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"How can I effectively intergrade and combine subjects and topics to help students achieve more from the curriculum?"

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"How can I effectively intergrade and combine subjects and topics to help students achieve more from the curriculum?"

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- Bridget McEvoy.

This question generates some intriguing thoughts about the many concepts surrounding the notion of integrated studies. This presentation will explore and answer the question at hand by unpacking the influential concepts and benefits of an integrated approach to teaching and learning.

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Defining Integrated Studies:

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There is no doubt that the process of teaching and learning has changed over time. In modern times education is better understood and change is inevitable.
In the paper " The shape of the Australian Curriculum", ACARA (2013) states, that the concepts of "21st-century learning" do not adequately fit into a subject-oriented curriculum, (ACARA,2013). This statement not only suggests the importance of an integrated curriculum, it outlines the need for one in order to accommodate the learning needs of students in the 21st century. Therefore, it is clear that the implementation of any Integrated pedagogy can allow students to achieve more from the curriculum.

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An Integrated lesson address’ multiple learning areas, amplifying the students use of time, (Beane,1995).

As Drake and Burns (2004) suggest, for any cross-disciplinary approach to be truly effective, the lesson should be learner-centred, meaning, the lesson should be designed for the students and accommodate their needs and interests. Many Teachers achieve this by designing lessons that include real-life and relatable experiences that enable students to make “real-world” connections. This, in turn, provides students with the opportunity to transfer and adapt knowledge from one context to another. Additionally, despite integrated studies incorporating a variety of cross-disciplinary subjects into one lesson, it is essential that the information taught in these lessons are not superficial, rather, they should be an opportunity for students to continuously practice skills and apply diverse knowledge and gain an in-depth understanding on the content.

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This is an example mind-map that has been created to assist in the planning of an integrated lesson. This image demonstrates how teachers can effectively meet learning objects while incorporating a variety of disciplines.

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A demonstration of how subjects can overlap:
(Armstrong,2009)

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                               Integrating subjects effectively

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                               Integrating subjects effectively

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There are a number of strategies that teachers can implement in order to effectively integrate their lessons.

Teacher collaborations
Teachers can work with one another to discuss lessons and Identify unit overlaps, in order to design engaging and effective integrated lessons, (Murdoch,1998). For example; a teacher that specializes in year 3 mathematics may collaborate with their student’s English teacher and inform them that they will be briefly teaching the students about statics through graphs With this knowledge, the English teacher can proceed to extend the students knowledge of statistics by including the task of data retrieval and its relevance to statics in a future English lesson.

Project Based Learning
The implementation of project-based learning into classes can assist teachers in creating lessons that integrate a range of diverse skills into core content, such as; problem-solving and critical skills, research skills, collaboration and self-management, (Johnson & Johnson, 1990).

Active learners
Allowing students to contribute and be apart of their learning with assist teachers in creating meaningful lessons that are more likely to engage students and thereby, ar more likely to retain knowledge and identify similarities between subjects,(Kearns,2010).

Evidence-based approaches

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(Victoria state Government: Education and training, 2017)

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A closer look a Problem- Based learning:

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One final, key element in creating effective, integrated lessons that allow students to achieve more from the curriculum, relies on a teacher's ability to understand and navigate through the curriculum,(Haberman,1994).

By developing a clear understanding of the curriculum, teachers will be equipped with the knowledge needed to plan meaningful lessons which incorporate a variety of learning experiences.

For example, gaining an understanding of the curriculum will provide teachers with the ability to examine the elaborations shown in the curriculum's varying content descriptors. Doing so will reveal the connections between different learning areas that may not have been noticeable before. Teachers can reflect on this information when creating their lessons to ensure that the information integrates seamlessly and that multiple curriculum objectives are being met.