learning is best when connections are made to existing knowledge. Curriculum maping is first step to this learning.
Curriculum integration can strengthen the disciplines~> various subjects".
~Heidi Hayes Jacobs-Finding connections is important to learning for students. You need to see the connections. The real world has too many distractions so kids need connections. Knowledge is growing and there has been an explosion of knowledge and time stays the same so you need more time to teach or look for ways to teach more and at a faster rate (Quality vs. Quantity). Students will soon soak up everything they need to learn and they will be motivated to learn on their own.
They see that one subject blends into the other through this program.
~Jaimie Cloud- Many students drop out because they can't connect with the material that is being taught.
Learning requires a range of perspectives. If you put all your eggs into one basket then the real world isn't reflected.
--Some themes don't blend into something else. Taking advantage of obvious connections. Curriculum mapping helps examine what your teaching. Forms basis of what happens in classroom. Calendar mapping is essential so that everyone is on the same path. Curriculum is also what you're not going to teach aside from what you are going to teach. You dont always teach what you desire. Curriculum mapping also pin points gaps in learning. Curriculum mapping revels opportunities to make connections.
--Integrating--integrating teachers and get them to discuss what is gong to be best for that building. The designing of a curriculum that will work for them: 1.Discipline field based--the most effective is splitting up curriculum. Separated disciplines (math,english, science, history). May not prepare students for integrated tests given by the state. 2. Parallel disciplines: Running concurrently subjects to another so they students can make the connections. For example: taking one thing of a subject and teahcing it with something else that makes a perfect connection. 3. multidisciplinary: not all things that work together to make it connect. 4.interdisciplinary: require that you look at all disciplines in the study. Focus on a theme on issuses of importance. Connecting them in a joint focus. Focus on curricular expectations. 5. Integrated day: focus curriculum on students interest
