What is a Transdiscipline Integrated Curriculum?

The transdisciplinary step of integration encourages a curriculum that makes connections between the subjects, not only through explicit and conceptual ties, but also through the personal experiences of the learners. It ties in also the notion of relevance. At this level of integration, concepts are sometimes organized in different types. Knowledge is made out of cross-curricular concepts and cross-curricular skills are taught explicitly.

As an example we are considering the following standard. Note however that in reality at this level, it is necessary to look at several standards, searching for commonalities, and grouping them under a conceptual theme.

• The student knows that forces cause change.

• The student is expected to: identify that the surface of the earth can be changed by forces such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

• Students locate volcanic regions, etc.

At this level of an integrated curriculum, the learner comes to an understanding of big concepts by looking at it through different learning experiences and is encouraged to apply this understanding to real life problems/situations. Students who initiate a greater percentage of in-school activities are given more opportunity to make decisions and use their higher order thinking skills.

Learners are presented with relevant information and provocative questions such as “so what?”‘ to ensure that the content of instruction remains relevant to them. For example, “We are learning about changes in the earth’s structure…so what? Why is it important to learn? How does this impact our lives and behaviors?”

Learn More… Take this course: Integrating Standards in Teaching

Discuss Here: How can you develop an integrated curriculum in your classroom?