Integrated Curriculum Manual
Academics > Integrated Curriculum Manual INTEGRATED CURRICULA: PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
Carol Sandbrink, Ph.D.
Mary Ann McClellan, M.A.
Jeannie DeFazio, Ph.D.
with
Karen Hodge, M.S.
This manual made possible through a grant from The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
Walsh University
1997
Unit I: From the Beginning
Operational Definitions
History: From where did the integrated model come?
Rationale: Why the integrated curriculum? Why now?
Unit II: Planning
Gaining Support of the Administration
Parental Support
Team Teaching
Arranging the Environment
Restructuring: Terms to know when adapting to the individual needs of children
Restructuring: Meeting the needs of children
Inclusion
Heterogenous Groupings
Cooperative Learning
Differences in Learning Styles
Unit III: The Process of Developing an Integrated Curriculum
TABLE OF HANDOUTS/OVERHEADS
REASONS FOR AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO LEARNING
CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESS: GAINING ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
RATIONALE FOR USING A TEAM TEACHING APPROACH
POTENTIAL TEACHER CONCERNS WHEN CONTEMPLATING A TEAM
POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREAS FOR TEACHING TEAMS
HOW TO BUILD TEAM SKILLS AND TRUST
QUESTIONS FOR TEAM MEMBERS
TROUBLESHOOTING IN THE TEAM TEACHING SETTING
ELEMENTS FOR TEAM TEACHING SUCCESS
PLANNING THE ENVIRONMENT
EDUCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS TO MAXIMIZE LEARNING IN SUCCESSFUL INCLUSION SETTING
GARDNER'S EIGHT INTELLIGENCES
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY/DEFICITS IN THE VISUAL MODALITY
TO ENHANCE VISUAL LEARNING
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY/DEFICITS IN THE AUDITORY MODALITY
TO ENHANCE AUDITORY LEARNING
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY/DEFICITS TACTILE/KINESTHETIC MODALITY
TO ENHANCE TACTILE/KINESTHETIC LEARNING
STEP ONE (IN CREATING YOUR INTEGRATED CURRICULUM)
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
R (REFLECT)
E (EXPLORE)
E (ENGENDER)
TREE CHART
STEP FOUR
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT EVALUATION
Welcome to Integrated Curricula: Practical Application in the Classroom. The authors of this project would like to thank the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation for funding this teacher training tool. Without that support and the support of Walsh University we would not have been able to move forward with this project.
Throughout this work, we hope to be able to share our insights into the benefits and uses of the integrated curriculum within the classroom. This is by no means an exhaustive discussion of integrated curricula applications. Instead, it is an overview that we hope will challenge the in-service teacher to strengthen current instructional strategies and will serve as a springboard from which readers can revise and design their own innovative teaching tools and methods.
We designed this guide to be very "user-friendly." Pages that have borders around the information can be easily removed to make copies or overheads. Work with the book; use it; make it work for you.
We look forward to hearing of success stories from classroom teachers and are grateful for the opportunity to impact education beyond our own campus. By participating in the shift of the current teaching paradigm, we feel we make the greatest contribution educators can by sharing methods and preparing teachers that enrich the lives of children. So, let's get started!
Carol Sandbrink, Ph.D.
Mary Ann McClellan, M.A.
Jeannie DeFazio, Ph.D.
with
Karen Hodge, M.S.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Before we get started, let's define some of the terms we will be using throughout this manual. We should start with the reason we wrote this tool in the first place. What is an integrated curriculum anyway?
Integrated curriculum: A curriculum that is organized in such a way that it cuts across subject-matter lines and brings together various aspects of the curriculum. A meaningful association focuses upon broad areas of study in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive (Shoemaker, 1989).
Here are some other terms you may encounter as you develop your own integrated curricula:
Advance Organizer Model: Abstract and general introduction to a new body of material presented early in instruction to provide a framework for understanding new ideas (Ausubel, 1963).
Concept Attainment Model: The development of concepts through a perceptual or conceptual categorization process.
Course of Study: Those standards for comprehensive program areas which have been submitted to and approved by the State Department of Education, Division of Curriculum Instruction and Professional Development, and a local school district. The Course of Study establishes goals and standards for achieving competency within the academic curriculum.
Curriculum: That which is accepted as the subject matter taught within the school.
Inductive Thinking Model: A series of teaching strategies designed to help develop inductive mental processes (Taba, 1966).
In-service teachers: Practicing, certified school teachers. This model focuses on the in-service elementary school teacher.
Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI): Interfacing how students learn with instructional methods and strategies and the curriculum (Kovalik, 1986).
Interdisciplinary curriculum: The overlapping of disciplines in the creation of sets of learning to integrate the curriculum (Jacobs, 1989); organizing the curriculum so that the various subjects are interwoven.
KWL: A strategy used prior to the introduction of new material. The K requires the student to indicate that knowledge which is already known; the W asks the student to list those things which they want to discover; and the L -- used in conclusion -- requires the student to list those things that were learned.
Pre-service teachers: Undergraduate college students studying to become school teachers.
Rubric: A type of assessment in which a set of criteria spells out features the teacher expects to see in each response; a specific scoring guide.
The Integrative Education Model: In every subject area, the cognitive is combined with feeling, the senses, and intuition (Clark, 1986).
Units: A teacher-developed topical theme that integrates activities (Mansfield, 1989).
HISTORY: From where did the integrated model come?
