Podcast 411, Curriculum Integration (19-12-20)

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. In this episode I speak to two experts on curriculum integration from Brock University in Ontario, Canada, Professor Susan Drake and Dr. Joanne Reid. Among the topics we discuss are the following:

Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary connections among subjects SAMPLE TOPICS FOR INTEGRATION: War, water, homelessness, food waste in the cafeteria, traffic patterns in a school, sustainability, patterns, change, conflict, trace origin of everyday item (Coffee, chocolate etc.), medieval fair. Finnish requirement that students do a phenomenon-based learning unit each year based around transversal competencies (21st century) Project-based learning examples Students present their work to an authentic audience Finding themes for integration (look out your window!) Project-based learning on Edutopia Buck Institute and Project-based learning Benefits of integration: more fun, students are engaged, fewer behaviour problems, social and emotional development, wellbeing, relevance, focus on whole person. Teachers who collaborate are more energised and creative OECD Report: Curriculum Overload: A Way Forward. Student achievement and integrated curricula Obstacles to integration: textbooks, timetabling, subject-specific responsibilities, Origin of Integrated teaching and its relation to constructivism which is relevant, interactive, real-world, choice, inquiry-based. The Eight Year Study with Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba and others. It was written up by Aikin. Balancing integration and disciplinary integrity Cross-curricular and teaching to the big ideas compared to integrated curriculum Explanation of their curriculum framework: KDB: Know, Do, Be Twenty-first century competencies: Communication (reading, writing, oral communication, listening, media literacy), critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, global competency, design thinking, digital skills, data literacy, financial literacy. How they conduct research on integrated curriculum Gordon Vars and research on integrated curriculum. Bluewater study What happened when standards/accountability model arrived in schools in the 1990s. How the pandemic has impacted on assessment Assessment and integration. Benefits of students seeing the value of their work in the wider world (having an audience outside the classroom). Finding out more about integrated curriculum and its history. John Dewey and William Heard Kilpatrick and The Project Method. James Beane. Twenty-first century life skills High Tech High Getting started with integration : Genius Hour. More here. Student-led teaching How integrated curriculum is for students of all ages. bell hooks Inside the Black Box by Paul Black and Dylan William

In addition, Susan and Joanne compiled a list of resources with additional information about curriculum integration: Drake, S. M. & Reid, J. L. (2020). How education can shape a new story in a post-pandemic world. Brock Education, 29(2), 6-12 Drake, S. M. & Reid, J. L. (2020). 21st Century competencies in light of the history of integrated curriculum. In “Rethinking what has been rethought consistently over the millennia: A global perspective on the future of education”. Frontiers in Education Journal, 5(122), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00122 Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. (in press). Integrated curriculum In J. Flinders & P, Hiebowitsh (Eds.) Routledge Encyclopedia of Education. New York: Routledge Drake, S.M. & Reid, J. L. (2018). Integrated curriculum as an effective way to teach 21st Century capabilities. Asia Pacific Journal of Educational Research, 1(1), https://doi.org/10.0000/APJER.2018.1.1.031 Drake, S.M. & Reid, J. L. (2018). Integrated curriculum for the 21st Century. In J. Miller, M. Binder, S. Crowell, K. Nigh and B. Novak (Eds). International handbook in holistic education (pp.118-128) New York: Routledge. Drake, S.M. & Reid, J. L. (2017). Interdisciplinary assessment in the 21st Century.