Module 4:

Integrating New Literacies in the Curriculum

Learning Outcomes:

1. Discuss the concept of integrated curriculum

2. Distinguish the different curriculum integration approaches, methods and types
3. Identify lessons or course disciplines that may be appropriate for curriculum integration
4. Draw relevant life lessons and significant values from curriculum experiences in class
integration
5. Analyze research abstract on curriculum integration and its implications on teaching-
learning process
6. Make a lesson plan with thematic integration across related disciplines

CONCEPT EXPLORATION

Innovative educators concerned with improving student achievement seek ways to create
rigorous, relevant, and engaging curriculum as a way to realize curriculum integration. Today, the
subjects in the curriculum should not be taught singly and compartmentally but rather become
integral towards total development of the child.

The Concept of Integrated Curriculum

In retrospect, the introduction of an integrated curriculum gained greatest support in the

1960s. Based on the essential organization of content, the design emphasizes the role of diverse
entities called academic disciplines clearly defined in terms of knowledge, skills and values.

Thus, an integrated curriculum...

• focuses on basic skills, content and higher-level thinking;

• encourages lifelong learning;
• structures leaming around themes, big ideas and meaningful concepts;
• provides connections among various curricular disciplines;
• provides learners opportunities to apply skills they have learned;
• encourages active participation in relevant real-life experiences;
• captivates, motivates and challenges learners;
• provides a deeper understanding of content;
• offers opportunities for more small group and industrialized instruction; and
• accommodates a variety of learning styles/theories (i.e., social learning theory,
cooperative learning, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy) and multiple intelligences.
Approaches to Integration

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2004) presents three
approaches to integration and these are multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.

Multidisciplinary Approach. A multidisciplinary approach focuses primarily on different

disciplines. Teachers, who employ this approach, may create standards from the disciplines within
a theme. There are many different ways to create a multidisciplinary curriculum, and they tend to
differ in the level of intensity of the integration effort. It can be recalled that the previous
Restructured Basic Education Curriculum (RBEC) is a best depiction of a multidisciplinary
approach The four disciplines (Araling Panlipunan, Values Education, MAPEH and TLE) were
integrated along with a theme termed Makabayan an integrated subject served as a laboratory of
life Makabayan was a learning area that stressed the development of social awareness empathy
and commitment for common good Grades in these four disciplines were usually computed to
comprise the general grade in Makabayan as a discipline. At the end of the week, the four
disciplines collaborated to design a culminating activity along with the given theme that connected
these four discipline areas The following is the structure of Makabayan that used the
multidisciplinary approach centered on a given theme.

ARALING
PANLIPUNAN

MAPEH Makabayan TLE

VALUES

EDUCATION

When a teacher integrates subdisciplines within a subject area, he/she is practicing

intradisciplinary approach. For example, one integrates reading, writing and oral communication
in the English subject. Likewise, teachers often integrate Philippine history, world history,
geography, economics and government in an intradisciplinary social studies program. Likewise,
science integrates subdisciplines, such as earth science, biology, chemistry and physics that
responds to spiral curriculum approach. This connection is presented in the structure below.
 Earth Science

Biology

Chemistry
SCIENCE
Physics

Through this integration, teachers expect students to understand the connections between
the different subdisciplines and their relationship to the real world. In fact, this approach brings a
positive impact on the achievement of students.

In using the multidisciplinary integration approach, there is a need to organize a list of

standards from various disciplines around one common theme Likewise, come up with a list of
standards from related disciplines, such as earth science, biology, chemistry and physics to focus
on a common intradisciplinary science program Another way of doing it is by fusing skills,
knowledge and attitudes into the school curriculum or utilizing technology across the curriculum.
In this way, students learn other subjects while enhancing their computer skills. Additionally,
schools can utilize service-learning projects in the classroom.

Interdisciplinary Approach. In this approach to integration, teachers organize and

capsulize the curriculum around command leaming across disciplines to emphasize
interdisciplinary skills and concepts. The disciplines are identifiable, but they assume less
importance than in the multidisciplinary approach. For example, in teaching Filipino as a
discipline, the teacher hones students' language skills while resorting to content and topics in
Araling Panlipunan. Below is an illustration of interdisciplinary structure. Therefore, here are times
that a teacher in Filipino teams up with a teacher in Araling Panlipunan to teach a lesson in Araling
Panlipunan while she teaches the needed skills in the Filipino 1 subject.

