Managing the Gap between Curriculum Based and Problem Based Learning: Deployment of Multiple Learning Strategies in Design and Delivery of Online Courses in Computer Science

Traditionally there has been a clear distinction between curriculum based and problem based approaches to accomplish learning. Preferred approaches depend of course on conviction, culture, traditions and also on the specific learning situation. We will argue that it is not a question of either/or but rather both/and. In this paper we describe an approach to design and delivery of online courses in computer science which on the one hand is based on a specified curriculum and on the other hand gives room for different learning strategies, problem based learning being one of them. We discuss the challenges in applying problem based learning strategies in a context where several universities, with different cultures of teaching, collaboratively develop and deliver online courses. We present a pedagogical framework embracing both problem based and curriculum based strategies and show how we used this as a basis for trying out various online learning strategies.