This class was overwhelming to me in the content at first because I had no way to organize it. Now I have an understanding of it and a way to organize it and my next task is how do I make the change I want to see? I think Rebekah has the right attitude that will guide me in that you need to make one change at a time in your classroom and hopefully send it to the classroom next to you. Be the mind shift you want to see. I think I kind of feel stuck at this moment in time though because I want to make the changes that I want to make, but I really can't make them at this point in the school year. I have 31 school days left at the school I am teaching at and that will be it. I am leaving this school behind for a new one in New Hampshire. Now that is daunting because it is unfamiliar territory to me. I know that it took me a solid 2 years to figure out this school's curriculum. It is incredibly frustrating to me to think that I may not be able to make some of the changes I hope to see in the curriculum even next year because I won't have a firm enough understanding of it at the new school.
I can think positively and hope that my new knowledge on curriculum will help me see through this new curriculum more quickly. And if I am blessed to be at the same grade level give or take one on either side, then I won't have to spend so much time learning how to teach all over again giving me the time to look at the curriculum more closely. I am optimistic that I will eventually get to make the changes I want to make. I will be able to start small as Rebekah suggests in my own classroom as I have learned some things that I can change now even with 31 days left. The big changes will have to wait. I just don't like waiting.
My plan and hope is to keep this blog going. It may lag a bit as the school year ends. I should have a lot to talk about if and when I get a new teaching job. I will be able to give a new perspective while working from a different state. I hope you continue to follow and help guide me.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Integrative Curriculum
First off I want to clarify something from my book talk. I don't know if I made it clear enough and the more I talk to other people about it, the more I want to clarify the author's message. It is in regards to differentiated instruction. The author doesn't argue that we should differentiate instruction based on the abilities of our students. That this is still needed. This is where our students differ, on their abilities. He argues that we shouldn't stress on differentiating the way that information is taught because the preferred method of learning is just a style preference. That we all learn basically the same way, but we all have a style preference. I didn't want people to think that I think we should differentiate instruction based on abilities of our students. Yikes!
I chose to look at the topic of integrative curriculum this week. An integrative curriculum has always been high on my list of things to look into because it always seems to be out there in theory, but I haven't really seen it in practice. I have posted the links below to the websites that I used to find information. All were really helpful.
It seems that the issue in integrating the curriculum is the current push to a standards-based education. That it is increasingly difficult to try to integrate the curriculum when under federal mandates, assessment must be done on individual subjects with certain information. The pressure to perform on these assessments has led many teachers to just teach the information on the test for their subject area so that they can protect themselves. The first and third website below argue that you can integrate the curriculum under standards-based education by working backwards. Don't start with the standard and how you are going to teach that standard. Rather start with the end goal and work backwards to see what standards you are covering.
There only seem to be pros to integrating the curriculum. The second website speaks to the fact that LIFE doesn't neatly compartmentalize all of these subjects for us. That in life we receive the assessment first and then go look for the answers and solutions. That we don't get the answers and solutions and then regurgitate them later. The site then outlines 10 reasons to teach an integrated curriculum. To me the number one reason should be the one listed in number 7 and that is the brain thrives on connections. From my reading of our self-selected book, this was a major thing. That our brains need the connections. That we work from memory and much of our memory is about making connections from one thing to another.
I personally don't see any cons to an integrated curriculum and I couldn't come across any in my readings. I think that we can only benefit from integrating the curriculum. It is our only hope of teaching all that we need to teach in a given year. It is tricky work and takes a lot of time, but it is time well spent. It is something I am going to be looking more closely at in my own work next year in teaching in a new state. How can I make the connections with the materials that I have? I think that is what is often stopping us. For example, we may not have the resources to adequately integrate science into reading because we may not have approriately leveled texts for our students on that topic.
Overall, I think integrated curriculum is the way to go. Can it survive or thrive in standards-based education? I think it can, but only with hard work and dedication to make it work.
Resource Links:
http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-1/curriculum.html
http://suzyred.com/integratedcurriculum.html
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What_Is_Integrated_Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx
I chose to look at the topic of integrative curriculum this week. An integrative curriculum has always been high on my list of things to look into because it always seems to be out there in theory, but I haven't really seen it in practice. I have posted the links below to the websites that I used to find information. All were really helpful.
It seems that the issue in integrating the curriculum is the current push to a standards-based education. That it is increasingly difficult to try to integrate the curriculum when under federal mandates, assessment must be done on individual subjects with certain information. The pressure to perform on these assessments has led many teachers to just teach the information on the test for their subject area so that they can protect themselves. The first and third website below argue that you can integrate the curriculum under standards-based education by working backwards. Don't start with the standard and how you are going to teach that standard. Rather start with the end goal and work backwards to see what standards you are covering.
There only seem to be pros to integrating the curriculum. The second website speaks to the fact that LIFE doesn't neatly compartmentalize all of these subjects for us. That in life we receive the assessment first and then go look for the answers and solutions. That we don't get the answers and solutions and then regurgitate them later. The site then outlines 10 reasons to teach an integrated curriculum. To me the number one reason should be the one listed in number 7 and that is the brain thrives on connections. From my reading of our self-selected book, this was a major thing. That our brains need the connections. That we work from memory and much of our memory is about making connections from one thing to another.
I personally don't see any cons to an integrated curriculum and I couldn't come across any in my readings. I think that we can only benefit from integrating the curriculum. It is our only hope of teaching all that we need to teach in a given year. It is tricky work and takes a lot of time, but it is time well spent. It is something I am going to be looking more closely at in my own work next year in teaching in a new state. How can I make the connections with the materials that I have? I think that is what is often stopping us. For example, we may not have the resources to adequately integrate science into reading because we may not have approriately leveled texts for our students on that topic.
Overall, I think integrated curriculum is the way to go. Can it survive or thrive in standards-based education? I think it can, but only with hard work and dedication to make it work.
Resource Links:
http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-1/curriculum.html
http://suzyred.com/integratedcurriculum.html
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What_Is_Integrated_Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx
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