I have long been a supporter of curriculum integration at middle school/secondary school level. Most examples of curriculum integration that I see at this level tend to be a couple of subjects (commonly two or more of English, Social studies, Outdoor education, health and science). The integration is based around a theme.
Kath Murdoch and James Beane support involving students as learning plans are developed for integrated teaching. I think what is missing from most models is the planning to teach for conceptual understanding. At the start of the planning process (and based on students interests and questions and curriculum guidelines) key concepts should be identified. The concepts can then be examined in a number of contexts to help students to really understand and apply them. The concepts should be explicit to the students and the teachers through learning activities and form the basis of student research plans.
Some reading or a starting point on curriculum integration:
Beane, J. (1991) Middle School: The Natural Home of Integrated Curriculum. Educational Leadership, October 1991.Beane, J. (1995) Curriculum Integration and the Disciplines of Knowledge. Phi-Delta-Kappan.
Murdoch, Kath (1998), Classroom Connections Strategies for Integrated Learning. Eleanor Curtin PublishingMurdoch, Kath and Hornsby, David (1997) Planning Curriculum Connections Whole-School Planning for Integrated Curriculum. Eleanor Curtin Publishing
Books by James Beane.
Photo: what seems impossible can sometimes happen. A Macrocarpa tree growing on the Southern coastline of Wellington.
2 comments:
Several approaches to subject matter integration are pretty common in homeschooling, and the results can be quite powerful when it's thoughtfully done. Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
Some additional materials that might be of interest can be found
here.
Mike
Thanks Mike.
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