Efforts to integrate the curriculum may go back to the writings of Herbert Spencer in the 1800's. In this century we can look to Edison Ellsworth Oberholtzer (1937) who, in his doctoral dissertation An Integrated Curriculum in Practice, advocated the use of integration within the curriculum. He said it is a type of curriculum organized and constructed about central themes or 'big ideas' so selected as to obtain certain desired outcomes. The term integrated is used to distinguish this curriculum from the type which is set up in divisions by subject.
John Dewey, the philosopher, contributed much toward the theoretical rationale of the power of integrating language with other studies within the curriculum. Dewey discussed the importance of integration:
We do not have a series of stratified earths, one of which is mathematical, another physical, another historical, and so on .... All studies grow out of relations in the one great common world. When the child lives in varied but concrete and active relationship to this common world, his studies are naturally unified .... Relate school to life, and all studies are of necessity correlated ... if school is related as a whole, its various sins and ideals -- culture, discipline, information, utility -- cease to be variants. (1943, p. 91)
Curriculum theorist Ralph Tyler defined integration as "the horizontal relationship of curriculum experiences" and viewed it as a "must" to help students obtain a unified view of their learning. Benjamin Bloom encouraged the development of curricula based on "integrative threads," and Hilda Taba was another early advocate for the integrated rather than the segmented approach. John Goodlad reported that a major problem in schooling is the "degree of unconnectedness it often has with the reality beyond school." Tanner wrote that an integrative core curriculum requires a new recognition of the interdependence of knowledge and its relevance to the life of the learner in a free society.
Current research focuses on attempts to teach both the individual elements in a network of related content and the connections among them. Students should be able to explain the information in their own words and use it appropriately in and out of school. This current research is still in its infancy (Brophy, 1992), but the contemporary scene in the elementary classroom has responded with efforts for curriculum renewal.
By dividing discipline-specific facts into subject areas taught, the curriculum fundamentalism of the 1970's and 1980's reduced the curriculum to the lowest common denominator. Synthesizing the curriculum into one of cohesiveness will help students transfer knowledge across discipline areas. The integrated activities, assignments, and evaluation methods should incorporate a much greater range of tasks than the familiar workbooks and curriculum-embedded tests that require recognition and recall of facts, definitions, and fragmented skills.
A growing amount of literature exists describing an integrated curriculum that addresses this holistic philosophy and approach to be used with the elementary school. Yetta Goodman discussed the whole language movement and included influences that have come from advocates of the integrated curriculum (1989). Among those influences are the integration of the curriculum and individual differences, social interaction, and collaboration.
Examination of the integrated curriculum approach is occurring worldwide. England, with its British Infant School, has contributed much toward integration of the curriculum. From New Zealand comes the policy of whole language across the curriculum. Teachers there are "expected to plan language activities based on students' everyday lives, widening interests, and developmental needs" (Goodman, 1986, p. 60).
In 1984, the Elementary and Secondary School Reform Act directed the State Board of Education of North Carolina to develop a statewide curriculum that reflected a course of study which stressed the mastery of integrated knowledge in the basic skill areas rather than the study of isolated disciplines. As a result, the Assistant State Superintendent for Instruction appointed an Integrated Learning Task Force to define integration, suggest processes for integration, and provide a sample unit representative of all instructional areas. Several kinds of integrated learning are described and examples of various techniques are included.
Under the auspices of the Oregon School Study Council (1989) a document was written relating many models as approaches to using integration. Among these models are the Advance Organizer Model, Concept Attainment Model, Taba's Inductive Thinking, Clark's Integrative Education Model, Kovalik's Integrated Thematic Instruction, Bondi's Designing Interdisciplinary Units, and the Concept Development Approach.
These models show the use of a variety of teaching strategies and accommodate diverse learning styles. The curriculum promotes major themes and concepts instead of the mastery of content knowledge.
The Eugene Oregon Public Schools have developed Education 2000 Integrated Curriculum with a time line for implementation of five years. This curriculum is based on a thematic approach with six major themes, 60 concepts, and 132 core skills organized within three curriculum strands. Integrative education programs emphasize approaches to instruction for understanding and problem solving that will more adequately prepare citizens for life in the 21st century.
An integrative curriculum has been indicated as a way that allows for a natural learning pathway. Past practice has been to organize a school day into fragmented subject areas with isolation occurring. An integrated curriculum can provide unity through the utilization of many pedagogical strategies: collaboration, correlation, theme approach, webbing, interdisciplinary curriculum, and a holistic approach.
RATIONALE: Why the integrated curriculum? Why now?
Referenced in the literature by many terms, an integrated curriculum is a curriculum organization that cuts across subject-matter lines and focuses upon comprehensive life problems or broad areas of study. These help to bring together the various portions of the curriculum into meaningful association. Integration means to inter-relate the subjects within the curriculum; to blur their distinctiveness; to collaborate and to correlate. Integration means a holistic approach through interdisciplinary means.
The effectiveness of following an integrated curriculum has been studied by the National Association for Core Curriculum, NACC (1984). This study found that in most instances students from interdisciplinary settings scored as well or better on standardized achievement tests as those students who came from a traditional subject-isolated setting.
A descriptive case study examined a class of fifth and sixth graders to see how an integrated unit was perceived (Mansfield, 1989). This study used a constant comparative methodology to analyze the collected data and record emergent categories. The results showed that the students had a high level of commitment to the unit.
