned instruction becomes more extensive. This is
Biology. Table 1 summarizes the evaluation of the planned instruction based on the five
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TABLE 1 Assessment of planned instruction for two lessons in Biology vis-a-vis Five Standards of Authentic Instruction
Synthesizing or Generalizing High High High High High High High High
Students encounter and express Low High Low High High High High High
details, distinctions, and
nuances, on a central concept
Students encounter and explain High High High High High High High High
different applications of a central
concept
Teacher-student interaction High High High Low High High High High
Student-student interaction High Low Low Low High High High High
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TABLE 1 (continued)
Addressing an actual public Low Low Low Low High High High High
problem or some contemporary
significance
Building on student’s personal Low Low High Low High High High Low
experiences to teach important
ideas in the discipline
Having students communicate Low Low Low Low High High High High
their knowledge to others beyond
the classroom in ways that assist
or influence others
Acknowledgement or praise for High High High High High High High High
participation
Teachers convey high High High High High High High High High
expectations for all students
Encouragement for all students to High High High High High High High High
participate in the learning
experience
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In planning for integrative biology instruction, teacher’s mastery of content
(breadth and depth) and teaching repertoire (variety and creativity) are very crucial.
Mastery of content would definitely be significant in ensuring that deep knowledge and
connectedness to the world are satisfied. Variety and innovativeness of learning activities
would help in achieving satisfactory level of substantive conversation and social support
for student achievement. Both would enable the teacher to come up with activities that
of the 13 indicators and was evaluated high for standards 1 while low on standards 2, 3,
4, and 5. Comparing this with the evaluation of the planned learning experiences, where
Lesson A satisfied 9 out of the 13 indicators, it can be inferred that the planned
instruction was not fully implemented. Lesson B was evaluated to be high for all five
standards satisfying all of the thirteen indicators. Table 2 summarizes the evaluation of
Lesson A satisfied all of the three indicators for HOTS. Accomplishing the
concept mapping activity enabled the students to explain the interconnections of the
functions of the three organ systems. Lesson A was evaluated as high for standard 1
(HOTS) and low for one of the two indicators for standard 2 (deep knowledge). The two
tasks mentioned above enabled the students to encounter and explain the applications of a
central concept – in this particular lesson, the circulatory, endocrine, and nervous
systems, on the context of human emotions or feelings that they really experience.
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TABLE 2 Summary Assessment of the implemented instruction (learning
experience) for two lessons in Biology vis-a-vis Five Standards of
Authentic Instruction
Evaluation
Standard Lesson A Lesson B
Students encounter and express details, distinctions, and nuances, Low High
on a central concept
Having students communicate their knowledge to others beyond the Low High
classroom in ways that assist or influence others
The discussion was limited to the three organ systems and the theme. There were
not much opportunities for students to express details or distinctions of the three organ
systems in other contexts. Nevertheless, all students were involved in explaining their
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generalizations through the concept map and their reasoned conclusions in the predicting
drill and follow-up quiz. The indicator for explaining a central concept was considered
satistified and evaluated as high. Interaction between the teacher and the students was
limited to short responses to low and high-level questions. For this reason, Lesson A was
Of the three indicators for standard 4, Lesson A satisfied only one which pertains
This was explicity done through eliciting human emotions, thoughts, and feelings that
students associate with various images. Concept of love was used as a context, in the
hope that it is an ideal theme that adolescents are most interested in. Lesson A was also
One out of the three indicators for standard 5 was satisfied by Lesson A. Since the
teacher dominated the discussion, there were very limited opportunities for students to
express themselves and be affirmed, despite the occassional affirmations given by the
techers to those who volunteered to recite. Both worksheets for Lesson A were also
assigned as individual works so there was no opportunity for students either to participate
in cooperative learning or to support their peers. Therefore evaluation for standard 5 was
also low.
