EDTECH 542 - Reflection on Designing Integrated Curriculum

Option 1: Designing Integrated Curriculum At some point you may consider including other disciplines in your project (if you haven't already). Watch the video below on Designing Integrated Curriculum and reflect on the benefits of interdisciplinary projects and the challenges in implementing them. How might you go about making this a reality in your school?

Watching this video was very inspiring. What these teachers are doing is something I hope takes place in our school. Nothing in our students’ lives happen in isolation, why should it in school? These interdisciplinary learning opportunities offer the ultimate in real life content integration and critical thinking. One area we see more of this happening is in STEM (or STEAM) instruction. Integrating math with science and technology seems like a natural fit, and very applicable in real life. It also makes sense to add ELA and history into the mix.

As a teacher I can see the benefit of working with a team. Often teachers work in isolation, as I did as the only 7th grade social studies teacher at our school. The opportunity to team-teach a combined ELA/social studies block was both invigorating and challenging, and it better replicated what happens in the business world. We planned, implemented, and revised instruction as necessary. We used a webquest model, integrating collaboration and technology into the students’ day. I’m not sure the students would have had as enriching an experience if either one of us tried to do it on our own.

The challenges hinted at in the video can’t be ignored. As one teacher said, you have to work harder and smarter, especially on the front end. Personalities have to be complementary, and teachers have to handle their share of the planning, implementation and other work load. Teachers have to be open to criticism (hopefully delivered appropriately). Administration has to be supportive; open to scheduling changes this type of instruction may cause. They also have to be open to providing planning time for teachers.  Parents and students need to be included in the conversations, as they too are important stakeholders in the program.