Englisia MAY 2015

Vol. 2, No. 2, 108-118

PLACEBASEDEDUCATIONAPPROACHAS
ANINNOVATIONOFANINTEGRATED
CURRICULUM

Fidyati Sulaiman
Universitas Malikussaleh Lhokseumawe, Indonesia
[email protected]

Abstract

Curriculum design is aimed to promote equality of empowerment. In most practice,

however, the curriculum purposes confront conflicts especially between national and
local needs. Consequently, there are many insightful and innovative educational
work which has relatively small advantages for students and schools in its flexibility
and opportunity. This leads to a situation in which some groups have lack of
opportunities in getting benefit from the educational curriculum application. This
essay presents an appproch as an innovation of an integrated curriculum called
place-based education. The significance of this strategy is believed to be able to
promote the content of learning to the level of locals relevance and engagement.
Finally, the more relevant of the learning content to the students socio-cultural life
the broader participation they can play in the community and future career.

Keywords: English as foreign language; place-based education; integrated

curriculum

Introduction

The internationalisation of English language has made it as a learning lan-

guage all over the world. From the city to slum areas, English is taught from primary
to tertiary education. Meanwhile, the ways of communication in educational sectors
have changed rapidly over years. The changes have created innovations which aim
to restructure and improve all educational domains including teaching and learning
approaches, pedagogy, curriculum and organization in order to meet the needs of
all learners and other educational stakeholders. An innovation is defined as a whole
 Fidyati Sulaiman

new concept or outcome in a particular context or an improvement of a procedure

(Commonwealth Department of Education, 2001). As most of educational sectors
are learners-centered, the innovations on one hand have benefited certain groups of
learners. On the other hand, some other groups may still have lack of opportunities
to get benefit from these innovations. It can be derived from the lack of teachers
preparedness or other schools technical resources. It also can be caused by the
complexity of materials provided in English lessons which are not familiar with stu-
dents daily needs.

An integrated curriculum can inspire the students who learn English as for-
eign Language (EFL). The EFL learners can be more motivated in English language
learning since the curriculum takes an interest in their local sources. This is what to
be called as place-based education. It can be defined as any educational approach
in which the local environments are used as a context for teaching and learning
(Ciardi, 2006). It represents a recent trend in the broad field of outdoor education
and recaptures the idea of living and learning in harmony with the earth and with
each other. Although the society becomes increasingly urbanized and technologized,
which seems to be out of dated to adopt local sources when students knowledge
and skills may need to be modernized, this essay argues that educators must contin-
ue to adopt and adapt more of the goals, theory, and practice of place-based edu-
cation and integrate them into curriculum. The outline of this essay will include the
English as a foreign language, integrated curriculum, and the significance of place-
based education with an example of EFL place-based education syllabus.

Discussion

English as a Foreign Language

English has become an important language in developing countries. It is cru-

cial to find jobs in either small institutions or in a globalised business world. Sadly to
say that the fact is that many school graduates cannot speak English. Some schools
problems are related to both students and teaching. In Indonesia, for example, the
students are provided with a range of English grammar without their clear functions
and the usages as well as application in daily life (Artsiyanti, 2002). Artsiyanti adds

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PLACE-BASED EDUCATION APPROACH AS AN INNOVATION OF AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM

that materials taught in the schools are too technical, such as technology, medical,
and electrical processes. Krashen and Terrel (1983) argue that foreign language
achievement is usually measured by grammar-type tests that involve heavy use of
conscious grammar rules. Thus, even though the students are able to remember the
vocabulary words, they fail to know the words they often meet and deal in their eve-
ryday life.