to the world. All students spent majority of the time gathering, analyzing data, forming
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reasoned conclusion, and generalizing connections of the lesson with real-world issues
the field work activities and issue analysis, provided opportunities for students to conduct
an in-depth analysis of information and generate their own conclusions. The action
planning and group brainstorming for the website proposal were also concrete indicators
that analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing skills were practiced. By identifying personal
actions and creative ideas for the website, students demonstrated deep knowledge about
The final set of activities was substantial for satisfying the five standards,
particularly standards 1, 2, and 4. The final outputs are explicit expressions for standards
2 and 4. In these two activities, students were able to synthesize their ideas and formulate
resolve a current environmental concern. The field works also gave opportunities for
conversations between the teacher and students, as well as, among students were focused
on the lesson content and not scripted. Through the group discussions, it can be assumed
that students develop a better shared understanding of the complexities of biodivesity and
environmental issues associated with it. Accomplishment of standard 3 also supported the
conversation and social support for student achievement, to a larger extent compared to
Lesson A. All students were actively engaged in the activities and were asked to generate
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more original ideas. The higher expectations and more varied collaborative activities
Generally, students have positive attitude towards Biology. This agrees with the
student attitude perceived by the teacher. The positive attitude of students could be
attributed to the various student-centered and collaborative activities that they do. The
biology teacher also uses more visual aids during integrated days. The positive attitude of
the students toward Biology was confirmed by their teacher during the interview.
Students exhibit more interest in the lesson during integrated classes. The reasons cited
by the students indicate that intrinsic motivation or personal preferences is the main
factor that influences their enjoyment or interest in the subject. Their interest on the
theme or unit depends on the variety of activities and creativity of the teachers in
enjoyable. Generally, students said that they understand better and learn more when
Biology is part of an integrated unit. Although there are students who answered that
Biology becomes more difficult to understand during integrated classes, they still
appreciate its importance when its connections and relationships with other subjects are
made more explicit. Seven out of 63 student respondents were undecided whether they
learn better or not. One of them said that it depends on how Biology is integrated with
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other subjects. Another said that it depends on the topic and how it was presented to
them. Although these two respondents belong to a minority, it is still worth emphasizing
that students are capable of assessing the authenticity of integration. They not only
analyze the theme, topic or lesson but they evaluate how the teachers organize and
In the integrative approach, students explicitly see the connections with other
subjects and the practical applications of their biology lessons. Topics are broadly
explained with more examples, activities, and instructional materials. They are able to
express themselves, share their ideas and become more creative. Opportunities for
solutions to problems, and most important of all, a more interesting and more creative
way of teaching and learning. It is clear that integrative approach establishes a deeper
role that Biology plays in one’s life and in our environment, in general.
The biology teacher also enumerated several advantages and good points of
applying the integrative approach. Aside from encouraging a more positive attitude
among students towards learning and the chance of giving more activities, the flexible
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schedule was highly commended. Instead of a fragmented lesson stretched out for
several days, she can cover a wider and broader scope of her lesson without interruption.
This was also affirmed by students who answered that there is more focus on their lesson
or topic, and that the teacher elucidates further during integrated classes. Furthermore,
the teacher commented that collaborative planning allows the different subject areas to
reinforce learning.
plan, execute and evaluate a lesson through team teaching. This fosters cooperation,
materials. Team planning also enables teachers to fuse lessons instead of having separate
lesson plans that have actually overlapping topics. Other advantages mentioned by the
days, particularly those for Lesson B, would have been interpreted by the teacher as an
indicator of better learning. Since there is greater participation on the part of the students,
they are able to understand the lesson well, come up with better outputs aside from the
usual writtten tests, and thereby increase their chance of gaining better grades or higher
scores. It can be inferred that integrative instruction requires teacher to come up with
more innovative learning activities, as the biology teacher has explained. There is a
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sense of fulfilment in teaching because she sees her students enjoying the lessons and
The most frequent difficulty cited by the students were the difficulty in
brought about by the integration of Biology with other subjects and / or the integration of
biological concepts to their lessons in their other subjects. Students explicitly raised the
difficulty of understanding the lesson when different subjects are combined together.
Ironically, they were not mentioned by the student key informants when the researcher
disadvantages and problems contradict the three most frequent advantages and benefits
confusion may be associated with the difficulty of deciding which point of view to take
when they were asked to explain their personal definition of love. Explanations of three
of the students would further support this inference. Although the presentations of
different points of view on a particular theme or topic demonstrates the goal of leading
the students to make their own meanings, it is important to note that the degree or quality
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The more clearly the goals and objectives were conveyed to the students and developed
through congruent activities, the more they will feel that they learned.