Recent brain research indicates that people learn by searching for patterns and interconnections to make meaning (Caine & Caine, 1991). The study of the brain and intelligence has dramatically changed how we should teach. It makes sense to teach through connections.
Until 1983, little has been found in the literature relating to integration of content in the teacher pre-service training institutions. The idea of integration was endorsed, but, beyond providing brief episodes of integration in the actual pre-service classroom, little specific instruction was provided. Because teachers tend to teach as they have been taught, integrated teaching pedagogies need to be encouraged and learned.
An elementary integrated curriculum adds meaning to learning, emphasizes understanding of major themes instead of mastery of content knowledge, encourages problem solving, and transfers knowledge across discipline areas. The nature of teaching implies the need for change, to keep pace with what has been determined best practice in terms of meeting learner needs. Changing styles require the contribution and cooperation of all disciplines and the application of new teaching approaches.
REASONS FOR AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO LEARNING:
In addition to that which has already been discussed, there are many reasons for an integrated approach to learning:
- The "real world" is integrated.
- Students do best when learning is connected naturally and holistically.
- Students, not the teacher, become the focus of learning.
- Integrated programs may help increase community involvement.
- Integrated programs may improve school spirit and a sense of belonging.
- Integration may offer a viable response to program problems of content balance.
- Students gain sense of ownership of their learning.
- Students profit from inquiry and reflection inherent in the integrated approach.
- Students are active learners who construct meanings.
Effective instruction demands proper planning. Planning must create and connect the content to the objectives. Ralph Tyler wrote that adequate instruction is integrated and consistent (1950), and good planning will bring this premise to fruition. Many strategies may be utilized in the actual teaching, but this unit will focus on the following:
- gaining administrative support
- parental communication
- team teaching
- arranging the environment
- restructuring
Again, it must be emphasized that these concepts are not the only ones to be considered; however, review of these ideas may lead to a smoother curriculum design process and easier, more effective implementation.
Gaining support of the administration...
The role of the school administrator in relationship to the implementation of integrated curriculum is crucial. The principal can facilitate or frustrate the development of the process, depending on whether or not he or she understands the concept. Communication is essential. Both the teacher and the principal can aid program evolution by making expectations clear and by offering ways in which the expectations can be met. Tasks need to be spelled out at the beginning of the year. Evaluations by both the principal and the teacher can assist in determining whether goals are being met.
Checklist for success: gaining administrative support
__ Do I, as the teacher, understand the administration's expectations?
__ Have I communicated my expectations for assistance, support, and measures of success to the administration?
__ Have we scheduled periodic evaluations of program success?
__ Have we determined how my planning periods will be handled?
__ Have we determined how parent interaction will be handled? Will the administration be actively involved in this type of communication?
__ Have we the proper space allocated for an integrated environment?
__ Have we made provisions for proper supplies and materials?
Parental support is imperative to ensuring the success of the integrated approach. Teachers should consider holding a parent meeting to explain the philosophy, goals, procedures, and assessment of teaching in the integrated curriculum. Open houses and parent-teacher conferences can be vehicles to educate as well as illustrate. Notes, phone calls, and newsletters are also effective communication tools.
One method you might consider as you plan your integrated curriculum is team teaching. The movement from individual teaching to team teaching is a major element of school reform currently advocated in journal articles, inservice meetings, and the education media. Teachers and administrators are being required to rethink the one teacher in his/her closed-door classroom model. The alternative model calls for a team of professionals planning, teaching, and evaluating within and across open-door classrooms. Educators have come to the realization that integration of curriculum across subject areas cannot be achieved effectively within an isolated, individualized teaching model. Furthermore, team teaching can act as a model for students who will need to develop abilities to work in cooperative teams as they enter the world of the 21st century.
An added benefit of using the team approach in combination with the integrated framework is that it has proven highly effective when working with children with special needs. The inclusion model allows for team teaching and the classroom consultation model, where therapists and other support staff work together with the teachers to provide specialized intervention or offer ideas for adaptations. Rather than remove the student from the classroom to implement the specialized instruction, the services are "integrated" within the ongoing classroom activities. A team approach is also crucial to allowing brainstorming of alternative strategies for information to be presented or for student participation.
Rationale for using a team teaching approach:
- Team teaching is a major element in the school organizational and curricular reform movement.
- Special education mandates inclusion classrooms.
- Early intervention and intervention assistance teams can be facilitated through the team teaching approach.
- Realization that curriculum integration, attention to developmentally appropriate experiences, and student development of technological skills cannot be effectively achieved within an isolated and individualized teaching model.
- Students will need to develop the skill of working in cooperative, interactive teams -- which is modeled through team teaching -- as they join the society and job market of the 21st century.
- Teaming provides a strong group culture.
- The art and science of teamwork is a worthwhile activity not only for teachers, but also for all individuals in our society.
- Team teaching makes participants realize the value of listening, responding, and revising.
By anticipating possible concerns and potential barriers when proposing a team teaching situation, you may make it easier to implement such an arrangement.
Potential teacher concerns when contemplating a team teaching arrangement:
- Will not be given the opportunity to express concerns and fears
- Loss of personal materials
- Behavior management/discipline: How will it be handled?
- Planning: How much time will planning take? Will the team be given the proper amount of planning time?
- Grading and communicating with parents: How will these be handled in the team format?
- Differences in teaching styles and philosophies among team members
- Curriculum issues and decisions: How will they be made?
- What happens when a substitute arrives in class?
