Curriculum+Integration

=Implementing the new curriculum- Lorraine Taylor= Lorraine, Principal of a 3 teacher rural school, describes how the local community was involved in determining the school curriculum - what the enduring understandings would be for their children. media type="custom" key="1973204" =  Curriculum Integration =

Web Resources
(acknowledgement to : http://education.otago.ac.nz/criticalliteracy/CI_Links.htm) ASCD Success for Each Learner http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.fdd976cd7e54fccddeb3ffdb62108a0c/ This seems more a thematic site. An integration is a philosophy of teaching in which content is drawn from several subject areas to focus on a particular topic or theme. It also states that these themes and questions are chosen by the teacher. And it offers a number of ASCD products as resources United States of America site with a mild academic leaning.

LEA-Curriculum Integration http://www.lea.co.nz/citest/index.asp Describes 12 Principles of Curriculum Integration within a (cute) slide show which gives an accurate but simplified view of Curriculum Integration. They offer a number of helpful suggestions for implementing Curriculum Integration and give case studies of New Zealand schools that have implemented Curriculum Integration. Offers a number of articles and charts to help gain understanding of Curriculum Integration and how to implement it into teaching. A New Zealand site. It seems more directed at teachers and schools. Although it is working with Ministry of Education to develop Curriculum Integration, this site seems more user friendly than rigorously academic

TKI-Welcome to the Curriculum Integration website http://www.tki.org.nz/r/integration/index_e.php Welcome to the Curriculum Integration, which is being developed progressively throughout 2000 by LEA for the Ministry of Education. Curriculum integration aims to provide teachers and schools with information about curriculum integration. It includes [|case studies] from schools that have been involved in curriculum integration exploratory studies. It provides [|resources] that can be used to assist with learning and teaching within an integrated curriculum. It includes [|reference material] that schools and teachers could find useful when exploring curriculum integration. The online resources offer a number of Ministry of Education papers and a link to ERIC, with their offline resources list including books, journal articles and conference papers. It also lists activities and discussion starters for [|professional development] in curriculum integration. They also offer a space within their site for educators to discuss their ideas and experiences of Curriculum Integration and have quite an extensive FAQ section. A New Zealand Ministry of Education site, offering an academic approach to Curriculum Integration.

Curriculum Integration – Meeting the needs of young adolescents http://www.ncsu.edu/chass/extension/ci/

The focus of this site is working with the adolescent age group, how they learn the best and what are the best approaches. They look at Curriculum Integration, what it is and why they believe it to be so effective when teaching adolescents. They look at how to move from the theory of Curriculum integration and move it into practise using a case study as a guide to implementation of a Curriculum Integration programme. They also look into the issue of assessment and evaluation and how to meet standards requirements. They also offer an interactive forum and a (empty) resource section An American academic site developed by the NC State University

K-6 Curriculum project b the board of studies NSW Australia http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/linkages/Curriculum/curriculum_intro.html

Acknowledges the different views and possible confusion around the topic of curriculum integration. Their review of the literature found that there was much debate around promoting the students’ experience as a starting point for the curriculum, and a need to remain integrity of subject areas. They also found that, although curriculum integration has been occurring in a variety or ways, there is no agreement on what curriculum integration really means. Their own definition from their guiding statement seems a little vague. Curriculum integration is the purposeful planning, by teachers, of strategies and learning experiences to facilitate and enhance learning across key learning areas. Curriculum integration also refers to the demonstration, by students, of knowledge and understandings, skills, and values and attitudes that transcend individual key learning areas. Although I can not seem to find information on the site about what K-6 Linkage is, this seems a very academic Australian site with a large list of reference material, majority of which seem to consist of academic journal articles.

Thematic Teaching and Curriculum Integration http://www.todaysteacher.com/ThematicTeaching.htm Although it does seem to confuse thematic teaching and curriculum integration as being the same thing, this small page does seem to have a curriculum integration focus. It talks of instruction that accommodates students interests and stages of learning. Although it does talk about the curriculum being organised around themes, it later goes on to talk about students planning and designing the area of study with the teacher working more as a facilitator than an information dispenser. This site is a page on the bigger //Innovative Teaching Concepts// website, where they offer teacher development. It seems very directed at teachers, however there seems not academic/theory acknowledgement on their site. It is a US webpage.