Since integrative approach is fully used only once in every quarter, innovative
activities and lesson presentations become new experiences for students. Difficulty and
problem could mean changing of classroom routines, greater demands associated with
schedules and new types of work-tasks. Another problem was working in big groups.
The more serious students find it difficult to focus because some members are indifferent
with students whom they are grouped with for the first time.
Conclusions
construction of meanings and prevent confusion and difficulty that are brought about by
the different perspectives being presented by different teachers on a single theme or topic.
When Biology is the core subject of an integrative unit and when the unit theme is
more directly related to its content, planned and implemented instruction satisfy the
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development of high-order thinking and science process skills. Accomplishing
substantive conversation and social support for student achievement would depend on
Students demonstrate positive attitude towards Biology when it is taught using the
integrative approach. Themes that students find most enjoyable are those that are relevant
teaching that help improve mastery of subject matter, reinforce each other’s instruction
and motivate students to learn. Teacher understanding of this approach and the ability to
transform one’s paradigm – from traditional to integrative teaching, is the key to the
success of the integrative approach. When teachers do not fully understand what
integrative approach is, they tend to give negative response to it. Therefore,
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Bibliography
Clarke, J.H. and Agne, R.M. (1997). Interdisciplinary High School Teaching:
Strategies for Integrated Learning: Strategies for Integrated Learning. USA:
Allyn and Bacon.
Gavelek, J.R., Raphael, T.E., BIondo,S.M., and Wang,D. (1999). Integrated Literacy
Instruction: A Review of the Literature. Center for the Improvement of Early
Reading Achievement (CIERA) Report #2-001. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from
www. ciera.org.
Newmann, F.M. and Wehlage, G.C. (1993) “Five Standards of Authentic Instruction”.
Educational Leadership, Retrieved November 9, 2007, from ERIC database.
Newmann, F.M. , King, B.M., and Carmichael, D,M, (2007). “ Authentic Instruction and
Assessment: Common Standards for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic
Subjects”, Retrieved August 9, 2008, from
www. pdonline.ascd.org/pd_onlinediffntr/el199304_newmann.html.
Roberts, P.L. and Kellough, R.D. (2000). A Guide for Developing Interdisciplinary
Thematic Units. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Sunal, C., Powell, D., McClelland, S., Rule, A., Rovegno, I., Smith, C., and
Sunal, D. (2000). Integrating Academic Units in the Elementary School
Curriculum. USA: Harcourt Inc.
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Appendix A
Biology Attitude Scale Instrument for Students
Biology becomes more complicated when it is taught together with the other subjects. SA A U D SD
Please write about how you feel about integration of your Biology subject or lessons to other subjects; what
you think are the good and bad points of integrating. Your comments, suggestions and realizations are very
important to support your agreement or disagreement with the sentences above. Isulat ang iyong saloobin
ukol sa integration ng Biology sa iba pang asignatura o subject; kung ano ang naiisip mo na maganda o
mabuti tungkol sa integration; kung ano ang mga hindi maganda rito. Ang iyong mga komento, opinion,
suhestiyon at kaisipan ay mahalaga at siyang magpapatunay ng iyong mga sagot sa bilang 1-24 sa
naunang pahina.
