Models of Curriculum Integration
The notion of curriculum integration is not ingful for students. At the same time, the Franzie L. Loepp
new. Dewey and Kilpatrick advocated forms curriculum should challenge students to solve
of integration early in the century (Vars, 1991). real world problems.
More recently, however, educational theo-
rists have been advocating curriculum inte- Research Supporting Curriculum
gration for a number of reasons. The challenge Integration
has been for those who attempt to put theory During this decade, cognitive scientists have
into practice. The purpose of this paper is to been able to use advanced imaging technolo-
define curriculum integration, discuss selected gies to study the operation of the brain.
research related to curriculum integration, Much of this research has yet to be directly
present several curriculum models for integra- translated into curriculum and pedagogy. This
tion, and discuss some of the implications research is spawning a dynamic educational
curriculum integration will have on educa- philosophy referred to as “constructivism”
tion. which refers to engaging students in construct-
ing their own knowledge. “The single best way
Integrated Curriculum Defined to grow a better brain is through challenging
“The very notion of ‘integration’ incorpo- problem solving. This creates new dendritic
rates the idea of unity between forms of knowl- connections that allow us to make even more
edge and the respective disciplines” (Pring, connections” (Jenson, 1998, p. 35).
1973, p. 135). In practice this can take many And one of the best ways to promote prob-
forms. Those who consider astronomy, biol- lem solving is through an enriched environ-
ogy, chemistry, geology, and physics as dis- ment that makes connections among several
tinct disciplines consider a general science disciplines (Wolf & Brandt, 1998).
course a step in the direction of integration. Educational researchers have found that an
They use the metaphor of a marble cake integrated curriculum can result in greater
versus a layer cake to signify different levels of intellectual curiosity, improved attitude to-
integration. The layer cake means each of the wards schooling, enhanced problem-solving
sciences maintains an identity in a general skills, and higher achievement in college (Aus-
science course while the marble cake is more tin, Hirstein, & Walen, 1997; Kain, 1993).
problem based with the various sciences con- Barab and Landa (1997) indicated that when
tributing to the solution of the problem. They students focus on problems worth solving,
argue that the layer cake is more of an interdis- motivation and learning increase.
ciplinary approach to curriculum because the Some schools have used an integrated cur-
boundaries among the disciplines are main- riculum as a way to make education relevant
tained. Therefore, if one is discussing curricu- and thus a way to keep students interested in
lum integration with a science educator, one school (Kain, 1993). In a traditional program,
must first determine the context because inte- relevancy can be a problem. One of the most
gration could refer to integration within the common questions in a mathematics class is,
sciences rather than integration among a wide “Why are we learning this math?” And the
range of disciplines so that the learner experi- common response is, “Because you will need
ences a number of interconnections among to know it in your math class next year.” This
disciplines. response seldom satisfies the learner. Schools
An interdisciplinary curriculum can be report higher attendance rates when students
closely related to an integrated curriculum. are engaged in an integrated curriculum (Meier
Most educators represent the view that knowl- & Dossey, unpublished manuscript). Having
edge in interdisciplinary studies is a repackag- the opportunity to utilize knowledge and skills
ing and, perhaps, enhancement of discipline- from several disciplines does offer increased
based knowledge (Kain, 1993). In Jacobs’ opportunities for making the curriculum rel-
(1989) definition, interdisciplinary means con- evant. A word of caution is in order, however.
scientiously applying methodology and lan- Just because a curriculum is integrated does
guage from more than one discipline to a not automatically mean that it is relevant.
theme, topic, or problem. A number of organizations support inte- Dr. Loepp is a Distinguished
Whether a curriculum is interdisciplinary grated learning. Project 2061’s benchmarks Professor in the Department of
or integrated is not the main issue. Rather, the Industrial Technology at Illinois
for science literacy calls for an interdiscipli- State University, Normal. He is a
focus should be on designing a curriculum nary, integrated development of knowledge member of Gamma Theta Chapter
that is relevant, standards based, and mean- organized around themes that cut across vari- of Epsilon Pi Tau.
21
ous science disciplines, mathematics, social nary curricula around themes, whereas in
studies, and technology (American Associa- high schools and colleges integrated curricula
tion for the Advancement of Science, 1993). are more likely to be based around problems.
