AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUMAPPROACH

Presented by Sam, Mark, Philipp & Daniela

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Justifications

Documents/ Resources

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Metropolitan school in AdelaideGlenunga International High SchoolLocated in Glen Osmond, Adelaide, SABetween 20 to 80 different nationalitiesAround 1200 studentsRecognised overseasChoice between SACE and IB (International Bachelorette)Reputation as one of the finest public schools in AdelaideCo-educationalLong waiting listFocus on sports, academics and languages

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Aimed at Year 8

Target Areas include Languages, English, Drama, Health, PE and SOSE

Wellbeing over a 10 week period. Focused on a 4 week period to showcase

content and assessment

Languages Cultural comparison between nations

Incorporating Legal Studies into SOSE

Enhance language skills

Developing a greater understanding of a foreign nation

Linking German with SOSE and Legal StudiesBack

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English

Discussion-based approach

Students to contemplate the meaning of ‘well-being’

from a number of sources

What does it take to be well and who decides what well

is?

Health/PE

Inclusion of physical, mental, practical and theoretical

aspects

Strong point 1: Physical Development

Strong point 2: Diet and Nutrition

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Well-being as a main topic

Maximum learning benefit for students

Enhanced learning

Variety of sub-topics

Subjects areas linked via the common topic (well-being)

Adaptable in a variety of classrooms and different subjects

Variety of teaching techniques and assessment methods

Includes oral presentations, tests and assignments

Students kept on their toes

Students input essential

Students given the chance to reflect upon their own learning

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Well-being is essential for students to learn, ensuring that the future

generations are aware of the choices they make in terms of diet, nutrition and

health in general. It seems rational for schools to teach students how to enable

a healthier lifestyle, and hence enable students to choose a longer and healthier

life.

The purpose of the topic is, as stated above, to educate students about the

benefits of well-being and a healthy lifestyle in a way that can be useful and

adapted to a range of subjects.

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Integrated Curriculum for middle school education must still adhere to and remain aligned with SACSA. The framework provided by SACSA describes the key ideas and outcomes all learners can expect their education to be built on.

Each subject will provide key ideas, learning outcomes and evidence of this throughout.

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1.

2.

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Why SACSA?

SIMPLE! It provides the basis for educators to…

‘design detailed learning and assessment programs which suits the needs of children and students in their settings…’

(SACSA Framework,2001)

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1. Initial proposal to identify needs for integrated curriculum following SACSA

framework as basis for new learning platform.

2. Recognise SACSA key ideas and develop subject based unit plans that

corresponds to each item.

3. Collaborate with co-working year level teachers to cross-analyse ‘Key

Competencies’ that are students are intended to achieve. An overlap should

become evident.

4. Ensure that the planned integrated curriculum manifests constructivists

learning throughout and relates back to the fertile theme ‘well-being’.

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1. The planned curriculum begins.

2. Consistent predetermined conferences are made to ensure all learning

outcomes and key competencies are relating to central theme, and under

the guidance of the SACSA framework.

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1. Assessment based

2. Student’s response via feedback resources

3. Teacher evaluation of course content, effectiveness of integration and

achievement or incompletion of learning outcomes, derived from SACSA

framework.

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Unknown diagram

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A critical theorist named Jurgens Habermas (1971) associated with the Frankfurt School of

philosophers, psychologists and sociologists put forward a theory of ‘Knowledge-constitutive interests.’

(Hoepper & McDonald, 2004, p26)

He proposed three distinct forms of knowledge is essential in human affairs, including in education

(Hoepper & McDonald, 2004, p26). These distinct forms are:

1.

2.

3.

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This form of knowledge comes from the questions ‘what’ and ‘how’. Habermas believed that

technical knowledge helps people regulate, predict and control their daily lives (Hoepper &

McDonald, 2004, p26).

In the beginning of the unit we will focus on what assumed prior knowledge the students have

on the unit topic ‘wellbeing’ and how it will be constructed and verified.

Here is an example using Habermas theory of

‘Knowledge-constitutive interests.’

Using the Technical form of Knowledge: we will ask the students WHAT IS WELLBEING?

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This form of knowledge comes from the question ‘why’. Practical knowledge helps us to

understand other people’s actions and attitudes and helps in our dealings with people (Hoepper &

McDonald, 2004, p26).

The characteristics of this question aims for the students to describe ‘wellbeing’ in their own

words. Keeping in mind every answer will be different.

The purpose of this question is to find their own identity.