Using a variety of resources, the education in the urban has more opportuni-
ties to make it more practical and provisional. The urban education is also provided
with immersing access and high order skills which enables each individual to gain
benefit maximally from education. Conversely, the schools in the rural, with a com-
plete lack of qualified human resources, school management and infrastructure, and
technology have caused children to be less benefited by the schools. Apart from ur-
ban and rural differences, Egels (2009) study also found a difference between pri-
vate and state schools. His investigation revealed that the teachers were able to
recognize and aid the learning styles of their students at the private school because
they had plenty of time and sufficient resources provided by the school. However,
according to Egel, EFL teachers at the state schools were not always able to accom-
modate their students learning style preferences in regard to overcrowded classes
and insufficient time to recognize all of their students preferences. In short, both ru-
ral and state schools have limits in their usage of supplementary teaching aids be-
cause of lack of resources in the school.

This phenomenon has created various and massive private English courses.
Apart from good or bad quality of those courses, there is an indication about the
less quality of English teaching in schools. The curriculum may change or be inno-
vated; however, there are many graduates from schools who cannot even introduce
themselves in English. These difficulties are caused by the rareness of communica-
tion between teachers and students in the classroom, the grammatical preference in
teaching forms rather than its function, and complicated vocabulary words rather
than simple words used daily. Because of the lack of practice in the classroom and
speaking initiation in school environment, for example, some students are shy to
speak English because they may be laughed at by their friends. In line with this, Egel

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 Fidyati Sulaiman

(2009) claims that EFL teachers must have the knowledg and skills to identify both
their own teaching styles and their students learning styles. This view is right because
when the teacher does not have teaching knowledge then the clashes in the class-
room will occur and affect the students learning potential and attitudes towards
English and learning in general. Considering the facts and issues around mastering
English as Foreign language above, an innovation on curriculum has to be devel-
oped to meet the needs of some important stakeholders in education.

Integrated Curriculum

An integrated curriculum is sometimes considered as a new and modern cur-

riculum. There is an increasing effort in improving the significance of curriculum to
reach all level of community. This is in line with the aims of curriculum itself to pro-
mote equality of empowerment (Kelly, 2009). Therefore the development of capaci-
ties and capabilities to support every individual needs to be created. However,
Brady and Kennedy (2003) state that an innovative curriculum was originated in and
has been practiced since the 1910s in junior high schools in the United States. They
argue that integrated curriculum has also been widely applied by some developed
countries and integrated extensively in middle years of the school curriculum to pro-
mote interconnected angle of pedagogy approach in terms of interactive, learner-
centred approaches.

In integrated curriculum, more interdisciplinary approaches are designed as

an innovative concept rather than putting academic discipline as the basic for or-
ganizing the curriculum (Brady & Kennedy, 2007). The aims of the application of
integrated curriculum are various. It includes a Kennewells view which states that
students abilities may be jointly resulted if students work collaboratively towards a
single product (Kennewell, 2001). Another reason in using this approach is for multi
context-based syllabus instead of a single context-based to enlighten profound
knowledge and expand understanding of a gist rather than the incomprehensible
exiting contents (Pilot & Bulte, 2006). The subjects within the integrated curriculum
are connected whether from general standards and principles to specific practices

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PLACE-BASED EDUCATION APPROACH AS AN INNOVATION OF AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM

and contents, from basic levels to complex advanced levels, and from one prerequi-
site course to another related course (Kim, Andrews, & Carr, 2004).

Kim et al. (2004) divide the curriculum integration into four types. They are
intradisciplinary, interdisciplinary, infused, and correlated. An intradisciplinary ap-
proach combines different strands of one subject or discipline into the same lesson
and an interdisciplinary approach combines different subjects or disciplines into a
single course or unit. An infused curriculum has specific technologies or teaching
strategies added to course content and a correlated curriculum refers to the linkage
of concepts from separate subjects or courses.

In line with above view, Pilot & Bulte (2006) also state that to develop a bet-
ter learning atmosphere and ensure that students are actively and effectively involved
in learning activities, there must be a context-based movement. Consequently, the
method of interdisciplinary subject is a medium that motivates the sense of confi-
dence and improves the learning intrinsic interest. Thus, if students show their interest
in the topics given and they are already good at using the contextual English lan-
guage for their daily life, this will engage them with the excitement in the study. In
addition, if teachers can vary their teaching styles and are able to encourage stu-
dents interest in learning environment, an invaluable outcome can be gained from
the process. To see if subject curriculum can be integrated, Brady and Kennedy
(2007) say that the teachers often have to work hard finding the ways. Some key
competencies in integration include collecting, analyzing and organizing infor-
mation, communicating ideas, planning and organizing activities, and working with
others or in teams (Brady & Kennedy, 2007).