Curriculum Integration –Cathy Lake http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/8/c016.html A research article by Cathy Lake in which she gives a definition of curriculum integration and some background into it. She also looks at the research findings into effect of content knowledge, effect on attitude and research into implementation, giving some recommendations and areas of future research. This article would appear to be American based.

Curriculum Integration http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycomponents/curriculum_integration.html This site offers a number of files. A one-page introduction to CI, that briefly summarizes research that indicates that helping students build links between topics may improve retention and understanding; a one-page introduction to how students take clusters of related courses are one approach to building learning communities. It also offers a number of curriculum integration examples and a list of web resources. It also offers a number Foundation Coalition research. They also give two definitions of curriculum integration Strong Version: In its stronger version, curriculum integration is a pedagogical approach to help students build a small set of powerful, broadly applicable concepts/abilities/skills instead of a large set of weak, narrowly applicable concepts/abilities/skills Weak Version: In its weaker version, curriculum integration is a pedagogical approach to help students build connections across disciplines The Foundation Coalition that run this site seem to be an academic/profession American organisation.

School Based Learning http://www.schoolandbeyond.org/sblstrategy.html This site offers two parts, one on integrated curriculum, the other project driven work. However it would appear both are addressing curriculum integration. In the curriculum integration section they refer to the Kathy Law article (as above) and state that the definitions of integrated curriculum or interdisciplinary curriculum include a combination of subjects, an emphasis on projects, sources that go beyond textbooks, relationships among concepts, thematic units as organizing principles, flexible schedules, and flexible student groupings. Within their “How does Curriculum Integration Work? section, they describe 3 models; the Infusion Model, the Linked Model and the Multidisciplinary Model and give 7 conditions for successful curriculum integration; cooperation and teamwork, agreement on core learning goals, risk-taking and flexibility, focus on lifelong learning skills, focus on the deeper structures and understandings of a discipline, peer observation and feedback, and encouragement of student ownership. In Project Based Learning, students and teachers jointly negotiate areas of study, therefore motivating students by tapping into their interests and need to be taken seriously. In designing Project Based Learning they believe there are six key aspects; authenticity, academic rigor, applied learning, adult connections, active exploration, and assessment practices. It also offers a number of tools and examples of curriculum integration and project-based learning. It would appear to be an American site basing a lot of what is written on (referenced) academic research.

Toward an Integrated Curriculum http://www.coorisd.k12.mi.us/ged/haf/connections/whatisic.htm Offers a graph from Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Ten Views for Integrating the Curricula: How Do You See It? and some key points from Kathleen Harris’ Curriculum Integration Project. This appears to be an American site, and the information they present is academically based and referenced it appears to offer no new information, rather solely reproducing these two aspects.

State Center Consortium http://www.statecenter.com/resource/state/ccpc/it/hndbk3.htm

Although under the sites Industrial and Technology Resources section, this //Curriculum Integration Approaches// handbook seems to deal with Curriculum Integration in general. It details some of the educational changes in America, and positions itself within the current political climate on education in the United States listing some of the benefits of providing Curriculum Integration and different approaches to implementing it. As stated this is an American site (particularly California) and is highly academically based.

Brain Research http://www.coorisd.k12.mi.us/ged/haf/connections/brainresearch.htm A short article on how brain-based learning and curriculum integration work together. This is part of the COOR Intermediate School District’s larger site.

NMSA Position Statement on Curriculum Integration http://www.nmsa.org/AboutNMSA/PositionStatements/CurriculumIntegration/tabid/282/Default.aspx

NMSA believe that there needs to be a change to the curriculum to make it more academically challenging and exploratory, relevant to students' concerns, hold high expectations for all students to succeed and meet the developmental needs of young adolescents. To achieve this they believe there needs to be a change from the conventional separate subjects to a more integrated curriculum. The change to Curriculum Integration they believe will enhance and improve the four types of relationships that affect how young adolescents learn: relationships between the learner and the content, relationships between the learner and the teacher, relationships among the learners and relationships within the content itself. They state that students working within Curriculum Integration do as well or better on the standards assessment than those working within a conventional curriculum. Indeed, they claim that a properly constructed and implemented CI will encourage students to learn, thus producing high grades in assessment.

