How to Use Integrated Curriculum & Academic Teaching

Faculty work together to create deeper and more profound learning opportunities.

Integrated curriculum is an educational approach used to break down some of the traditional walls that have rigidly separated subject areas. Another often used term for the same concept is interdisciplinary learning, wherein students take a topic like American Literature of the 19th Century and study it right alongside 19th Century American History. Such a course might even be team taught by both an English and a history teacher. The theory behind such an approach is that both topics will be learned and experienced at a much deeper and more profound level, as the student sees connections that otherwise would have been missed.

Things You'll Need

• Additional preparation and planning time
• Flexible syllabi from all participating disciplines

Instructions

1. 

   An initial meeting is a must!

   Meet with appropriate administrators and all participating faculty. Set goals and time lines for the implementation of integrated curriculum and interdisciplinary learning. Be sure to address the significant additional time this teaching approach with require from participating faculty and whether additional compensation in salary and/or time is possible.

2. 

   The team teachers meet to plan and prepare.

   Meet with those faculty members who will be working together. Lay out the potential syllabus for your interdisciplinary course in a way that is manageable for both participating teachers. Be sure to include what books and resources will be needed to cover critical material from both participating disciplines. Clarify who will cover what and how you will assess student performance.

3. Finalize your syllabus, division of labor and materials for the course and present them to the administration. The appropriate administrators should sign off on the course before you can put it into practice.

4. Order all course materials and finalize a description of the course that will be offered for the upcoming term. Since the course is new, it may need to be promoted to the appropriate level students and their parents through the channels of both participating departments.

5. Once the course begins, meet at least weekly with your team teaching partner outside of class to evaluate how the course is going and to make any necessary adjustments. It is particularly important for the participating teachers to meet when the course is finished for a more thorough and comprehensive evaluation. This will insure that the next time the interdisciplinary course is taught it is even better for all involved.

Tips & Warnings

• A helpful principle is that if a standard course load for a teacher, who does not have any interdisciplinary classes, is four classes, a teacher with one interdisciplinary course should only have three, including the interdisciplinary course.

• Many faculty who undertake this integrated approach to teaching have no idea how much more time it takes to prepare and effectively execute such a course. Administrators can be even less aware of the extra demands an integrated curriculum places on the teachers.

References

• Archeworks.org:"Integrated Curriculum Guide"
• Center for Ecoliteracy: "Teach Project-based Learning"

Resources

• Edutopia:"Core Concept: Integrated Studies