Using the Practical form of Knowledge: we will ask the students, WHY IS WELLBEING

IMPORTANT?

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This form comes from the questions ‘in whose interests’ or ‘who benefits and who loses’. This form

enables people to critique situations and help others to emancipate themselves from various forms of

disadvantages and oppression, and to seek justice for themselves and others. (Hoepper & McDonald,

2004, p26)

“Students in the classroom will see for themselves how things fit together. Unfortunately, the reality

of the situation is that they tend to learn what we teach” (Lake, 2001, p5)

A discussion during the first class will help us find out what they have previously studied or are

interested in learning about this topic.

The pyramid of what we want the students to learn. Some, Most, All

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Finally, using the critical form of knowledge we will ask the students, SHOULD THE

GOVERNMENTS IN AUSTRALIA BE DEVOTED TO IMPROVING OUR INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL

WELLBEING?

This question will make the students critically analyse what is important and how our

society works.

This question will raise issues about who benefits and who loses.

This question also aims to help with their self awareness and understanding of others.

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The Unknown Diagram...

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Beane (1999- 2008) states that an “integrated curriculum is a curriculum

design that promotes personal and social integration through the

organisation of curriculum around significant problems and issues,

collaboratively identified by educators and young people, without regard

for subject area lines... with an emphasis on real-life themes.”

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Using Beane as our starting point we decided to develop single lesson plans which

covered a 4-week period. Our task was to outline the SACSA key ideas, learning

outcomes, and other important details we wish to cover under the topic ‘Well Being’.

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After writing our lesson plans we discussed how the lessons could be combined

to allow the students to learn key ideas while still being in an environment to go

and perform extra research to gain a more in depth understanding of the topic.

With this in mind, a mind map was created where each subject outlined what

they believed was the key knowledge they were to take away from this topic .

The mind map also allowed discussion and in-depth analysis to continue the

production of the integrated lesson plan.

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Lastly, we developed a lesson plan, which incorporated all the necessary

SACSA requirements, an overall understanding of knowledge from this topic,

activities which could be used and the perception on how the subjects can

work together to create a learning environment.

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After going through key ideas and outcomes for each subject, throughout the

planning stage we decided that we will come together to see if it has been

achieved through our assessments and in class activities for each student.

We felt that this method of evaluation would benefit in our favor because we

as a group will be able to see what has been covered in our subjects and what

hasn’t.

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School DynamicSchool Dynamic

Middle School Focus

School with significant numbers

Without religious education to allow more flexibility

around teaching times.

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Wellbeing as a focusWellbeing as a focus Incorporate all the subject areas

Still designing an integrated curriculum

Promotes personal and social integration of a

significant problem or issue relevant to the students

(Beane).

Wellbeing Vs. The Olympics

Wellbeing more of an issues for the students

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Why we each designed a lesson planWhy we each designed a lesson plan

Meet SACSA requirements

To ensure that each of us had an understanding of the

final outcome

On completion of the lesson plans we sat down to

discuss the students and what they should know at the

end.

Led to the construction of the chart ‘What we want

students to know’

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In conclusion this four week integrated lesson plan, of a larger term piece of

work outlines the key elements needed within Integrated Curriculum. As a

group we found it hard to remove subject headings and make it completely

Integrated however we have produced an excellent piece of work trying to

remove these boundaries.

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Beane, J. A. (1999- 2008). Organizing the Middle School Curriculum. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from National Middle School Association: http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/webexclusive/organizing/tabid/651/default.aspx

Bonanno, H. J. (1998). Improving Group Satisfaction: making groups work in a first-year undergraduate course. Teaching in Higher Education , 34 (3), 365-382.

Department of Education and Children's Services. (2001). South Australian Curriculum Standards and accountability framework. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Learning Areas: http://www.sacsa.sa.edu.au/index_fsrc.asp?t=LA

Government of South Australia. (n.d.). Future SACE For Schools. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Future SACE: http://www.futuresace.sa.gov.au/schools.htm

Hoepper & Mcdonald, H. (2004). Studying Society and Environment: A Guide for Teachers (3rd Edition ed.). (R. Gilbert, Ed.) South Bank, Victoria: Thomson Social Press.

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Lake, K. (2007). Integrated Curriculum. School Improvement Research

Series , 1-21.

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants.

Retrieved September 10, 2008, from Marc Prensky:

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital

%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Sweeney, T. (2008, September 16). Integrated Curriculum and ICT in

the Middle School. Flinders University, South Australia.

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