"Why is it important?"

"Why is it important?" I have heard this question at least once daily in the last ten years. An integrated curriculum responds to that question. Creating this response takes a curriculum that encourages and motivates students to pursue learning while comprising required standards.

An integrated curriculum's essential benefits include the following:

• Reducing content replication across subjects.

• Learning more relevant and connected to the real world.

• Enabling students to examine situations or problems holistically. 

• Equipping students to apply their skills across disciplines. 

An integrated curriculum permits comprehensive learning that reduces barriers to cross-subject education. 

According to Ken Bradley of George Fox University (2009), the barriers to integrated curricula include

• Districts make integrated curricula without teachers participating in the decision or giving them adequate and appropriate professional development related to integrative teaching or integrated curriculum.
• Many generalists or specialist teachers must learn to teach in-depth in multiple fields.
• Teacher education programs must alter curricula to prepare K-12 teachers for integrative teaching.
• Integrative teaching requires more planning time than subject-based teaching.
• Integrative teaching creates scheduling headaches when it must work inside a timetable built to suit a subject-based curriculum.
• Shortage of practical research into the effectiveness of integrated teaching and curriculum compared to the volume of research into subject- and discipline-based curriculum

To encourage motivation in learners, an integrated curriculum design should include lessons encouraging students to be active or motivated, creating knowledge they remember and understand (Rossiter et al., 2017). Utilizing the following strategies 

• Problem-based learning and independent learning
• Embedding formative feedback
• Using creative media and professional skill

To effectively integrate standards into the curriculum, the curriculum design needs to aid teachers in connecting the curriculum to the standard. 

So why is it important? A successfully integrated curriculum responds by energizing student motivation while ensuring it addresses all the required standards.  

References

Badley, K. (2009). Digital Commons @ George Fox University. Ditigal Commons @ George Fox University. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=soe_faculty

Rossiter, J. A., Barnett, L., Cartwright, E., Patterson, J., Shorten, N., & Taylor, J. (2017, October 18). Encouraging student learning of control by embedding freedom into the curriculum: student perspectives and products. IFAC-PapersOnLine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896317328240?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=819b525e2f79e534