Starting
as early as kindergarten and all the way through high school, and even into
post secondary, transdisciplinary approaches are becoming more and more played
with in schools abroad. There doesn’t seem to be 1 way to implement this type
of approach that supersedes all the rest; it is a trial and error assignment
that will vary from school to school. Especially since we are making a switch
from a specialized design, there is no way of knowing ‘the correct’ way apply
the integrated curriculum. It is something that will have to play with and experiment
with in order to improve upon it and find any consistency from school to
school. Long-term patience is going to be the key in making the integrated
curriculum more successful this time round.
There
needs to be a process in order to at least have some direction in such a
chaotic practice. Clark Jr. (2011) points out a few general steps to consider
if you or your school decides to implement the rapidly approaching integrated
curriculum. The change Clark is looking for in these schools is starts with going
from unawareness to awareness of a need for change. Recognizing that there is a
need to do something about our struggling education system is necessary to fully
invest yourself this type of approach. From there you need to go from that
state awareness to understanding the change needed. We need to wake up to the
fact that the lack of relevance and practicality is a primary issue in teaching
students today. Moving forward Clark Jr. (2011) says there is then a need to go
from understanding to visioning the integrated change(s) that can be implemented.
There is no distinct platform to build upon, so teachers and administration
need to be able to be innovative and come up with their own ideas to experiment
with. Even though there is lots of research out there, it is not enough to
suffice alone without others continuing to add to the ideas already that are
already out there. Finally from there the final general step to consider is
going from this innovative visioning to committing to the change and trying to
improve upon it. Completely investing yourself into your program design is the
only way to give the integrated curriculum a fighting chance. If teachers aren’t
ready to commit to what they have created, then there is no point of
implementing as the students will only buy in as much as their teacher allows
them. Once you are committed, the only place to go is up.
If
teachers and administration are prepared to be patient with a long, slow
process of trial and error, then there is a chance that integration could be a
major leap forward in the teaching and learning process. There is clearly a
need for change out there; it is just about finding which ways are right for
you. Future teachers should prepare themselves for the long haul because this
change is coming quick, and it will not be an easy transition.
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