NMSA state that there is no one way to implement CI in schools, but rather that each school and community should work together to implement they type of Curriculum Integration that best suits their school’s philosophy. Within types of Curriculum Integration Implementation they do discuss the more thematic version where teachers organize units based around a particular theme. However they later go on to discuss/describe the collaborative process between teachers and students to plan the curriculum that might take on a wider world view that relates to students interests. They then list a number of challenges that Curriculum Integration may present to teachers, principals and policy makers. This is an American site, within the larger site for the National Middle School Association’s website. This is an academically referenced site. "I eat, breathe and sleep curriculum integration”: enhancing teachers’ learning through curriculum integration http://www.aare.edu.au/99pap/why99182.htm A paper by Barbara Whyte presented at the AARE/NZARE conference, Melbourne, Australia Abstract: It has been suggested that Curriculum Integration (CI) offers "the challenging curriculum, the higher standards, and the world class education that is so often talked about, but rarely experienced" (Beane & Brodhagen, 1996). A group of experienced NZ teachers motivated to rise to such ‘global heights’ in their classrooms, have found that implementing CI as a pedagogical approach can demand a significant shift in both philosophy and practice (Whyte & Strang, 1998). Critically reflecting on and examining developing practice, through a combination of discussion and debate with peers and facilitators, making links with theory by reading current literature, and collegial observation/feedback interaction, has been effective in helping teachers understand and implement CI in two local clusters of schools. It is suggested that the process of democracy that is enhanced in a CI environment for students, can also be an integral part of the change process for teachers.

OSRHE: Oasis Integration http://www.okhighered.org/oasis/integration.shtml

Offers a downloadable pdf file of an integration guide. Integration or infusion is an approach to curricular organization in which the lines separating subject matter areas from one another are erased and distinct and discrete subject matter areas disappear. And they reproduce a list of 10 reasons to use integration taken from another site. This is a small page on the site produced by Oklahoma: Higher Education.

Curriculum Integration in Elementary Education http://suzyred.com/integratedcurriculum.html

They do not believe that teaching subjects in isolation is beneficial for children’s learning, nor does it related to work in the real world. And that by teaching within an integrated curriculum it helps learning be achieved in ways that isolated subjects fail. The site offers ten reasons to teach Curriculum Integration. Unless you have 50 hours a day to teach, you'll never get it all in. An integrated curriculum allows science and social studies to frame your reading, writing, and math. The brain thrives on connections. Life is not divided into neat little blocks of time called science, math, reading, writing, social studies, and recess. Problem solving skills soar when all of our knowledge and higher level thinking from all curriculum areas are tapped. Real literature in real books provides an authentic diving board into learning all subjects. Award-winning literature provides models for problem solving, peer relationships, character development, and skill building as students are captivated by exciting adventures with realistic characters who go through problems very much like their own or problems (like war)from which they will learn historical truths.

School's got it backwards! In real life you are tested with a problem and then must scramble for answers, but in traditional school you are given the answers and asked to... regurgitate them. Group interaction and team building inherent in an integrated curriculum depend on using various strengths and skills to create bridges to understanding. Your standardized test scores will hit the top! By inspiring students to think, to love learning, and to put their learning to work in authentic ways, your kids will be equipped for whatever curves they might be thrown...on standardized tests and in life! Students LOVE an integrated curriculum and thrive on its challenges! This is an American site, focused on education and seems to offer resources and ideas for teachers, but not what I would consider an academic site.

