Essay on Principles of Curriculum Integration

Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.

I teach in an eighth grade classroom that is set in a Jr-Sr. High school. It is located in the Jr. High hallway, near the rear of our high school. I have thirty-two student desks situated in rows and two small tables at the front of my room used for paper pick up. I painted my room a turquoise beach blue and it is decorated with various beach themed paraphernalia. I also have many inspirational quote posters up around my room, hoping to engage my students into deeper thinking. The students all have their own Chromebooks and I have a desktop computer as well as a Samsung Tablet. Many computer applications suited for 1:1 schools are used in our building. We begin our day at 7:40am with a zero period for professional development and meetings. The students have seven, forty-five minute periods beginning at 8:20am and continuing until 3:15pm. My classes include four “regular” English classes, one “Honors” class, an Essential Skills class that rotates every week with two other teachers, and a prep period. My duties throughout the year consist of sponsoring the Jr. High Student Council as well as parking lot duty for two weeks during second semester. We adhere closely to the Indiana State Standards and use the ISTEP and NWEA mandated assessments. We, as teachers, are given free rein to teach how we see fit; however, we were asked to submit curriculum mapping outlining the content/topics, key terms, sources/resources, assessments

I notice, recognise and respond to children and see the emergent curriculum as being key to children’s learning. I follow the child’s lead extending their interests learning and development.

Integrating content from areas such as social studies and the arts can often be useful in stimulating student motivation and maintaining student interest. What are some of the ways you have observed teachers integrating content areas in work with students in grades 7-12?

Schools are always changing and evolving with new students every year; so why not change some other things to benefit the school system. Changing and adding different curriculum in the school environment, is something that should be considered to benefit Streator High School. For example, changing the school starting time to give students more time to prepare themselves for another day at school. Another change that would be advantageous to be brought into Streator High School is to add open campus lunch. Changing up the curriculum would also be obliging. Adding a sign language class would be beneficial to staff and faculty. This would be for students to be able to interact with others that use that for their only communication with others, resulting in a closer, more friendly school environment. There would be an overall positive impact in the school community by adding these changes. More involvement, improvement in the the economy of our town, and improving the overall academics at the high school would be the result of these changes.

Activities and projects are planned by educators to match the skills, interests and unique needs of the specific children they are working with. Applying emergent curriculum to an early childhood education center is a process that requires an understanding of the individual children in your care as well as the group as a whole. As a teacher, your role is to carefully observe and listen to children as they play, determine their areas of interest, then develop a plan or curriculum to direct their learning which reflects these interests. The emergent curriculum approach allows early childhood educators to gain greater insight into the needs of each individual child and their needs, allowing for thoughtful and customized programming. The flexible and open-ended nature of emergent curriculum lets children and educators alike to explore, answer questions and guide learning in a way that evolves over time. An emergent curriculum involves the whole child; meaning the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical realms of development and learning. The main thought behind Emergent Curriculum (as well as other early childhood approaches) is that children learn not necessarily by what they are taught but “learn as a result of their own doing.” Emergent Curriculum is a teaching philosophy that focuses on the development of lesson plans based on the emerging interests of

The main example I can recall where I knew and recognized the “integration of learning” concerned westward expansion through Manifest Destiny in the United States. I had learned about this event previously in grade school, so this was not an unfamiliar concept. Yet every time I was taught it, it was viewed as a positive thing, how it settled the country and led to the building of countless railroad tracks and telegraph lines. However, in my Environmental Studies class this year, this event had a much grimmer picture. The desolation of tribes and the pure fact that we justified our horrible and extreme actions in the name of God defined this event. I had always had the inkling in the back of my head that something was wrong with the picture

Domain III: Instruction Indicator 8: actively engages students in the learning process. Teachers use different instructional strategies based on appropriate skill level. Indicator 10: Brings multiple perspectives to the delivery of content. Teachers acknowledges diversity and differentiate instruction. The teacher demonstrated deep knowledge of content by connecting ideas from across the curriculum to everyday life. The demonstration of deep knowledge of content during instruction was also measured on how the teacher engaged the students, based on the activity the students were doing. The transformation of content knowledge was a challenge for the teacher. As time progressed, the teacher was able to transform the content. The transformation, then became adaptable to all the students. Thought maddening questions were observed in measuring questioning techniques in