The National Science Education Standards An example of a theme at the elementary level
(National Research Council, 1996) and the could be “Our Community,” which affords a
Mathematics Standards (National Council of relevant setting to specify distance, area, and
Teachers of Mathematics, 1989) also promote quantities in the community; to read descrip-
integrated learning. The pending Technology tions of the development and growth of the
Education Standards (International Technol- community; to interview and write about se-
ogy Education Association, 1998) actually in- nior citizens who live in the community; to
clude a major section on making “technologi- focus on the resources needed to sustain a
cal connections.” This section refers to ways community; to recognize the blend of ethnic
that technology education relates to other influence on community life; to investigate
disciplines. community festivals and other cultural activi-
Another premise supporting the move to- ties; and to engage in some of the technologies
wards integrated curricula is that the current important to individual and community growth.
system of discipline-based education is not as On the other end of the spectrum, a university
effective as it must be. The assumption is that capstone course might involve students in
most real world problems are multidisciplinary solving a real world problem such as the
in nature and that the current curriculum is design, development, and installation of auto-
unable to engage students in real world situa- mated tooling in a manufacturing plant. A
tions. Thus, a discipline-based curriculum solution of this problem would naturally lead
should be replaced with an integrated curricu- the students into mathematical, scientific, and
lum (Kain, 1993). technological issues that would have to be
addressed.
Models of Curriculum Integration The following integrated curriculum mod-
Over the past decade, several models of els are presented in generic format.
curriculum integration have evolved. A re- In the interdisciplinary model, schools group
view of the literature revealed that far more traditional subjects into blocks of time, assign
curriculum integration occurs at the lower a given number of students to a team of
levels of education (K–8) than at the high teachers, and expect the teachers to deliver an
school and college levels. The emerging trend interdisciplinary or integrated curriculum. For
is for elementary schools to build interdiscipli- example, in Figure 1 the core team consists of
Science Core Subjects
Language Arts
Language Arts
Mathematics
Social Studies Science
Mathematics Social Studies
Foreign Language Foreign Language
Physical Education Electives
Art Art
Technology Education
Home Economics
Home Economics
Technology Education Music
Music Physical Education
Figure 1. The interdisciplinary model.
22
four teachers who have approximately 110 be referred to as the problem-based model.
students for a block of four periods a day. They Ideally, this model places technology educa-
are given one hour of common planning time tion at the core of the curriculum. Since we
and another hour to learn on their own. The live in a highly technological society and
administration empowers them to use their technology is a human endeavor, this is a
block of time (approximately 175 minutes) in natural way to design the curriculum. With a
any way they wish. The most typical daily technological problem at the center, disci-
schedule involves groups of approximately 30 plines lend their support in helping to solve the
students rotating through the four disciplines. problem. An example problem might be to
Occasionally, the teachers may decide to in- determine how the waste produced in a com-
troduce a new theme to the entire group at the munity could be turned into an asset. In this
same time. Or, they may take all of their instance, the social studies class can address
students on a field trip. In practice, this model the role of local government in collecting and
is being used with greater and greater fre- disposing of waste; in science the emphasis
quency at the middle school level. This model could be on reducing materials to their basic
offers several advantages: Teachers are given elements and recombine them; and in math-
time to work together, they have a limited ematics one could study measurement, area,
number of students, and this model can sup- volume, and so forth. In technology educa-
port a traditional curriculum while offering tion, the focus might be on the various tech-
scheduling flexibility to the team. One disad- nologies used to separate waste into catego-
vantage is that it is easy for teachers to simply ries as well as the transformation of waste into
continue doing what they have always done usable materials.
with little or no attention given to the interdis- An advantage of this model of integration is
ciplinary or integrated curriculum. The big- that it offers high potential for the identifica-
gest disadvantage is that standards-based, in- tion of relevant, highly motivating problems.
tegrated curricula across the disciplines are On the other hand, a disadvantage of this
scarce, which means that teachers need to model is the difficulty of assuring that state
develop the curriculum on their own. Since frameworks and/or national standards are fully
the process of curriculum development is so addressed in a given grade level.
time consuming, they are able to implement An example of the application of this model
an integrated curriculum for only a small is the Technology, Science, and Mathematics
portion of the school year. (TSM) Project directed by LaPorte and Sanders
Another curriculum integration model can (1996). The project resulted in 17 connection
Mathematics
Language Science
Arts
Social
etc.
Studies
Arts
Figure 2. The problem-based model.
