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An expansive collection of articles on integrating curriculum from The Small Schools Project.  It is broken into 3 sections: Why Integrate Curriculum, How To Integrate Curriculum, and What Integration Looks Like.  This is a large document, so the Table of Contents is helpful.

Thank you for this post, Tom. We're having integration discussions as we try to work on the complexity of scheduling in a pre-K-12. The "whys" and the sample units are very clear.

"The Campus Technology Conference is for higher education professors, instructors, administrators, curriculum developers and IT professionals who are tasked with integrating emerging technology into their programs. Over 4 days, the conference delivers the most up-to-date information on new tools, applications and services-and how they work on real campuses."

While this is for "higher ed" it might be interesting to attend. Sometimes I think that there is too much of a disconnect between what happens in high school and what happens in college. They are not exclusive of one another, but a continuing process to a student's achievement of their goals. I believe that both (hs and colleges) need to figure out how we can integrate more pieces of our work.

Look on pages 25-26 for a brief description of a Danish folk high school course "Take the Future." In it, Mette Hojland describes how her class looks at a 'spiritual, individual, and global perspective'; she also talks about a rubric that she has for developing the sense of self-and it's not reductive!

As we head this direction... Thanks ACSR for the heads up on this link.

Colin, great to meet you yesterday. Here is that article on cell phones and what kids pay attention to that we were talking about. I wonder if you could get the research done by Disney?

Colin, I'm not sure what direction your research is heading, but the idea of balancing technology with Mindfulness and being Present is an interesting one that I don't know has been really touched on. Here is a recent article from the NY Times that relates... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/your-money/mindfulness-requires-practice-and-purpose.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 "...scans show mindfulness may change the way our brains function and help us improve attention..." Could be a way for students' brains to reset and refocus after using technology?

Colin, I would weigh in again on this topic by saying...can't wait to see all of your research! Enosburg may be a good test pool or a place that really will need your findings. As I have mentioned we are a 1-1 Ipad school grades 6 through 12. I also will be interested to see how the larger cultural conversation goes on this topic. I have noticed more cell phone jokes from comedians, more reference to texts in sitcoms and movies as well. AND, as you know, there is and will much more talk about digital addictions. Initial brain-scans connect the pattern to gambling addicts. Interesting stuff! See you soon-

‎"There is no evidence that the pencil makes learning faster, easier or better." "I refuse to use pencils in my classroom until manufacturers figure out a way to limit what students can write with them." "If students become so heavily dependent upon pencils, they will never learn to boil berries to create their own medium."

Ode to #Pencilchat: Technology Integration in the Classroom http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12783558/ode-to-pencilchat-technology-intergration-in-the-classroom

Education for Sustainability - A Public Lecture/Learning Series - Spring 2012" ...questions addressed in this lecture series seek to: clarify what we know about educational approaches to learning that can move people to authentically embrace sustainability (what is "education for sustainability"), share best practices and new approaches to engaging with the values and substance of sustainability (updates from the field), and provide opportunities for practitioners and educators to evaluate, integrate, and create new approaches to education for sustainability (learning next steps)."

Series ScheduleFeb 2: Lecture: A conversation with Bill McKibben about educational priorities in the 21st CenturyFeb 9: Panel: New concepts in engaged education for sustainability (Poleman, Kolan, Nordstrom)Feb 16: Lecture: Greg SmithFeb 23: Lecture: Taylor RickettsMar 1: Workshop: Understanding major themes in Education for SustainabilityMar 15: Panel: Student Voices on SustainabilityMar 22: Lecture: TBAMar 29: Lecture: Environmental Contamination (Paul Ligon and Jill Kauffman Johnson)(Tentative) Apr 5: Workshop: Practices that work - concepts and experiences(Tentative) Apr 12: Panel: Spreading Sustainability - A Programmatic Model (UVM Sustainability Fellows)Apr 19: Lecture: Tentative Debra RoweApr 26: Workshop: Sustainability futures - Ideas and collaborations

"'The tests we rely on so heavily really don't measure creative thinking and they don't measure common sense thinking, wisdom, ethics, work ethic - they don't measure your character,' Sternberg said. In his view, students go to college to develop into active and engaged citizens. If colleges kept that ultimate goal in mind in their admissions process, it would send a message to high schools about the skills that universities value and want to see in prospective students."

"Science Leadership Academy (SLA), a public magnet high school in Philadelphia is a fairly young school, just eight years old. But in that short time, it's developed a reputation around the country as a shining example of the merits of inquiry-based learning approach. Colleges sometimes have a difficult time understanding the school's approach to developing autonomous, critical thinkers. For example, SLA doesn't offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, because making students take a summative test at the end of the year is antithetical to the concept of allowing students to guide their own learning based on interest and collaborative work - and just as importantly, the value of the incremental learning process."

On the Minerva Project... "In fact, in the first year the students will take four courses: Multi-modal Communication, Complex Systems, Empirical Systems, and Computational Sciences. The intention is for traditionally separate subjects to be integrated if they involve complimentary skills. COMPETENCY-BASED UNIVERSITIES As the Minerva experiment develops, some existing universities are taking steps to award college credit based on skills learned, not the amount of time they've been enrolled."

The Common Core emphasizes the instruction of nonfiction. I'm all for that push in general. Nonfiction is the genre where I spend the vast majority of my (ridiculously limited) free reading time. It offers so many rich texts through which we may integrate the traditional disciplines. Still my two degrees in English have served me very well in helping me understand context, motivation, and complexity in the world around me. This little NPR article discusses a study that offers empirical evidence for the power of reading literary fiction. As we de-emphasize the arts and literature, how many opportunities do we lose to teach and foster empathy?