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Lee claims that when she teaches science concepts she also teaches students to think and write in the structured, coherent ways required on standardized tests

What exactly is integrated curriculum? In its simplest conception, it is about making connections. What kind of connections? Across disciplines? To real life? Are the connections skill-based or knowledge-based?

we defined three approaches to integration—multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary

Multidisciplinary approaches focus primarily on the disciplines.

When teachers integrate the subdisciplines within a subject area, they are using an intradisciplinary approach

Through this integration, teachers expect students to understand the connections between the different subdisciplines and their relationship to the real world.

In this approach to integration, teachers organize the curriculum around common learnings across disciplines. T

ey chunk together the common learnings embedded in the disciplines to emphasize interdisciplinary skills and concepts.

They are learning the interdisciplinary skill of communication (thinking and writing in a structured and coherent way).

In the transdisciplinary approach to integration, teachers organize curriculum around student questions and concerns (see Figure 1.3). Students develop life skills as they apply interdisciplinary and disciplinary skills in a real-life context. Two routes lead to transdisciplinary integration: project-based learning and negotiating the curriculum

Project-Based Learning. In project-based learning, students tackle a local problem. Some schools call this problem-based learning or place-based learning. According to Chard (1998), planning project-based curriculum involves three steps:

Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum standards, and local resources. The teacher finds out what the students already know and helps them generate questions to explore. The teacher also provides resources for students and opportunities to work in the field. Students share their work with others in a culminating activity. Students display the results of their exploration and review and evaluate the project.

Negotiating the Curriculum. In this version of the transdisciplinary approach, student questions form the basis for curriculum.

Studies of project-based programs show that students go far beyond the minimum effort, make connections among different subject areas to answer open-ended questions, retain what they have learned, apply learning to real-life problems, have fewer discipline problems, and have lower absenteeism

The boundaries of the disciplines seemed to dissolve abruptly.

The essential difference between the three approaches was the perceived degree of separation that existed between subject areas. Given our experiences at the time, both of us believed that the three approaches fit on an evolutionary continuum.

suggests that even intradisciplinary projects should include math and literature/media to be rich and vibrant

backward design process.

We believe that educators will continue to experience deepening connections as they become more experienced in this area.

Real-life context Student questions

Coplanner Colearner Generalist/specialist

Disciplines identified if desired, but real-life context emphasized

All knowledge interconnected and interdependent Many right answers Knowledge considered to be indeterminate and ambiguous

Student questions and concerns Real-world context

Interdisciplinary skills/concepts stressed

shift

Interdisciplinary skills and disciplinary skills applied in a real-life context

it consistently emphasizes active, student-directed learning

Learning to read is no longer enough. Today's students must to be able to navigate and evaluate a vast store of information. This requires fluency in technology along with the development of critical-thinking skills