Integration of Curriculum
Integration of Curriculum
Religion
English
Mathematics
Science
Social Sciences
Foreign Language
Physical Education
Fine Arts
Computer Science
Resources
The collaborative blending of course skills and content across all curricular areas helps to ensure meaningful and lifelong learning. Current educational studies support the fact that human understanding is most powerful when connections are made. Interdisciplinary collaboration provides students with an opportunity to make these connections as they synthesize, analyze, and apply skills and content knowledge.
To this end, faculty from all departments will develop specific methodologies and assessments to implement cross-curricular instruction. The natural links of science to mathematics and the broader connections of the humanities will consistently be reinforced. Thematic units, multimedia presentations, and technological studies in all disciplines will help to ensure integration of the curriculum.
Religion - Integration of Curriculum
To incorporate concepts and skills learned in other disciplines into the religion curriculum and also to be an encouraging resource for other departments in their attempts to integrate the Catholic vision into their subject areas.
This will be accomplished by:
· Working with the Science and Physical Education Department chairs to ensure that Catholic values and guidelines are incorporated when teaching issues such as responsible use of sexuality, contraception, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases;
· Exploring with other department chairs the integration of the Catholic vision on topics such as the relationship between faith and science, the role of the Catholic Church throughout history, cultural diversity, the ethical use of the Internet, and media literacy.
· Making Catholic resources available for teachers in other departments that are appropriate for their subject area; and,
· Creating opportunities for students to express their understanding of religious concepts through various media: art, technology, writing, drama, etc.
· Teachers will be attentive to and address the understanding of Catholic teachings through discussions with both students and teachers in other departments.
· On an annual basis, the department will review the efforts of religion teachers to integrate concepts and skills learned in other disciplines into the religion curriculum.
· Appropriate resources regarding the history, teaching, and values of the Catholic Church.
· Opportunities for teachers in other departments to attend in-services on Catholic issues.
· Ongoing.
English - Integration of Curriculum
To
collaborate with other departments in the selection of grade level thematic
units and to focus on the real-life issues of literary selections in order to
provide a clearer understanding of how themes connect to other disciplines, as
well as to students’ own lives and to
the world at large.
This
will be accomplished by:
·
Creating thematically based units where appropriate;
·
Developing thematic units with other departments (e.g. English, Social
Studies, Fine Arts, and Religion will all do a unit on War at the same time);
·
Integrating English, Social Studies, Religion, and Fine Arts classes at
each grade level by selecting one thematic unit for the first year;
·
Refining and developing the integration curriculum so that four thematic
units are ultimately focused on each year as a long term objective;
·
Requiring meetings between teachers of same grade levels (horizontal
teams) in each discipline and setting aside in-service time for such meetings in
order to assure effective implementation;
·
Requiring students to maintain a collection folder containing major
assignments from each discipline; and,
·
Developing appropriate rubrics for assessment.
·
Possible assessment techniques include thematic testing that is created
by all participating teachers, and integrating questions that relate to each
discipline.
·
Students will create an
end-of-unit project which reflects and demonstrates their ability to connect the
disciplines and apply what they have learned to their own lives and the world
around them.
·
Storage areas for student collection folders.
·
Instructional time must be set aside for grade level meetings to select
themes.
·
Will be implemented in the 2000-2001 school year.
Mathematics - Integration of Curriculum
To
implement cross curricular instruction that prepares students to use skills
specific to the physical sciences.
· Articulating with the Science Department about areas of instructional commonality; and,
· Developing a timeline for planning the instructional sequence.
· Teachers will compare student learning outcomes with their colleagues in the Science Department each semester.
· Formal assessment results from the Stanford Test, SAT, ACT, and Golden State Exams will be reviewed by the department chairs and the summary distributed to department members, and used for future planning purposes.
· The Mathematics Department will develop a rubric for both teachers and students that will measure instructional improvement by December 1999.
· No significant financial impact foreseen.
· December 1999.
Science - Integration of Curriculum
To
have students discuss the implications of scientific development on societies,
institutions, and the arts. To
coordinate math and science curricula.
This will be accomplished by:
· Including in the curriculum classroom discussions exploring the historical development of scientific ideas and how they affect the society in which they were formed (i.e., Darwinian evolution, social evolution, mechanistic view of the universe, and the Age of Enlightenment, etc.);
· Analyzing literature or art which includes themes involving scientific ideas in classroom discussions; and,
· Encouraging articulation between the math and Science Departments on appropriate skills needed at each grade level.
· Students’ tests will include responses in paragraph form that reflect their understanding of the relationship between science and society.
· Students’ math skills necessary to support the science curriculum will be assessed.
· None
· Spring 2000.
Social Studies - Integration of Curriculum
To
choose a theme or topic each semester, by grade level, that will be integrated
across the curriculum.
This will be accomplished by:
· Choosing a common theme or topic, by grade level, from all disciplines;
· Developing a cross-curriculum map to show activities/assignments that will encompass the theme in each discipline;
· Publishing curriculum maps in order to avoid repetition of activities/ themes throughout grade levels; and,
· Incorporating theme assignments/projects into daily lesson plans where and when appropriate.