23
activities that encourage middle school stu- theme-based curriculum; promotes experien-
dents to learn the concepts of science and tially based, hands-on learning set in a learn-
mathematics by motivating them with real ing cycle; promotes teaming among teachers
world situations of interest to them. The activi- from three or more disciplines; provides an
ties use design-under-constraint and hands- opportunity for students to apply the concepts
on technology (in contrast to hands-on sci- and skills to new situations using problem-
ence) to motivate the learning of science and solving strategies; utilizes authentic assess-
mathematics. The goals are to increase the ment; makes frequent use of student group
ability of students to apply concepts of science work; fulfills benchmarks, national standards,
and mathematics to real world situations; to and state frameworks in mathematics, sci-
strengthen communications among science, ence, and technology; connects to other disci-
mathematics, and technology teachers; and to plines, such as social studies and language
explore the role and effectiveness of technol- arts; and responds to the latest research in
ogy-based activities. teaching/learning as well as to systemic re-
The third model of integrated curriculum is form initiatives. This project is funded by the
referred to as theme-based education. Advan- National Science Foundation with headquar-
tages of this model are that teachers can still ters at Illinois State University.
identify with a given discipline, it is easier to After reviewing the aforementioned generic
connect the curriculum with national stan- models of curriculum integration, one can
dards and state frameworks, and students are readily see that researchers and practitioners
able to make connections among objectives must have a strong belief system in favor of the
from various disciplines. There could be a integrated curriculum if, in fact, they are to
tendency, however, for a given theme and/or succeed in a sustained manner.
key concept to have little relationship with a
specific discipline, causing the tendency for Implications of Implementing an Integrated
teachers to engage students in shallow or Curriculum
irrelevant learning. No matter which model is selected, there
An example of the use of this model is the are several common factors that tend to emerge.
Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Tech- First, teachers must shift their belief system
nology (IMaST) Program. IMaST is a two-year from one that is primarily didactic in nature to
integrated mathematics, science, and tech- one that has a foundation in constructivism.
nology curriculum for the middle grades. The Rather than asking students to follow the steps
program is composed of 10 modules, which of procedure, memorize facts, or verify given
provide the full curriculum for each of these principles or laws, students work together to
disciplines. The program is designed to be discover knowledge, applying their knowl-
taught by a team of three teachers for approxi- edge as they solve real world problems.
mately 120 minutes per day for the full year. Second, an extensive amount of profes-
The IMaST program integrates mathemat- sional development is needed for teachers.
ics, science, and technology into a coherent This includes a significant intervention of two
THEME
3-5 Key Concepts.
Mathematics Science Technology Language Arts Social Studies
Objectives
*Note: Standard-based objectives are selected to address the key concepts within the theme.
Figure 3. The theme-based model.
24
or three weeks of knowledge development in and ongoing support can be provided to the
curriculum areas other than the one they are teachers.
certified to teach. Also, this professional de- Eighth, public information strategies need
velopment must include extensive practice in to be implemented in order to inform the
the use of constructivist-oriented pedagogy. community and parents that a new paradigm
Third, the teachers need to become mem- of education is being used. The expectation is
bers of learning communities. At one level this for education to be provided as it has always
means working with one’s peers to improve been, and unless the public is informed of
education. At another level teachers work changes to be made, there is likely to be
with their students in solving problems that resistance.
have multiple answers. Finally, changing to an integrated curricu-
Fourth, teachers need to become skilled in lum requires systemic reform. This includes
facilitating small group learning. Research has the way teachers are prepared, certified, and
shown that learning is a social process and assessed. Attention must also be given to state-
that students learn a great deal by interacting wide assessment of students and the process
with one another. whereby teacher credentials are renewed.
Fifth, teachers need to manage experien-
tial-oriented instruction. This includes inven- Conclusion
torying and storing materials; the safe opera- Given the implications listed above, the
tion of instrumentation, machines, and equip- prospect for moving to the implementation of
ment; and leading students toward efficient an integrated and/or interdisciplinary curricu-
progress. lum on a nationwide basis is bleak. On the
Sixth, teachers need to learn to use authen- other hand, research in the area of education
tic assessment strategies such as portfolios, as well as in cognitive science suggests that
performance exams, and rubrics to document some form of an integrated curriculum is likely
student progress. to promote more learning. This being true, the
Seventh, administrators and school boards topic of integrated curriculum is destined to
need to be oriented so the necessary resources receive a lot of attention soon.
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