Potential problem areas for teaching teams:
- Unbalanced participation by team members
- Team meetings that lack meaningful or productive discussions and decision making processes
- Little guidance or instruction in the dynamics of team interaction and facilitation
- The challenge of integrating the interests, values, and methods of diverse professionals
- Lack of skill in resolving and learning from differences
How to build team skills and trust...
- Observe other successful teams in action.
- Observe each other teaching. Give constructive feedback on those observations. Accept feedback without becoming defensive.
- Demonstrate specific teaching strengths to other team members to help increase their skills.
- Attend workshops, conferences, or courses focusing on the team teaching process.
- Role play various team teaching scripts before actual use and implementation.
- Define and understand each member's role in the team.
- Involve administrators in the team building activities.
QUESTIONS FOR TEAM MEMBERS:
Teachers often find themselves assigned to team teaching partnerships without the experience or expertise needed to implement the practice effectively. The resulting anxiety can often be relieved through open communication. When a teaching team is being formed, certain areas must be discussed and agreed upon. Use the following questionnaire to determine the logistics of the team teaching arrangement BEFORE you begin planning your curriculum.
- What is our primary goal as a team?
- What is our definition of team teaching?
- What is our professional relationship to each other?
- What will the team's relationship be to the school as a whole?
- How much time will we devote to the team process?
- What is the extent of our flexibility?
- How can we identify opportunities to correlate content and/or skills in the team environment?
- How will we continue to discuss and evaluate our role and function as a team?
- How do we deal with the human interaction factor of team teaching?
- How will the physical environment be arranged?
- Are supplies dispersed to the team or to the individual teachers? How will personal supplies or materials be identified and utilized? Will we spend any of our own money for supplies? How will that process be handled?
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:
Develop a classroom routine with which you are all comfortable. Include arrival and dismissal procedures, classroom rules, rewards, and consequences.
PLANNING:
Place high priority on scheduled planning time! Who will be responsible for what; what format will be used; where will the plans be kept?
GRADING:
Agree on a common grading system and determine who will be responsible for grading which activities, assignments, etc.
PARENT COMMUNICATION:
How will you inform parents about the team teaching process? (Meetings, newsletters, open house, etc.) Will your principal handle any communication with parents? What format will be used for parent/teacher conferences?
CLASSROOM SUBSTITUTES:
Inform your team members that you have called a sub. When will you be able to explain the team teaching situation to the substitute? Is it possible to request specific substitutes once they have been oriented?
Elements for team teaching success...
- Common goals and objectives
- Commitment to the team's objectives
- A building of trust among professionals
- Instruction in the art and science of team teaching
- Review of research-based information on cooperative learning, social skills development, social cognition, and group dynamics
- Team members who are aware of their own interpersonal styles and work to enhance the positive and reduce the negative aspects of those styles
- Awareness of and, if possible, support for the personal needs of other team members
- Open communication
- Planned and implemented classroom management
- A professionally valid reason for every plan, every disciplinary action, and every direction to team members
A properly prepared classroom environment invites students to explore, discover, and learn. The environment is planned long before the first student passes through the door. An integrated classroom must be orderly and systematic so that its real value is in developing the how of learning. The environment is designed to provide opportunities for movement, interaction, exploration, and manipulation. These student-centered settings tend to be natural, casual, relaxed, and spontaneous, allowing individual or small group work.
The outdoor environment needs to be addressed as well when planning to integrate curricula. Taking the classroom out of doors provides unique movement, exploration, and social opportunities.
STORAGE: The blending of materials translates into a need for organized storage space. Plan where and by what system storage and removal of materials will happen.
TEACHER SPACE: Will you continue to use desks (one or two)? If yes, experiment with desk arrangements that allow teacher observation of class activities.
What other work space is needed, and can or will it be incorporated into the classroom environment?
STUDENT SPACE: A combination of individual desks as well as tables allows flexibility for individual and group work. Examine locker and desk space and decide on arrangements for storage of student belongings and materials.
DIVIDERS: Are room partitions available? Draw sample floor plans and experiment with arrangements. If two classrooms are being shared, are the children able to move freely from classroom to classroom or is a system such as passes needed?
CENTERS: If you are currently using centers, this method may be useful in the transition. If you have not tried learning centers, this technique may be helpful for organizational purposes. Centers may include library, writing, listening, art, science, social studies, math, drama, and computers.
BULLETIN BOARDS: Decide how bulletin boards will be used and who will be responsible for their creation.
RESTORATION: Students as well as teachers must take responsibility for restoring the environment throughout the day. Make specific assignments. What needs to be completed at the end of each day, each week? What are the custodian's duties regarding individual classrooms?
RESTRUCTURING: Terms to know when adapting to the individual needs of learners
Least Restrictive Environment
The classroom or arrangement of instruction which allows a child with special needs to receive an appropriate education and socially interact with typical peers as much as possible. This reflects a continuum of environments and services that can be used in combination to meet the educational and social needs of an individual child and are determined as part of that child's individual educational plan (IEP).
IEP
Individualized Education Program; a written statement for each child with a disability developed by a representative(s) from the local education agency, parents or guardian of the child, or child whenever appropriate. Specially designed instruction includes:
- statement of present levels of educational performance
- statement of annual goals, including short term objectives
- statement of needed transition services (by age 16 or younger if needed)
- projected date of initiation and anticipated duration of services
- appropriate objective criteria and evaluation procedures, and, at least annually, whether or not objectives have been achieved
Inclusion
The commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and the classroom he or she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing support services to the child and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the classroom. Inclusion may represent a combination of environments and services with the goal that the child is with typically developing children of the same age range throughout the school day. It is a means to provide the "least restrictive environment" for each child as determined by IEP.
