Presentation to APDP Conference Engaging Students Through an Integrated Approach to Curriculum

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Engaging Students Through an Integrated
Approach to Curriculum
Lorraine Williamson
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Draft Curriculum August 2006
Design of School Curriculum While the New
Zealand Curriculum sets the National direction
for learning for all students, each school will
design and implement its own curriculum in ways
that will engage and motivate its particular
students. Schools have considerable freedom in
deciding how to do this.
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Designing a School Curriculum
Different schools will organise their learning in
different ways. Some will organise them in ways
that integrate understandings, key competencies
and values across a number of learning areas.
Others will organise them by learning areas but
look for opportunities to link learning across
the boundaries between those areas.
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Key Competencies
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• Managing Self
• Relating to Others
• Participating and Contributing
• Thinking
• Using language, symbols and
  texts

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Managing Self Managing self involves self
motivation and the ability to establish personal
goals and set high standards for
oneself. Students who can manage self are
enterprising, resourceful, reliable and
resilient. They act appropriately, are aware of
the effects of their actions and have strategies
for meeting challenges independently.
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Relating to Others Relating to others is about
interacting effectively with a diverse range of
people in a variety of contexts. This includes
the ability to listen actively, recognise
different viewpoints, negotiate and share
ideas.
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Participating and Contributing Participating and
contributing is about participating actively in
local, national and global communities. Students
will understand the importance of balancing
rights, roles and responsibilities and
contributing to the quality and sustainability of
social, physical and economic environments.
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Thinking Thinking is about using creative,
critical, metacognitive, and reflective processes
to make sense of and question information,
experiences and ideas. Students who have well
developed thinking and problems solving skills
are active seekers, users and creators of
knowledge. They reflect on their own learning,
draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask
questions and the challenge assumptions.
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Using Language, Symbols and Texts Using
language, symbols and texts is about working with
and making meaning of the codes in which
knowledge is expressed. Students who are
competent users of languages and symbols can
interpret and use words, number, images,
movement, metaphor and technologies in a range of
contexts.
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"Managing self involves self motivation and a
'can do' attitude"
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"Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of the
thinking competency"
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"interacting effectively with a diverse range of
people"
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"contributing to the quality and sustainability
of ... environments"
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"They use ICT confidently to overcome barriers to
communication, access information, and interact
with others"
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"Using language, symbols and texts ..
mathematics is one of these languages"
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"the ability to listen actively, recognise
different points of view, negotiate and share
ideas"
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"Thinking is about using creative,
critical, metacognitive, and reflective processes
to make sense of and question information, experie
nces, and ideas"
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Curriculum Design at Opunake Primary School

• Based on student questions/interests
• Related to real life as often as possible
• Hands on learning
• Co-operative Learning
• Thinking Skills
• Habits of the Mind
• Whole school/including community
• Evolving

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What the curriculum has to say about effective
pedagogy

• Encourage reflective thought and actions
• Making connections
• Providing multiple opportunities to learn
• Facilitating shared learning
• Enhancing the relevance of new learning
• Creating a supportive learning environment
• E-Learning and pedagogy

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Encouraging Reflexive Thought and Actions

• Reflective learners assimilate new learning,
  relate it to what they already know, adapt it for
  their own purposes, and translate thought into
  action.

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Making Connections

• When teachers deliberately build on what students
  know they maximise the use of learning time.

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Provide Multiple Opportunities to Learn

• This means that teachers need to encourage new
  learning a number of times in a variety of
  different tasks and contexts.

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Facilitating Shared Learning

• Teachers can encourage shared learning by
  designing learning environments that foster
  learning conversations and learning partnerships
  and where challenges, support and feedback are
  readily available.

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Enhancing the Relevance of Shared Learning

• Effective teachers design learning experiences
  that stimulate curiosity and encourage students
  to apply what they discovered in a new contexts
  or in new ways.

Building a Pyramid
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Creating a Supportive Learning Environment

• Learning is inseparable from its social and
  cultural context

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E-Learning Pedagogy

• Information and communication technology has
  transformed the world in which young people live
  and
• e-learning has the potential to transform
  classrooms.