Skills Content

FILIPINO ARALING
PANLIPUNAN

FILIPINO
 In addition, in using the interdisciplinary integration approach, there is a need to structure
the curriculum around common learning areas across disciplines. For example, incorporate
interdisciplinary skills, such as thinking skills, problem solving and analytic skills in teaching
Science, Math and English. The purpose is to learn the skills and concepts that are beyond the
immediate lesson.

Transdisciplinary Integration. In the transdisciplinary approach to integration, teachers

design a curriculum within student needs and concerns. Students develop life skills as they apply
disciplinary and interdisciplinary skills in a real-life context. Two routes lead to transdisciplinary
integration, namely: project-based learning and negotiating the curriculum.

Subject Areas

Theme and Concepts

Life Skills

Real-World Context

Career Prospects

Community Integration

Social Problems and Dilemmas

Life Experiences

Student Questions

In using the transdisciplinary integration approach, there is a need to plan out the
curriculum around student needs and concerns Transdisciplinary integration is utilized through
project-based learning, which involves allowing the students to present a problem. Project based
learning allows students to make connections among different subjects by solving social problems
and answering open-ended questions. It can also be done by utilizing student questions as a
basis for curriculum design, Leaming how to solve problems and to ask questions enables
students to apply the skills in real-life situations.

Interconnecting the Three Approaches

These approaches offer an excellent fit for standards through a backward design process
as teachers integrate standards-based planning with effective teaching and learning practices.
Thus, the multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives offer different
maps to begin the design process. Teachers can use any of the approaches at any level of
education in a single classroom or in a team approach.
 Despite some differences in the degree and the intent of integration, the three approaches
share many similarities. As such, the centrality of standards and the need for accountability bring
the three approaches closer together in practice (ASCD, 2004).

Comparing and Contrasting the Three Approaches to Integration

(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 2004)

Aspect Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Transdisciplinary

• Standards of • Interdisciplinary • Real-life
the skills and context
Organizing Center disciplines concepts • Student
organized embedded in questions
around a disciplinary
theme standards
• Knowledge • Disciplines • All knowledge
best learned connected by interconnected
through the common and
structure of concepts and interdependent
the skills • Many right
Conceptualization disciplines • Knowledge answers
of Knowledge • A right considered to • Knowledge
answer be socially considered to
• One truth constructed be
• Many right indeterminate
answers and ambiguous
• Procedures • Interdisciplinary • Disciplines
of discipline skills and identified if
considered concepts desired, but
most stressed real-life context
important emphasized
Role of • Distinct skills
Disciplines and concepts
of discipline
taught
• Facilitator • Facilitator •Co-planner
Role of Teacher • Specialist • Specialist/ •Co-learner
generalist •Generalist/
specialist
• Disciplinary • Interdisciplinary • Student
standards bridge questions and
Starting Place and • Know/Do/Be concerns
procedures • Real-world
context
Degree of Moderate Medium/intense Paradigm shift
Integration
 Assessment Discipline-based Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary
skills/concepts skills/concepts
stressed stressed
Learning to Know Concepts and essential understandings across disciplines
Learning to Do • Disciplinary • Interdisciplinary • Interdisciplinary
skills as the skills as the skills and
focal point focal point disciplinary
• Interdiscipli- • Disciplinary skills applied in
nary skills skills also real-life context
also included included
• Democratic values
Learning to Be • Character education
• Habits of mind
• Life skills (eg, teamwork, self-responsibility)
• Backward design
Planning Process • Standards-based
• Alignment of instructiions, standards and assessment
• Constructivist approach
• Inquiry
• Experiential learning
Instruction • Personal relevance
• Student choice
• Differentiated instruction
Assessment • Balance of traditional and authentic assessments
• Culminating activity that integrates disciplines taught

Methods of Curriculum integration

Anchored on approaches to curriculum integration, there are methods that are processed
and devised for this purpose.