Full inclusion
The belief that instructional practices and technological supports are presently available to accommodate each student in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend if the student did not have a disability. The daily environment for the child with a disability would be the regular classroom attended by same age peers.
Mainstreaming
To selectively place a student with special needs in one or more "regular" classes. The student must "earn" her opportunity to be placed and to stay in these settings through the ability to "keep up" with the work assigned to everyone in the settings. This is a more traditional form of special education service delivery. Its purpose is generally academic and its value of success is directed towards academic success in most instances.
Regular Education Initiative (REI)
A philosophy that maintains that general education administration and staff have the primary responsibility for students with special needs rather than special education professionals. Special education administration and staff supplement the child's needs; the child "belongs" to the general educational system as non-disabled peers do.
Support Services
Designed and provided in response to individual student needs. These may be provided in the regular elementary classroom setting or in separate settings. Support services may include direct instruction in a small group or individual session; through consultation or assistance from other teachers or specialists (i.e. physical, occupational, speech therapists, mobility and orientation instructors), modification of instructional materials, technological aids (Braille writer, augmentative communication systems, word processors), or modifications in individual performance expectations (type of project participation, specific written or verbal requirement).
Formal and informal supports may be used.
Informal supports: peer supports, friendship circles, planned student groupings, cooperative learning assignments
Formal supports: special education instructional services, adapted curriculum, behavioral contracts, alternative grading systems, parent-teacher communication, technological adaptations, related services (therapies)
RESTRUCTURING/MEETING THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN
It is the central task of restructuring to organize the learning environment so that ... differences are not just overcome, but celebrated; and without the need and cost, both human and financial, of labeling, separating, and discriminating. (Vermont Department of Education, 1992, p. 2)
As found in most areas of the United States today, the educational atmosphere of Vermont has been one of reform. This state has developed an action plan that involves both curricular and instructional changes through systematic reform efforts called the Green Mountain Challenge, named for the rural and often difficult to access Green Mountain range running down the middle of the state. It is a model for types of educational restructuring that are occurring nationwide and exemplifies goals that will enable all children to receive an appropriate and relevant education. School curriculum and instructional approaches are being restructured to assure that teachers are able to provide relevant instruction to all children through new models of teaching, and, in particular, it has led to a wide educational reform for those students needing specialized services or assistance in their learning.
One such new model which is being implemented through teacher training and currently being evaluated through data collection is the Vermont Assessment Program, a portfolio-based assessment program that is directly linked to an integrated and hands-on curriculum:
Classroom learning is becoming more interactive and interdisciplinary; students are increasingly focusing on problem-solving and real-life applications of learning; they are demonstrating what they are learning instead of simply recording their learning on paper. Teachers say the Vermont Assessment Program has forced them to reflect on how they teach and to alter instruction to emphasize active and hands-on learning. (U.S. Department of Education, 1992)
The utilization of an integrated curriculum model as part of educational restructuring is apparent in other national and state restructuring projects and publications. These curriculum guides present the use of an integrated curricular approach for the primary elementary grades to promote meaningful and relevant learning for all students. In Ohio, concepts such as inclusion, multi-age grouping, team-teaching, hands-on active learning, independence building, teamwork, and social skills are central to these state documents: Ohio Early Childhood Curriculum Guide, Ohio Department of Education, 1991; Ohio Employability Skills Project, Ohio Department of Education, 1987; Project Prepare: Modules for Competency-Based Personnel Preparation in Early Childhood Education, Ohio Department of Education, 1991.
Restructuring educational practice today may include several curricular and instructional concepts. The utilization of the integrated curriculum is not only compatible but becomes a valuable educational tool that can be implemented successfully if the following related educational concepts are considered.
Students with special needs are becoming members of regular elementary classrooms more and more frequently due to national educational movements such as the Regular Education Initiative and its various models of inclusion. Inclusion models are developed to provide a continuum of options that can best meet the needs of each individual student who has a disability or special learning need and, simultaneously, the typically developing classmates, and the educational staff.
These students may be assigned to typical classrooms for specific subject areas or activities during the school day or may be true and consistent members of the elementary classroom in the traditional sense that their non-disabled peers are members. Various inclusion plans may involve a continuum of arrangements where elementary and special education teachers work in various ways together with small groups of children or the entire classroom in a team teaching model. Another arrangement may have the elementary teacher as the primary instructor who receives assistance and support from special education teachers and supplemental staff, such as speech, physical, or occupational therapists. This assistance and support may be in the form of scheduled classroom visits in which these personnel work with small groups of children or individual students or may be only in a consultant role, through planning and meetings outside of the daily classroom environment.
Why the integrated curriculum for children with special needs?
Current trends in special education focus on two critical goals. The integrated curriculum is a vehicle to effectively meet these two goals:
- meeting the individual and unique needs of the learner -- individualized instruction
- accommodating the learner with special needs in the classrooms with typical peers -- inclusion model
The integrated or thematic approach is not only appropriate but highly effective when used with students who have difficulty learning new skills and retaining what was previously learned. It has been well-documented that children who have cognitive difficulties require opportunities for repeated practice of skills to make them part of the child's repertoire, or knowledge base (Lerner, 1995; Snell, 1994, etc.) This may include children with mild or severe learning disabilities, mental retardation, or language disorders.