Significance of Place-based Education

Place-based education (PBE) is a learning strategy which focuses on using the

local community as an integrating context for learning and is grounded in the re-
sources, issues, and values of the local community (Powers, 2004). This place-
based education is a relatively new term in educational literature. However, accord-
ing to Janice and Clifford (2000) a concept which is almost similar to this approach
was introduced by John Dewey in 1950s in relation to experiential approach to stu-

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 Fidyati Sulaiman

dent learning in the local environment. In regard to the term, Powers (2004) says
that the place-based education is often interchangeably used with some other similar
terms including community-based learning, service-learning, environment as an in-
tegrated concept, and project-based learning. PBE is frequently discussed at a dis-
tance from the urban. However, Ciardi (2006) claims it as not to be limited to rural
setting as it can also attract people in the issues shaping urban life. To accommo-
date students individual skills and abilities, Chawla and Escalante (2007) argue that
the place-based education uses the environment as an integrating context across
disciplines which is characterized by exploration of the local community and natural
surroundings, hands-on experiences of environmental discovery and problem-
solving, interdisciplinary curricula, team teaching, and learning.

The need for place-based education is derived from the phenomenon that
there are many insightful and innovative educational works occurring today that
have relatively small advantages for students and school in its flexibility and oppor-
tunity afforded by curriculum. Moreover, as the curriculum is decided in the state
level, there often exists a conflict between national and local needs (Murray & Greer,
1996). Powers (2004) finds that place based education has been an effective tool
for students to see the relevance of what they are learning which motivates them to
be more engaged in the learning process. A study by Ciardi (2006) also found the
significance of this approach for learning to provide an entry point for exploring
shared experiences and connected students with the issues that shape the communi-
ties to which they belong. Kelly (2009) also agrees that culture must be considered
as the total environment that the children develop and learn by making sense and
meaning of it through their interaction.

To explore the local community and surrounding natural areas in applying

the PBE, some schools take students outdoor. Chawla and Escalante (2007) found
that based on some studies, it is suggested that from the outdoor program of place-
based education approaches students showed more cooperation and conflict reso-
lution skills, more positive environmental behaviors, better problem solving, learning
motivation, and classroom behavior. This achievement has improved the ratings of
student assessments and teacher, parents, and teachers. Chawla and Escalante

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PLACE-BASED EDUCATION APPROACH AS AN INNOVATION OF AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM

(2007) also assert that place-based education immerses students in local heritage,
cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, and use them as a foundation
for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other sub-
jects across the curriculum.

Another consideration stated by Silver, Strong and Perini (2000) is a reality

that outside the school children tend to rely on their natural ways of learning. Con-
versely, they are often asked to process knowledge and skills in only one or two ways
in school. Hence, the teachers need to create a classroom environment that allows
the students to process all information in a way they do outside the school. For
teachers, Powers (2004) also indicates the benefit for increasing their confidence in
curriculum planning which includes the exposure to resources as well as the net-
works built among them.

There are some issues surrounding the place-based education. It includes the
lack of administrative support, not enough time for place-based education prob-
lems, discomfort of many teachers in outdoor classroom settings, awareness of
community associations and other groups of the possibilities, and unclear concept
for teachers and administrators on how place-based education addresses educa-
tional standards. To build administrative supports, for instance, it needs hard work
from any parties such as parent and community support. The students leadership is
also important to be built including identifying a thread that links student interests to
the outdoors, creating a classroom based on safety and risk-taking, finding a con-
nection that helps students understand how the project will affect them, their families,
neighbors and friends (Promise of place, 2009).