1. Project-Based Learning. It engages students in creating knowledge while enhancing their

skills in critical thinking, creativity collaboration, communication, reasoning, synthesis and
resilience (Barron and Darting-Hammond, 2008 in Corpuz. 2014). As such it entails an output
which involves accomplishing a complex task performing a presentation and producing a project,
a craft or an artifact. Here, students start by defining the purpose of creating the end-product
identify the audience, do research on the topic, design the product, implement the design, solve
the problems that arise, and come up with the product guided by a plan or a model. It usually
culminates with product presentation, and product evaluation while reflecting on the entire
production process (Schneiderman, et al, 1998 in Corpuz, 2014)

Implementation Outcome. As a result, Curtis (2002) revealed that project-based programs

show that students go far beyond the minimum effort, make connections among different
subject areas to answer open-ended questions, retain what they have learned, apply
learning to real-life problems, have fewer discipline problems, and have lower
 absenteeism. Student assessment considered teamwork, critical thinking skills, problem-
solving, and time management.

2. Service Learning. It refers to learning that actively involves students in a wide range of
experiences, which often benefit others and the community, while also advancing the goals of a
given curriculum. Community-based service activities are paired with structured preparation and
student reflection. What is unique about service learning is that it offers direct application of
theoretical models. As such, the real-world application of classroom knowledge in a community
setting allows students to synthesize course material in more meaningful ways. It Impounds
integrative. reflective, contextualized, strength-based, reciprocal, and lifelong learning
(Clavenger-Bright, et al, 2012).

Implementation Outcome. As a result, Glenn (2001) found that more than 80 percent of
the schools that integrate service learning into the classroom report an improvement in
grade point average of participating students. On the other hand, such programs foster
lifelong commitment to civic participation, sharpen "people skills, and prepare students for
the work force. Students also gain a deeper understanding of the course/curricular
content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of civic
responsibility (ASCD, 2004).

3. Learning Centers/Parallel Disciplines. A popular way to integrate the curriculum is to address

a topic or theme through the lenses of several subject areas. In an elementary classroom,
students often experience this approach at learning centers. As students move through the
learning centers to complete the activities, they learn about the concept being studied through the
lenses of various disciplines.

In the higher grades, students usually study a topic or theme in different classrooms. This
may take the form of parallel disciplines and teachers sequence their content to match the content
in other classrooms (ASCD, 2004).

Implementation Outcome. As a result, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University

(CMU), learning centers in the classroom can affect the ability to focus and study among
young children. In fact, learning centers allow children to role- play in order to understand
and make sense of the real world and their personal experiences in it. Thus, these help
children understand the social world, develop communication skills, and build
relationships.

4. Theme-Based. Some teachers go beyond sequencing content and plan collaboratively and
they do it in a more intensive way of working with a theme dubbed as "theme-based. Often, three
or more subject areas are involved in the study, and the unit ends with an integrated culminating
activity. Units of several weeks duration may emerge from this process, and the whole school may
be involved. A theme- based unit involving the whole school may be independent of the regular
school schedule.

Other thematic programs may involve teachers across the same grade, wherein teachers
carefully connect the activities to the standards in each discipline. Over time, they have developed
a long list of possible culminating activities. They also update their Website continually and use it
as a teaching tool with students. The site offers many interesting options for those interested in
this method of integration (ASCD, 2004).

Implementation Outcome. Using theme-based learning, students can exhibit excellent on-
task behavior and work collaboratively. Also, students are engrossed both as presenters
and as an audience for the half-day performance task presentations as they use a wide
range of presentation, such as video, panel, forum or colloquium, debate, sculpture,
music, etc. They can demonstrate an-depth understanding of the topics as a result of their
sustained interes around various questions. In fact, fewer recess problem occur during
this two-week period that made teachers enjoy the process and the results.