Most traditional approaches to teaching are skill-based, dependent upon movement from level to level of skill acquisition. Often, the skills required of one level are different from those required at a higher level, and the student with learning difficulties may have trouble progressing with only limited time for practice. The traditional methods may also teach specific skills in isolation, which, as studies show, has a temporary rather than permanent effect on learning.
Therefore, students with learning difficulties often need to have a "pre-organized structure" (Lewis, 1993) from which to apply certain knowledge or skills presented in the classroom. They may not recognize the purpose or the way in which the information is to be used, causing the learning to seem irrelevant or meaningless. Even when there is a natural connection between certain skills taught, some students may not comprehend the connection or be able to apply what is being learned in these contexts or other situations or tasks.
The thematic or integrated approach provides a "connection" of skills across several content areas and requires the student to repeatedly practice certain skills or apply knowledge in a variety of ways. Therefore, the student is able to generalize or transfer a skill or knowledge to other learning contexts, such as various academic subject areas or daily living situations in which the application is appropriate or necessary for life skills. The natural use of the presented skills throughout the day or week, as provided for in the integrated model, facilitates relevant and meaningful learning situations.
Often, both the elementary and special education teachers may need to examine many complex instructional and curricular considerations in order to meet the individual needs of a given student and to allow for a successful educational experience for all students in their environments.
Understanding the relationship between curriculum and instruction
Bigge (1988) writes:
Curriculum is an essential tool in any educational institution. Curriculum is the total content of instruction, an overall structure that provides continuity, sequenced challenges, and meaningful learning that meets the needs of both students and society. Curriculum designers provide for special interests and skills, individual differences and the demands of society. The curriculum for students receiving special education should be powerful, describable, assessment-linked, and accessible. (p. 1).
- A powerful curriculum has a forceful influence on the students. It empowers them to participate as much as possible in current and future real life activities.
- A describable curriculum provides information about the program designed for a student with special needs that all teachers can understand. Teachers can describe existing modifications in a student's designed curriculum which may differ from the general curriculum, and combinations of various programs may be used; these must be easily identifiable and effectively communicated for all staff.
- An assessment-linked curriculum must be based on the student's current level of functioning and identified needs. Ongoing assessment of the student's performance and needs can be accomplished through portfolio assessment and repeated measures analysis of specific targeted skills. The IEP should reflect this and be modified accordingly. It should be noted that, today, there is an abundance of material available to utilize "curriculum-based assessment" and "curriculum-based measurement" systems for your classroom.
- An accessible curriculum enables the student with special needs to participate in all appropriate educational activities. It encourages the student to be able to participate in the learning process with necessary modifications and demonstrate in various ways what has been learned. Special education concepts such as partial participation and systematic use of peers should be implemented to make appropriate adaptations.
EDUCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS TO MAXIMIZE LEARNING IN SUCCESSFUL INCLUSION SETTINGS
- Determine what to teach (specific content) for individual needs using appropriate assessment data and I.E.P. goals
- Decide how the current curriculum should be modified for each need
- Select an alternative or special curriculum for individual learners
- Determine what defines "fair and appropriate" to meet special education legal mandates for the students who have I.E.P.'s
- Determine instructional strategies to maximize individual students' learning styles
- Learn how to make instruction meaningful and relevant for students who have difficulty with abstract concepts or new material
- Identify ways to facilitate a sense of success and active participation for all students in the classroom
For many years the concept of tracking students, or separating them according to ability levels, has been an acceptable and widely used strategy for organizing students and their instruction. Today, in many schools across the nation, students are purposely placed in classroom settings without differentiation of abilities but rather for heterogeneity -- to place diverse learners together using a systematic and untracked system. The Harvard Education Letter (1992) reviewed several school systems that were replacing their tracked systems with heterogeneous groupings and reported some interesting observations.
- A gradual plan to revise school routines that allow a "pecking order" among students was necessary.
- Programs for "gifted and talented" students were now made available in classroom enrichment programs for all students; the "honors" tracks were discontinued.
- Parents and teachers worked together in some instances to study available research on the developmental needs of the students. Academic tracking and competition in athletics were both addressed. A plan was devised to pilot new programs both in the classrooms and also in sports activities to decrease the emphasis on competition.
- It was found to be imperative to not only change the grouping approaches in classrooms but to carefully study and change the curriculum and instructional strategies.
- Although no blueprint exists, curricula that work well with heterogenous groups tend to be thematic and project-centered, as exists in the integrated curriculum approach.
- The article notes that outside evaluations were performed on the schools discussed. The results indicate that students in the heterogenous class did as well or even better in five or six written essay tasks than in the homogeneous classrooms.
When classrooms are heterogeneous either because of the presence of children with varied ability levels or learning styles, with specific sensory motor deficits, or in mixed age groupings, it is especially important that one of the primary goals in these environments is for students to develop understanding and respect for one another's differences. Teachers must identify successful methods and strategies to develop an atmosphere in which these students can support and encourage each other's learning. A classroom that is designed to be competitive, where students must attempt to prove to themselves and their teachers that they are either the brightest or most competent at a specific skill is in conflict with this goal. The promotion of competition through tasks that require a "winner" in various activities can turn students inward and against each other (Sapir-Shevin, 1990). Stainbach and Stainbach (1992) demonstrated the effectiveness of cooperative learning strategies to provide this support in such settings.