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Intergrated Curriculum Design at Opunake Primary
School

• At Opunake Primary School we adhere to a model
  based on a combination of Kath Murdoch and James
  Beane.

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Curriculum Based on Student Questions and
Interests

• What do want to know about yourself/whanau now
  and in the future?
• What issues or questions, do you have about
  yourself or whanau now or in the future?
• What do you want to know about the world around
  you now?
• What issues or worries do you have about the
  world in the future?
• What do you want to know more about?
• How would you like to find out the answers to
  these questions?

(Using James Beane Question Model)
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Sample Questions asked by Students
Will we ever run out of power? Will rainforests
really be wiped out? Will the world ever run out
of oxygen? What jobs will be around when I grow
up? Will the world still exist in a million
years? Will there ever be a cure for cancer? Will
we ever run out of petrol? How can we stop
pollution? Will we ever live on other
planets? How can we avoid war and terrorism? Will
robots ever take over from humans?
Evolving We would now revisit the questions
after the initial introduction and immersion in
the unit.
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Developing and Planning Meaningful Learning
The questions are grouped into common significant
themes. This year the questions fell neatly into
a number of different themes. We had many
questions about ourselves and our community. Life
in ancient times. Space and the future. Making
movies, health and careers. Four units were
developed from initial questions
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Integrated Units 2004 - 2006

• Hands Around the Pacific
• Middle Earth Minders (Thinking globally, acting
  locally)
• Stargate
• Money Matters
• Kotahitanga
• Hogwarts Hijinks
• Land Before Time
• Journey to the Inner World
• Whats Bugging You
• Are you My Mummy
• Lights Camera Action

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Developing the Key Concepts for Learning

• For each unit we develop the key concepts as a
  staff. Some concepts from our Stargate Unit
• Students will have some understanding of the
  Earth, and its relationship with the solar
  system.
• Develop an understanding of how technology has
  and is expanding our knowledge of the universe.
• Develop an understanding of present space related
  technologies and how this might impact on our
  future.
• Using current information resources, and
  investigative skills students can make
  predictions about the likelihood of finding life
  on other planets.

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How do students want to find out the answers to
their questions?
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Like This!
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Whole School Trips Have Also Formed Part of the
Planning To Maximise Learning and Teaching
Opportunities!
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How do we plan from student questions?

• We plan as a whole staff
• From student questions we develop 2 or 3 key
  concepts as the basis of the unit.
• From the key concepts we use a model of planning
  developed partly by Kath Murdoch and partly by
  ourselves.
• We keep the end in mind
• We think about the so what of the unit?

This is a messy and noisy process. Ideas are
tossed around, but we keep revisiting the key
concepts and questions to help keep us on track.
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Middle Earth Minders Unit Plan
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Creating a Culture of Thinking

• Engage students in a range of analytical,
  critical, and creative thinking.
• Create ongoing opportunities for students to
  expand their use of the language of thinking.
  Develop and refine their thinking skills. Use
  their thinking skills in a a variety of
  curriculum areas
• Provide students with a range of thinking tools.
• Assist in the transfer of skills as tools for
  life long learning
• Encourage students to apply thinking tools and
  strategies in everyday situations.
• We need to explicitly teach thinking skills.

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Developing a whole school approach

• Next year we have decided to introduce a
  progression for teaching thinking skills.
• It could look like this.
• Year One Six Thinking Hats
• Year Two Brainstorming
• Year Three Questioning Techniques
• Year Four Thinkers Keys
• Year Five Graphic Organisers
• Year Six Bloom Revised Taxonomy
• Year Seven Problem Solving
• Year Eight Habits of the Mind

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How do we start each unit?

• We try to capture the imagination of our
  students.
• We always start a unit by working our whole
  school together co-operatively.
• Co-operative learning is usually based around
  teaching our students a new thinking skill or
  re-enforcing what we have already introduced.
• These are high interest activities and usually
  hands on

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Community Involvement

• We involve the community in curriculum
  integration in our school through
• Newsletters
• Information Booklet
• Parent Workshops
• Family Projects
• Whole school trips
• Day Trips
• As guest speakers/presenters
• Donating junk for open days
• Open Days