· Each student’s grasp of the theme will be measured through individual assessment of work.
· Success of each theme will be measured by teachers through written summaries on the students’ broader understanding of disciplines.
· Funding for in-services and/or teacher attendance at workshops.
· Continued access to support materials (e.g., web site subscriptions, magazine subscriptions).
· Time allotted for theme planning and brainstorming of projects and lessons.
· Middle school implementation is ongoing.
· The high school will implement the program beginning September 2000.
Foreign Language - Integration of Curriculum
To
develop and implement a plan in which the Foreign Language Department works
collaboratively with a second department to reinforce and /or expand on selected
curriculum areas.
This will be accomplished by:
· Identifying departments whose curriculum best complements the Foreign Language;
· Initiating dialogue between department staff to determine opportunities for collaboration;
· Determining curriculum area to be integrated; and,
· Creating and implementing an inter-departmental plan.
· Progress of project participants will be reported on and recorded at scheduled department meetings.
· Implementation of plan will be verified by Foreign Language Department chair.
· Departments willing to work collaboratively.
· Research/planning to be completed by Spring 2000.
· Implementation of plan: Fall 2000.
Physical Education - Integration of Curriculum
To
link the Physical Education Department with the Religion and Counseling
Departments through the Ropes Course in grades six through eight, and to link
the Physical Education Department with the Science Department through health
courses in grades nine through twelve.
This will be accomplished by:
· Meeting with these departments to determine a curriculum goal that integrates both departments; and,
· Using Internet resources to plan lessons and projects.
· The students will be required to complete projects that involve both curriculums.
· Written and physical tests to show mastery of each level of the Ropes Course must be passed before moving to the next level.
· Internet access.
· Physical education/health classroom.
· Ropes Course.
· Strategies are ongoing
· Ropes Course will be completely in place by August 2002.
Fine Arts - Integration of Curriculum
To
continue collaboration with other faculty members to establish links between the
arts and other academic disciplines.
This will be accomplished by:
· Reviewing course syllabi from other disciplines;
· Working closely with other teachers in the development of cross-curricular units to support the connection for students between fine arts and academics;
· Encouraging other teachers and students to explore the fine arts curriculum first-hand;
· Giving public recognition to students and/or faculty involved in community fine arts and cultural events; and
· Encouraging fine arts faculty to attend department meetings in other subject areas to observe/make suggestions for possible cooperative units.
· Cross-curricular collaborative units will be assessed annually.
· An increase in time devoted by faculty to achieve greater communication between the Fine Arts Department and other departments.
· An increase in budgets for the purchase of materials needed to accomplish cross-curricular units.
·
Strategies will be developed during 1999 – 2000 school year and
implemented beginning Fall 2000. Updates
will be effected as necessary.
Computer Science - Integration of Curriculum
To
train students in the use of presentation software for creating electronic
presentations in non-computer science courses.
This
will be accomplished by:
·
Evaluating each computer science course to determine how presentation
software can be best incorporated;
·
Training computer science faculty as necessary;
·
Teaching presentation software with a focus on skills that are
transferable to other disciplines;
·
Developing a grading rubric for electronic presentations which details
expectations that can be adapted and shared with non-computer science teachers;
·
Modeling presentation software uses through delivery of the computer
science curriculum; and,
·
Articulating student proficiency in preparing electronic presentations to
all faculty to encourage multimedia presentations within all disciplines.
·
Computer science department chairs will conduct periodic surveys of all
department chairs to determine use of student electronic presentations.
·
Discussions will be held at department meetings to determine the progress
toward modeling the use of presentation software.
·
Computer science teachers need to be trained.
·
Additional Mobile Multimedia Units (M.M.U.) need to be purchased.
·
Zip drives need to be purchased and installed throughout the campus to
support the large files students will be bringing from home.
·
MIS needs to continue to support these new technologies as necessary.
·
Time needs to be allocated to develop and share appropriate lessons among
computer science department faculty.
·
Strategies will be developed in the 2000-2001 year and implemented as
possible.
Resource - Integration of Curriculum
To
meet with departments while they are in the planning stages of cross-curricular
course development. To ensure
appropriate resources and support for the success of cross-curricular
assignments.
This will be accomplished by:
· Working with department chairs to acquaint them with the benefits of including the Resources Department in their implementation of this goal;
· Encouraging department chairs to conduct part of their departmental meetings in the library to assess and access available resources to plan cross-curricular projects; and,
· Enhancing the Resource Department’s online, electronic, and print collection to ensure ample support for departmental cross-curricular planning and resource-based student projects.
· Librarians will review each faculty member's syllabus (in the high school), and integrated curriculum maps and scope and sequence (in the middle school) for the year, and purchase, within budgetary considerations, appropriate online, electronic, and print materials for new and revised course offerings.
· Librarians will review with departments at end of semester (or year) how well their needs were met and ask for recommendations for further resource enhancement.
· Additional staffing will increase the extent to which the department can meet these goals.
· Expanding the Resource Department’s budget to accommodate annual online and electronic subscription and site-license fees, which increase with each renewal.
· Ongoing.
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