MULTIAGE GROUPINGS
Multiage grouping is another example of how schools are organizing for optimal experiences. The diversity of skills present in the elementary classroom can be challenging, and the multiage grouping presents an opportunity to focus on the individual child's abilities and skills, not the chronological age. Multiage grouping may be a form of heterogenous grouping used by the school system, so many of the same observations would apply.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Most educators believe that cooperation with adults and peers in both learning and social contexts is an important educational goal for all students. The concept of cooperative learning (Johnson and Johnson, 1986; Slavin, 1990) has become an increasingly valued tool in education today and is especially integral to the successful use of an integrated curriculum approach with diverse learners. Cooperative learning has several outcomes (Johnson and Johnson, 1986; Stainbach and Stainbach, 1992; Slavin, 1990):
- improved academic achievement
- increased interpersonal relationships and skills
- developed concept and respect of teamwork
The use of an integrated curriculum allows all students of varying abilities and needs to be included in the learning process. The nature of this model encourages students to work cooperatively and reinforces students for individual as well as group success. When students are absorbed in an interesting theme and subsequent activities, the focus can be directed on learning as may be defined for the "typical child" in that age range (for example: in 2nd and 3rd graders, there are expected competencies within that range) and simultaneously for individual goals or expected performance skill levels for individual students who do not function academically in that range.
EXAMPLE
A child who is generally shy and withdrawn may be encouraged to participate more freely in a small group, and this verbal interaction may be an important goal for the teacher and parents of that child. Another student with a specific learning disability may need to develop skills in organization and may do so by working within a group whose other members demonstrate organizational skills. The child may be given a task of keeping track of certain group materials, possibly with a peer partner to reinforce these skills. That same child, however, may not have the same reading comprehension skills as her peers and will not do the same tasks involving reading that her peers do.
DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING STYLES
Today, there is an abundance of information available to educators to determine preferences in their students' learning styles. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence provides educators with additional ways to understand how each person may learn (Armstrong, 1994). His theory divides our intellectual capacities into eight areas, and he believes that each person has a personal combination of strengths and weaknesses in these eight areas. He also believes that with instructional strategies and life experiences all areas can be developed more completely.
- Linguistic
- Logical/Mathematical
- Musical
- Bodily/Kinesthetic
- Spatial
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalist
ADAPTING TO LEARNER NEEDS
All students may display strengths and weaknesses in certain learning styles, while the students who have specific learning difficulties may display a greater than average discrepancy in their uses of certain modalities to learn. The following pages contain characteristics and ways to enhance three more commonly preferred learning styles.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY/DEFICITS IN THE VISUAL MODALITY
- loses place in reading frequently
- reads word-by-word, not fluently
- has difficulty copying words or numbers from the board
- does not notice or use details from visual information
- loses possessions often (school supplies in desk, locker)
- skips numbers or letters if copying from printed/written questions
- often uses touch to comprehend new concepts
- may have poor handwriting skills
- has difficulty with puzzles, matching games, or sequencing stories/tasks
- frequently does not find errors when proofreading own work
- does not stay on lines well when cutting, drawing, writing, or tracing
TO ENHANCE VISUAL LEARNING: For the student who has difficulty learning in this modality or for students who learn visually and require added cues
- Use visual aids (maps, charts, overheads, pictures) with verbal instruction
- Provide directions that are brief, clear, and specific, using both visual and oral instructions
- Use both visual and verbal information whenever possible
- Allow the student to have extra time to copy math problems, words, or directions from the board
- When possible, offer the child a written form of a question which will be later asked orally to allow the child to effectively process the question
- Teach the student to use a color-coded, boxed, or other system to accentuate key words, important information, task directions
- Allow the student to explain concepts or ask questions using visual cues, as charts, drawings, gestures, or written material
- Use large print books when possible
- Be certain the student is seated close to important visual stimuli (board, maps, etc.)
- Develop study skills with color-coded, large flash cards and notes
- Use visual or tactile cues to gain student's attention
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTIES/DEFICITS IN THE AUDITORY MODALITY
- has difficulty repeating or remembering words to songs, jingles, nursery rhymes, poems, or stories
- has difficulty with spelling and decoding words phonetically
- may use short sentences when speaking
- has difficulty following verbal directions
- often asks for teacher or parent to repeat directions or other oral information
- often makes mistakes on assignments or tests when verbal directions are given rather than written ones
- may rely on speaker's gestures and prefers to use visual information such as overheads, board, or pictures
- often mispronounces words, new or familiar
- often has a history of early language delays or speech (articulation) disorders
TO ENHANCE AUDITORY LEARNING: For students who have difficulty learning in this modality or for students who learn auditorally and require added cues
- Give verbal directions/cues along with any visual or written directions/cues
- Give individual oral tests rather than written ones (a tutor, volunteer, or co-teacher may be able to provide this)
- Have a peer read important information to the student
- Read aloud any written directions or information from the board while showing it to your students
- Keep all verbal directions brief and clear
- Have students point to words or important directions while material is being read
- Give the student additional time to process information being said by pausing frequently
- Allow the student to tape record oral lectures or presentations
- Use a buddy system to go over any assignments and oral directions throughout the day
- Have peer practice in needed areas
- Do not ask a student who has difficulty for an immediate response; give this student extra time to process an answer first and volunteer a response
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY/DEFICITS IN THE TACTILE/KINESTHETIC MODALITIES
- avoids physical activity; may show difficulty in directionality, spatial orientation; listens or watches teacher and others
- does not participate in "hands-on" activities without prompting
- prefers not to touch or experiment in physical/tactile activities
- uses visual or auditory cues for learning
- does not enjoy or succeed in craft/art projects
- may show difficulty in coordination: fine and/or gross motor skills
- lacks confidence in or avoids dance, drama, and athletic activities
- has poor printing/handwriting skills
TO ENHANCE TACTILE/KINESTHETIC LEARNING: For the student who has difficulty learning in these modalities or for students who learn through these modalities and require added cues
- Provide clear directions and physical/tactile cues as physical prompts or guidance
- Use visual and verbal cues to supplement tactile/kinesthetic learning
- Allow the student to observe peers or teacher
- Provide opportunities for repeated practice of physical skill, initially without peers present (or use a peer to assist)
- Allow the student to verbalize directions or steps while attempting physical tasks
- Teach cues for understanding and using body language or physical space
- Encourage the student to practice skills with peer or adult model to learn physical sequence
UNIT III: THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
Much has been written and presented about HOW to develop integrated activities (Bondi, 1988; Clark, 1986; Drake, 1993; Fredericks, Meinback & Rothlein, 1993; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 1987; Pappas, Kiefer & Levstik, 1990; Shoemaker, 1989). The goal of this program is to simplify the process and to make the development of an integrated program a DO-able practice.