Before reading chapter nine and ten of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know, I always though of the curriculum as a set of standards that is needed to be teach in order for the students to pass for the year. I guess in high school and college that may be true, but in middle school it is completely different. The curriculum should incorporate the student’s experiences, lives, curiosities, and connections to learning and the outside world. Since middle school is a time where children are trying to find themselves in the world it is important to not only focus on the educational aspect for these students. Different parts of their lives need to be added into the curriculum in order for them to relate to what they learning.

Curriculum development refers to a process of critical questioning used in framing the activities of teaching and learning in schools. The process of developing a curriculum translates broader statements of intent in actual plans and actions. Curriculum development involves designing and developing integrated plans for teaching and learning, implementation, and the evaluation of the plants if they achieve learning objectives. Accordingly, the intention of curriculum development is to align the planned, delivered, and experienced curriculums. On November 3, I contacted Rachel Yurk to provide some insights on the curriculum development process of Cedarburg School District. Yurk is the Instructional Technology Specialist for Cedarburg School District. As demonstrated by the Cedarburg school district curriculum development process, the primary purpose of curriculum development is to guarantee integrated and coherent learning experiences to enhance personal, academic, and professional development of students.

Linking curriculum, instruction, and assessment, implies that all parties (students, teachers, and administrators) must get involved in the process. Students should be challenge to take responsibility on their lerning process ans set thir own goals, teachers should find ways to make subject matter relevant to the students, and administrators should provide opportunities in preparing students for life work. When each party does it’s part, then curriculum, instruction, and assessment will be linked.

2. One things i would do as a teacher if i followed an integrated curriculum philosophy would be having dramatic play with costumes and making a farm out of cardboard boxes to make

Integrated learning [IL] assists students to make connections across the curriculum. Inquiry Based Learning [IBL] and Problem Based Learning [PBL] are two effective approaches to IL. Whilst each approach has distinctive benefits and drawbacks, it is vital teachers select the approach depending on the learning intentions being sought. This will ensure learning progressions occur and so they can create a learning space that nurtures their student’s sense of curiosity and wonder. It is also imperative teachers select the approach that best fits with their personal philosophy for teaching.

Curriculum is a term often highlighted during discourse about education and most commonly understood as a policy with overt leaning outcomes for teachers to apply and achieve. Ornstein and Hunkins (1998), as cited by Selvaraj (2010), defined curriculum based on two lenses; micro and macro, which identify the term as both policy towards certain goals and what students experience with consideration for relevant theories and principles central to its development and implementation. However, Wilson (n.d.) argued that curriculum is not restricted to certain individuals, subjects and environments, since teaching and learning can also occur beyond the scope of official curriculum (Ebert & Culyer, as cited in Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). I believe this interpretation is the closest to the true nature of curriculum, or education, as there are more complex layers to curriculum than just a written guideline. For example, not one curriculum is similar to another because it is subjected to influences from continuum number of factors, such as politics and economy. Hence, it is wise to conclude that curriculum could not be defined based on a singular perspective due to its dependability on context.

The meaning of the term’ curriculum’ is difficult to define. For school, Pratt (in Brady and Kennedy, 2014, p. 3) argues that curriculum can be ‘an organized set of formal educational and training intentions’. For students, Marsh and Wills (in Brady and Kennedy, 2014, p. 3) maintain that curriculum is ‘an interrelated set of plans and experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school’, while for teachers, the challenge is to develop curricula that will cater for the needs of all students (Ah Sam & Ackland, 2005). There are various meanings attached to the term’ curriculum’. My personal definition for school curriculum is that schools develop programs of different study areas basing on the content of the national curriculum document; teachers plan their teaching basing on the programs; eventually, students experience the curriculum by engaging in diverse teaching activities. In this essay, I will be discussing The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) in relation to the strategic plan and teaching philosophy of Hampton Park East Kindergarten.