ארנון שטורם

Integrative Learning (IL) is aimed at teaching the ability to connect, apply, and synthesize information and processes coherently from diverse contexts and perspectives, and to utilize these new insights in various situations. The IL school emerges out of increasing recognition that the ability to integrate different knowledge elements should be explicitly taught, as it is not automatically acquired. Standard curricula of academic SE programs usually include project-based modules which are intended for applying already learned knowledge for solving problems in new situations. The underlying assumption behind these modules is that unexpected realistic problems will trigger transfer and synthesis of previously learned techniques. Nevertheless, experience over years approves the claim of the IL school: Integration and transfer skills should be taught through intentional practicing. This article introduces the SE-IL-framework for teaching and practicing integration skills in SE academic curricula. The framework extends the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach with declaration of integrative goal SE-skills, and planned integration practices. The goal SE-skills are qualitative, and are matched by quantitative SE-practices. The planned integration includes selection of a context, a problem, an instruction environment, and planned integration rounds that are associated with integration-schemes. The rounds apply integrated practicing of feasible tasks and include performance-assessment with combined formative–summative assessment. The framework is suggested as a bridging module between general SE-courses to final graduation projects. The article presents evaluation along several years of observed integration in a course applying the suggested framework.