Tennessee and National Curriculum Integrations

Proof Points…

Curriculum integration only happens when teachers deliberately decide to simultaneously address standards from several content areas. This habit of structuring the learning environment is commonplace among elementary educators because of their responsibility for helping students meet standards across numerous content areas.

When developing integrated units, themes such as catastrophic events, renewable energy, or environmental politics in America—instead of easily recognizable bodies of knowledge—often provide the curriculum focus. In other instances, teams of teachers plan multidisciplinary units such as Endangered Species, Watersheds, or Modern Medicine in which single broad topics or issues are examined from several different content area perspectives. A fully integrated approach is open-ended, incorporates some aspects of problem solving, and encourages high levels of student autonomy. For example, students in a biology class might be asked to compose an editorial on a local referendum aimed at regulating pesticide spraying for the West Nile virus. In educational settings where curriculum integration is a strongly held value, students have significant latitude in making decisions that affect their own learning.

Polman (2000) and Delisle (1997) offered important cautions about teaching and learning through an integrated curriculum. They noted that students might feel uncomfortable in the new role as active, self-directed inquirers and suffer from having underdeveloped time management skills. Topics that are interesting and relevant to some may be unappealing to others. Conflicts may arise because of student beliefs about what constitutes effective teaching. Ambiguity over grades can produce high levels of student anxiety. Time, content coverage, and the availability of adequate materials and equipment are the constraints most frequently cited by teachers who experiment with both inquiry-based teaching and an integrated curriculum.

The Way it Works…

While teachers generally like the idea of curriculum integration, many do not find the practice practical or feasible. Like most tools found in the Tennessee's Next Generation Tools for STEM Education, the Tennessee and National Curriculum Integrations can significantly simplify the work of a teacher who is intent on teaching from an integrated perspective.

Using the integrator is intuitive. It contains direct links to both TN and national standards for all of the major content areas. With practice, the Tennessee and National Curriculum Integrations promotes a habit of mind that encourages teachers to always ask “Does this lesson target standards from any of the other content areas?” As teachers develop increasing familiarity with standards from areas outside of the one they are designated to teach, the decision to integrate curriculum becomes more intentional, valuable, and very practical.

Initially, it might be best to make explicit references to these interdisciplinary connections. Soon students will begin to make their own natural connections across bodies of knowledge from other disciplines.