5. Fusion. In this method, teachers fuse skills, knowledge, or even attitudes into the regular
school curriculum. In some schools, students learn respect for the environment in every subject
area or some incorporate values across disciplines. Fusion can involve basic. Many schools
emphasize positive work habits in each subject area. Educators can also fuse technology across
the curriculum with computer skills integrated with in every subject area (ASCD, 2004)

Implementation Outcome. As a result, fusion brings positive gains in student achievement

resulting from integrated instruction in the classroom (Bolack, et al., 2005; Romance &
Vitale, 1992, Campbell and Henning. 2010). In addition, students make connections
among disciplines, values, concepts, content, and life experiences. Students' increased
critical thinking skills, self. confidence, positive attitude, and love for learning manifest their
effectiveness. Shriner, et al (2010) also found that motivated teachers and students allow
a classroom to be a positive, fun, and engaging environment in which to learn.

Other Types of Integrated Curriculum

There are different types of an integrated curriculum as mentioned by ASCD (2004):

1. Connected. This happens when topics surrounding disciplines are connected, which
allows students to review and re-conceptualize ideas within a discipline. However, it has
its shortcomings because the content focus still remains in one discipline.

2. Sequenced. This is observed when similar ideas are taught together, although in
different subjects, which facilitates learning across content areas, but requires a lot of
communication among teachers of different disciplines.

3. Shared. This is when teachers use their planning to create an integrated unit between
two disciplines. Although in some ways, this method of integration requires a lot of
communication and collaboration between two teachers. A teacher presents the structure,
format and standards in making research while collaborating with the science teacher,
who focuses on the content area of research that is related to science.

4. Webbed. This reflects when a teacher plans to base the subject areas around a central
theme that will tend students to see the connection within different subjects.
Doing Curriculum integration in the Classroom

Chhabra (2017) posited that integrating curriculum in the classroom includes combining
different subject areas and then, teaching them in relation to a singular theme or an idea.
Innovative teachers and schools prefer integrating the curriculum in their classrooms as it
improves student achievement and leads to an increase in student standardized scores Placing
student achievement on top priority, an integrated curriculum utilizes the mentioned three different
approaches of integration.

Benefits of Integrated Curriculum Model

1. It focuses on basic skills, content, and higher-level thinking

2. It provides a deeper understanding of content.

3. It encourages active participation in relevant real-life experiences.

4 It provides connections among various curricular disciplines.

5. It accommodates a variety of learning styles, theories and multiple intelligences.

New Literacy Integration in the K to 12 Curriculum

The new literacy can be integrated into the K to 12 curriculum across subject areas as
presented in the table below. However, the integration of new literacy is not limited to the identified
disciplines, the given learning outcomes, suggested strategies and assessment. In fact, each
learning area can integrate as many new literacies as possible depending on the lesson, the
nature of the subject and the objectives or intended outcomes. New literacy integration can take
place in as many disciplines as possible.
Integration of New Literacy in the K to 12 Curriculum

Literacy Subject Area Outcome Strategy Assessment

Output
1. Multicultural Araling Demonstrate Role playing Rubric
and Global Panlipunan respect for assessment
Literacy cultural diversity Brainstorming result

Brainstorming
report
2. Social Edukasyon sa Apply ethical Case analysis Narratives
Literacy Pagpapakatao and moral
standards on Dilemma Case report
given issues analysis
and cases
3. Media English Use media in Media-assisted E-portfolio
Literacy communication instruction
Filipino dissemination Google clip
and transaction
4. Financial Math Solve problems Problem solving Scores in
Literacy in the context of solving drills
business and and exercises
investment
aspects
TLE Apply effective Business Business plan
techniques in simulation and and inventory
budgeting and immersion
income
generating
enterprise
5. Digital/Cyber Computer Examine the Hands-on Computer
Literacy Subject computer virus activity Capstone
that commonly
damages Experiential
computer learning
networks and
systems Project-based
Research Cite ways in Exploratory Research
resolving method output
plagiarism
issues and
determine
research
protocols
6. Ecoliteracy Science Suggest ways Project-based Project Portfolio
on how to
protect nature Task-based Participation
and address Log
climate change
 Learning
Reflection
journal
7. Arts and MAPEH Creative Manipulative Project design
Creative artworks and works
Literacy artistic designs Crafts
using Art studio
indigenous workshop
materials method