Integrating the Curriculum Big Ideas, Themes, Point of view

What is a Big Idea? Colonialism is not a Big Idea The Slave Trade is not Big Idea The Rock Cycle is not Big Idea Magnets are not a Big Idea Impressionism is not a Big Idea Writing an essay is not a Big Idea These are topics and should be used to support learning about Big Ideas. Many of these topics in concert might form a Big Idea

A BIG IDEA is A life-centered issue It can be examined from many disciplines It has relevance for people in their lives It is topic important to other people Can be examined through multiple academic disciplines It is NOT about skills or techniques

From A Big Idea you can : Develop / List Key Concepts Investigate the Big Idea Generate Essential Questions Investigate Looking at the Big Picture Connect MANY Objectives into a meaningful whole

Point of View/Multiple academic approaches What fields of knowledge are involved in the investigation of your unit? How are they involved? What artist, author, scholars etc…best exemplifies your Big Idea? Who cares about this idea? For whom are there ramifications?

Multidisciplinary Integration Multidisciplinary approaches focus primarily on the disciplines. Teachers who use this approach organize standards from the disciplines around a theme. Figure 1.1 shows the relationship of different subjects to each other and to a common theme. There are many different ways to create multidisciplinary curriculum, and they tend to differ in the level of intensity of the integration effort. The following descriptions outline different approaches to the multidisciplinary perspective. Figure 1.1. The Multidisciplinary Approach

Fusion. In this multidisciplinary approach, teachers fuse skills, knowledge, or even attitudes into the regular school curriculum Learning Centers/Parallel Disciplines. A popular way to integrate the curriculum is to address a topic or theme through the lenses of several different subject areas. Theme-Based Units. Some educators go beyond sequencing content and plan collaboratively for a multidisciplinary unit. Educators define this more intensive way of working with a theme as “theme-based.” Often three or more subject areas are involved in the study, and the unit ends with an integrated culminating activity. Units of several weeks' duration may emerge from this process, and the whole school may be involved.

Interdisciplinary Integration In this approach to integration, teachers organize the curriculum around common learnings across disciplines. They chunk together the common learnings embedded in the disciplines to emphasize interdisciplinary skills and concepts. The disciplines are identifiable, but they assume less importance than in the multidisciplinary approach. Figure 1.2 illustrates the interdisciplinary approach. Figure 1.2. The Interdisciplinary Approach

Project-Based Learning. In project-based learning, students tackle a local problem. Some schools call this problem-based learning or place- based learning. According to Chard (1998), planning project- based curriculum involves three steps: Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum standards, and local resources. The teacher finds out what the students already know and helps them generate questions to explore. The teacher also provides resources for students and opportunities to work in the field. Students share their work with others in a culminating activity. Students display the results of their exploration and review and evaluate the project.

What is integrated: The Arts Mathematics Science Literacy Literature Social Studies Wellness (Health & PE) Technology

(a few) Big Ideas: Time, Continuity, and Change People, Places, and Environments The Individual and Society

Enduring Understandings are: Statements summarizing important ideas and core processes Have lasting value beyond the classroom They synthesize what students should understand, not just know and do They articulate what students should “revisit” over the course of their lifetimes Frame the big ideas that give meaning and lasting importance to such discrete curriculum elements as facts and skills Can transfer to other fields as well as adult life misconceptions Provide a conceptual foundation for studying the content area and are deliberately framed as declarative sentences that present major curriculum generalizations and recurrent ideas.

Essential Questions: Answers to essential questions cannot be found. They must be invented. Essential questions engage students in the kinds of real life applied problem-solving. Essential questions usually lend themselves well to multidisciplinary investigations.

People, Places, and Environments Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions:

Due Monday 2/17 by 9 a.m. Unit Design Template Stage 1 – Objectives for each content area and technology – The collection of objectives should indicate an obvious Big Idea – they should be cohesive and make sense together – Enduring Understandings should be evident