SECTION E : TRANSFORMATIONS Question 1

Curriculum Integration

“An integrated curriculum implies learning that is synthesized across traditional subject areas and learning experiences that are designed to be mutually reinforcing. This approach develops the child's ability to transfer their learning to other settings” (, n.d.). This entry deals with the integration of English and Visual Arts. It offered students to deepen their understanding of symbolism in both subject areas.

 

 “An integrated curriculum is described as one that connects different areas of study by cutting across subject-matter lines and emphasizing unifying concepts. Integration focuses on making connections for students, allowing them to engage in relevant, meaningful activities that can be connected to real life” (Barton, 2019). Curriculum integration can be multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary.

Multidisciplinary integration focuses on common concepts in subjects. Teachers would integrate subjects based on themes. For example, teachers can fuse subject areas by focusing on a theme such as respecting the environment. Interdisciplinary integration focuses on common lessons in different subjects. For example a Mathematics and Visual arts can be integrated in a lesson about calculating the surface area of shapes and forms which are elements of art. “Transdisciplinary learning is the exploration of a relevant concept, issue or problem that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new knowledge and deeper understanding to real life experiences” (christens, 2018).

A study entitled Integrated Curriculum in the Primary Program states that an integrated program includes:

·         Experiences to develop children’s attitudes, skills, and knowledge and to help them make connections across the curriculum

·         Activities that provide for a range of abilities

·         Activities that are both teacher-initiated and directed and child-initiated and directed

·         Whole class, small group, and individual experiences

·         Opportunities for critical and creative thinking

·         Teacher, peer, and self-assessment

·         Opportunities to experience learning as a meaningful whole

Research shows that there are pros and cons to Curriculum Integration. Amy Mezni list proses and cons in her article entitled WHAT IS INTEGRATED INSTRUCTION? THE PROS & CONS.

Pros:-

·         There is not enough time in the day to teach everything in isolation.

·         They create a positive and collaborative learning environment.

·         Integrated curriculum is real world – issues in real life are multidisciplinary.

·         They intrinsically motivate students to succeed in real life

·         Students develop higher-level thinking skills.

Cons:-

·         Lack of time to plan effective units.

·         Teachers are reluctant to put the time and effort into changing what they already do in the classroom to implement something that doesn’t guarantee exceptional results.

·         Teacher collaboration: A successful integrative curriculum involves input from teachers from all different disciplines, such as math, science or social studies. Coordinating schedules and agreeing on ideas across a variety of teachers is often a difficult task.

For curriculum integration in my context, I collaborated with the English department. The syllabus outlines connections between English and Visual art as generating pictures\drawings from stories, poetry, calligraphy and writing critiques. The English department was covering the Harry Potter series and one of my colleagues requested a collaboration. Through discussion we decided to take a multidisciplinary approach to our subject integration. Our common theme would be Symbolism and student would be asked to create a model based on the content of the English session. Symbolism in the English subject area is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea which can be applied to Visual Arts by supplementing words with images/sculptures.

We decided to have our own sessions where she would discuss a particular scene and in my session I would guide student in creating a visual representation of the scene. The chosen scene was when Harry and Ron “drove” Ron’s family car into the Whopping willow. For her session they discussed the scene and the symbolisms hidden with it. In my session we revisited shape and form. Students were required to use shapes and create nets to create a form. Ultimately the objective was enabling them to create their version on Ron’s family car. To assess the assignments we created a joint rubric.