STEP ONE:
Anxiety can arise from stress of the unknown. Perhaps you have doubts about the desirability of integration as a curriculum feature. Pause to give yourself time to feel comfortable with the notion of including integrated activities within the school day. Make sure that authentic educational value is being advanced. Read the following cautions before you begin.
- Make the integration natural, not forced or superficial.
- Integration takes time; it cannot all be done in a month or even a year.
- Pay explicit attention to curriculum standards and outcomes.
- Content should become the vehicle for building connections in learning.
- Plan by using an authentic application of skills.
- Implementing innovations brings change.
STEP TWO:
Read the list of considerations that follows. When planning for integration, famous artwork, renowned musicians, the newspaper, the community, and family are but a few of the resources to be utilized. Speakers, tapes, demonstrations, experiments, field trips, and drama can all help to provide enrichment and remediation while accomplishing the goals. Opportunities for creativity, divergent thinking, problem-solving, group and individual activities are necessary. Diversity and multicultural aspects should be examined and included as adaptations are made for the individual learner.
- Carefully review those learning outcomes which have been chosen from the Course of Study and note the disciplines from which they emanate (social studies, math, science, etc.). Faithfully treat the subject matter so that the integrated lessons contain authentic and meaningful content.
- Note resources that might support the integration.
- Seek support from the library to identify literature-related books.
- When appropriate plug in mixed-age grouping, cooperative learning, and team-building pedagogies.
- Adapt for the individual learner.
- Be holistic and plan for the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
- Incorporate technology.
- Envision how this integrated topic of study might begin and end.
- Think about varied ways to assess outcomes.
- Decide upon the length of time for the integration. Will this be a unit that extends over a two week period? Will this topic of study require a month? Would four topics (one each nine-week grading period) be suitable?
STEP THREE:
Actual construction of the integrated project is now to begin. Completion of the TREE chart (see page 49) will give the conceptual framework upon which more detailed plans may be formed and written.
Look at the Course of Study and grade level textbooks.
- Is there a theme that could be used from these sources?
- Would a more generic topic best serve the needs of connection and relationships?
- Have you conducted a class survey of interests?
- Has a concept or subject evolved as a constant concern or curiosity from one year to another?
- Might a specific literary choice serve as the base and become the thematic component for your interdisciplinary effort?
Pencil in a tentative theme at the top of the TREE chart.
Re-examine the Course of Study. Having selected an overall theme, decide which disciplines (subjects) would be appropriate to include.
- Does the nature of the theme inherently cut across certain subjects?
- Are there certain natural forms of integration that the program will contain?
- Are goals emerging?
- Can authentic rationale be given for educationally significant activities that will be taught within integrated subject matter?
Pencil in tentative subjects on the TREE chart.
Refer to the Course of Study. Identify goals that need to be taught and that would appear to fit with the selected theme.
- What goals realistically and naturally might be pursued?
- Would such goals manipulate, minimize or mask more appropriate ones?
- Would these goals tend to invade subjects rather than integrate them?
- Are these goals too ambitious?
- Are these goals attainable?
Pencil in tentative goals on the TREE chart.
Be creative, inventive imaginative! Conceive ideas for activities that would naturally meet the goals that have been identified.
- Have you brainstormed with a colleague?
- Can you think of past activities that have proven successful in meeting a goal that you have selected for use in this integrated setting?
- Where or who might you consult for other ideas or ways to meet these goals?
- Which of these activities would serve as an anticipatory set in the introduction of the integrated unit?
- Which of these activities would make a satisfying culmination to the integrated unit?
Pencil in tentative activities on the TREE chart.
THEME
Subject
Goal
Goal
Activities
Subject
Goal
Goal
Activities
Subject
Goal
Goal
Activities
Subject
Goal
Goal
Activities
Subject
Goal
Goal
Activities
Like a tree, the TREE chart symbolizes a strong, purposeful entity. Rooted in the curriculum, the main trunk or theme bolsters the various branches (goals) supporting the vibrant leaves (activities). These leaves should produ
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