In contrast to many other educational approaches which set the goal of

schooling to prepare students to work and function in a highly technological and
consumer-oriented society, place-based education educators aim to prepare people
to live and work to sustain the cultural and ecological integrity of the places they
inhabit (Janice & Clifford, 2000). Therefore, place-based education learners must
have knowledge of ecological patterns, systems of causation, and the long-term ef-
fects of human actions on those patterns. Janice and Clifford also note that provid-
ing students with the knowledge and experiences is needed to actively participate in

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the democratic process as one of the most compelling reasons to adopt place-based
education. Furthermore, the school has a key role in developing and sustaining the
community. If we support the community to build employment opportunities and a
sense of self-esteem then the students will have a future (Department of Education,
Training and Youth Affairs, 2001).

An Example: Module of Place-based Education Syllabus

Syllabus, as an operational construct, is a planned form of support for teach-

ing activity in the classroom and form of guidance for constructing appropriate
teaching materials (White, 1988). There are two approaches that can be used in
designing language teaching syllabus as suggested by White (1988) namely the ap-
proach of intervention in the learning process through the pre-selection, specification
and presentation of content which prioritizes the pre-specification of linguistic or
other content or skill objectives and the approach of intervention by an authority,
including the teachers which provide learners an immersing real life communication
without any artificial pre-selection of items. Another syllabus suggested by White is
situational syllabus. Situational method refers to the contexts in which language
and behaviour occur in the real world, outside the classroom (White, 1988, p.
62). In considering a variety of situations, White focuses this design on the setting
(where?), the participants (who?), and relevant objects within the setting (what?). An
example is as follow:

Setting in the market

Participants seller, customer
Objects fish, vegetable, fruit, money, groceries, kitchen utensils, shops

Such situation is selected based on the real world condition in certain environment,
such as going to fish, mapping the village resources, helping parent in the rice field,
playing in the farm, and feeding the cattle.

Here is the example of module of syllabus for English lesson in regard to

place-based education:

1. Keywords: field trip, mapping, literacy

2. Content selection: Subject: English
Module: village mapping

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Unit: areas in neighborhood

3. Pedagogical area: Place-based education, environment as integrating con-
text ducation for sustainability
4. Subject area: reading, writing
5. Delivery area: school-based
6. Demografic area: rural area
EFL
7. Age area: secondary (grade 7-9)
8. Tasks:
Field trip: Students are equipped with clipboards, paper, and pencils. They walk
around the village and gather information as they meet with community mem-
bers, discover and jut write down everything familiar and not so familiar items
in English.
Mapping/listing: Students map or list (depends on students preference) their
city by plotting their school, roads, the river, rice field, forest their homes and
other points of community interest.
Literacy: The students are assigned to read neighborhood informational text and
talk to people they meet. Some questions they may ask involves: "What is an in-
teresting spot of our neighborhood? What makes our neighborhood function?
What's the history of our neighborhood? What roles do people have in our
community?" students begin to see the interconnectedness of their place.
Writing and reading: After a field trip, students write personal narratives about
the community resources they have visited and read it to the rest of class.
9. Outcome area civic engagement
Self-efficacy
Self- awareness
10. Assessment: Peer/group assessment
Self assessment
Portfolio assessment
Whole evaluation from teacher

Conclusion

Learning English as a foreign language has been difficult as the attitudes at-
tached to it are still limited. It includes unclear functions of grammar, technical vo-
cabulary words, and poor teaching styles. For these reasons, this paper addresses
place-based education strategy in teaching English as foreign language as a part of
recent innovative curriculum design which offers authenticlearning and learner-
centered. In this aspect, the integrated curriculum can be applied to serve for teach-
ing and learning improvement. Such an interdisciplinary approach is also aimed to
provide meaningful learning outcomes to teachers, learners and community by ad-
justing learning to local resources. It also produces considerable advantages in
terms of instructional knowledge and pedagogical knowledge for the teachers. For

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the students, enthusiasm and engagement become the key assets to create learning
environment efficiently and effectively. To sum up, this approach offers teachers op-
portunity to maximalise teaching styles which assist them to improve their profession-
al satisfactions and addresses students needs for English as a tool for searching
better future career.

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