Towards an Integrated Curriculum http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/ST2.1/TowardanIntegrated.html This site seems to use Integrating //Curricula with Multiple Intelligences: Teams, Themes, and Threads,// Robin Fogarty and Judy Stoehr as its main reference. It gives a brief description of 10 Views for Curriculum Integration : Fragmented, Connected, Nested, Sequenced, Shared, Webbed, Threaded, Integrated, Immersed and Networked. This is a small article on the greater National Center for Research in Vocational Research which is an American site

The Effects of Curriculum Integration http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/field-centres/TVC/RossReports/vol3no1.htm

This is an article about the implementation of curriculum integration in one Canadian School. It outlines some of the benefits of CI, including transferability of skills, focused student attention, working cooperatively and improved attitudes towards assessment. And then briefly discussed the results of their study, including changes to the curriculum, student motivation, achievement, ability to work together and attitudes to student assessment. This is part of the Ontario Institute for Education Studies’ Series of Brief Reports.

Center for Curriculum Integration and Support http://admin.esc14.net/webs/ccishome/ Welcome to the Center for Curriculum Integration and Support (CCIS). Our mission is to provide the educators of ESC Region 14 with the highest quality Professional Development services in order to improve academic achievement of the students in our Region. This seems to be an American business site offering teacher development, although there seems very little detail about what it is they offer on the actual site.

Curriculum Integration and the Transformation of Teachers' Professional Knowledge :the Case of Arts Teachers http://www.ntnu.edu.tw/acad/epub/j49/j491-6.htm Offers a pdf file on Curriculum Integration. The abstract says The implementation of a nine-year, one-cohesive-line curriculum at the junior high school level has brought unprecedented and difficult challenges to the traditional educational system in Taiwan. Among the hotly debated issues, the ideal of "curriculum integration" has proven most controversial. In the field of arts education, traditional teaching relies heavily on a subject-based model. Therefore, the newly-established "curriculum integration" program which advocates the integration of different art subject areas in each lesson has proved difficult and frustrating to arts teachers. However, teachers' knowledge and competence remains a crucial factor in the search for solutions to educational problems the teachers' professional level is considered crucial; implementation of the new reforms can hardly be separated from the issue of advancing or transforming art teachers' professional skills.

Therefore this research project is an analysis of the close connection between the implementation of the curriculum integration policy and the transformation of teachers' professional knowledge. Firstly, we have tried to clarify the theoretical basis for arts subject area and curriculum integration. Secondly, we have attempted to delineate the spirit and the methods of curriculum integration put forth by the nine-year, one-cohesive-line curriculum, and to discuss the problems teachers have had in putting this curriculum into practice. Finally, we have investigated the academic and pedagogical "transformations" an arts teacher must undergo in order to advance her/his professionalism and meet with the new demands of arts curriculum integration. This is an article from the Journal of Taiwan Normal University

Curriculum Integration and Movement: Learnings Across Subject Boundaries http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00002037/

A pdf file offered by the University of Queensland, Australia. Abstract: As most primary school teachers will attest, subject boundaries are decidedly arbitrary and in many schools attempts are made to teach across the curriculum, or in other words construct curriculum experiences which are not limited to traditional subject boundaries. In this context HPE has the potential to make a significant contribution. This chapter discusses the way in which the subject matter of physical education, namely movement or physical activity, can be used in an integrated way across the curriculum.

An Examination of Four Curriculum Integration Models http://www.nccte.org/programs/year2/Research/examFourCurr.asp

A description of a project looking at four Curriculum Integration models. They will do a literature review then using qualitative methods analyze analyze the components of successful models; identify the national, state, and local policies that serve as barriers to or facilitating factors for program implementation; and explore the relationship of specific curriculum integration models on student learning, motivation, achievement, transition, and acquisition of diplomas and other credentials. They have found that there is little written about the drivers and catalysts behind implementation of CI,, therefore making it hard to find what models are likely to exhibit certain characteristics. This appears to be an American academic proposal for research on a greater site into research

More Professional Readings
- This reading is particularly for teachers in training and for Year 1/2 teachers. A case study set in Australia but very relevant information. [|Better Outcomes]- By Matt Velde (From Education Gazette Volume 87, Number 16, 8 September, 2008)