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Appendix B
Unit Overview:
Affective: Express how a person can demonstrate the true meaning of love in different
levels, context or aspects of the society
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Plan of Activities:
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• Opinion Matrix - Portfolio Entry #7
Integration of Concepts
• Identification of variables Portfolio Entry #8
• Predicting and Extrapolating Exercises Portfolio Entry #9
• Reflective Thinking Exercise - Portfolio Entry #10
• Answering of self-raised questions on Portfolio Entry #1
LOVE
As a social function that affects As a gift whose authenticity only As a variable and factor that have
culture and traditions of a nation comes from God implications in health and medicine,
(Asian Studies) economics, politics and social order
(CLE – man as Beloved) (Statistics)
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Content – Skill Matrix:
Subject Objective Topic – Material Skill Output / Portfolio Entry
Filipino Makasulat ng editorial base sa mga Film Viewing and Critiquing “My Critiquing of a Contemporary Film #1 Editorial
isyung nakapaloob sa pelikulang First Romance”
kontemporaryo ang tema Writing of a film editorial review
Pagsulat ng Editoryal
English Identify figures of speech from Distortions of values by Media Analyzing Lyric Poetry #2 Figures of Speech
contemporary songs Identifying figures of speech
Love as presented in the media Inferences about the lines #3 Distorted Values and Modes
Discriminate values being distorted in Writing of story plots of Argumentation
non-print media Modes of Argumentation
# 4 Story Plot
Analyze the implicit and explicit
message of contemporary songs
Biology Explain the processes and functions of Nervous System Explaining processes and function # 5 Identifying Processes and
the nervous and circulatory system Identifying processes and Function – Drills on
Circulatory System functions Predicting
Infer about the physiological basis of Concept mapping
the feeling of love and other human # 6 Concept Map – Love as a
emotions Biological Function
Asian Studies Compare the marriage and family Marriage and Family Traditions Comparative Analysis #7 Opinion Matrix
traditions across Asia Across Asia
Analyzing Current Issues
Relate the type of government with the Types of Government in Asia
culture, family and marriage traditions
Statistics Identify dependent and independent Predicting Economic implications of early # 8 Identifying Variables
variable marriage
Data Interpretation #9 Predicting and Extrapolating
Predict effects of certain factors on Population Profile and economic
certain variables status
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Content – Skill Matrix:
Subject Objective Topic – Material Skill Output / Portfolio Entry
CLE Understand that God is the true source Two Greatest Commandments Reflective perspective on Christian #11 My Personal Symbol and
of love love Expression of Love
Group Manifesto
#14 Realizations
#15 Evaluation
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Appendix C
Unit Overview:
In recent years, conservation biologists have generally agreed that hectare for
hectare, the Philippines may be the most biologically diverse country on the planet. In
other words, Brazil may have a higher number of total plant and animal species, but it has
many times more land area. For a country as small as the Philippines, the biodiversity is
nothing short of phenomenal, and it has hardly been studied compared to other places on
the globe. The tragedy is that the biodiversity in the Philippines may also be the most
threatened in the world. Some scientists say that the country is on the verge of
biodiversity collapse, in which large numbers of species will become extinct. Habitat loss
and the rapid growth of the human population have combined to reduce some important
species to a few thousand individuals. The Philippine Eagle is down to a few hundred.
Excerpt from The Green Guide: A Sourcebook on the Philippine Environment. In
today’s world of consumerist attitude and corrupt media, it is always a challenge to
sensitize young people to ecologically sound lifestyle and personal commitment to
environmental advocacy. The fourth quarter ITU of the second year level therefore aims
to involve the students on sensible projects that would give them opportunities to put into
practice social responsibility. Biodiversity crisis in the Philippines is just one of the many
social problems that call for an interdisciplinary analysis; hence, this unit.
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Major Activities:
Field Works Action Planning
Data Gathering, Analyzing and Interpretation Interviewing
Film Analysis Persuasive Essay Writing
Song Analysis Making of Project Proposal (Webpage)
Jurisprudential Inquiry Exercise Reflective Thinking Exercises
Plan of Activities:
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Content – Skill Matrix:
Biology Conduct a fieldwork to determine the Levels of Diversity Making a vegetation map Laboratory Report
species diversity of a local area Biodiversity Crisis & Hotspots Analyzing genetic diversity
Ecological Principles
Explain the ecological principles , Conservation Biology
levels of diversity and aims of
conservation biology
Mathematics Identify algebraic and geometric Algebraic and Geometric Computing skills Drill worksheets
sequences from biotic components sequences Data gathering and organizing
English Prepare an interview schedule Conducting an Interview Group discussion Interview schedule
Asian Studies Compare and contrast environmental Environmental Issues across Group discussion Reflection essays
laws in different South east Asian Asia
countries Jurisprudential Inquiry exercise
Impact of globalization on
Identify the pros and cons of some ecosystems across Asia
environmental laws in the Philippines
Computer Design and upload a webpage Webpage making Group project making Webpage
promoting advocacy on Philippine
biodiversity
Integration Formulate a group action plan Action Planning Collaborative learning and Action plan
addressing a particular issue group project making