JED 426 Session 6 Curriculum Integration Principles and Planning

1. Curriculum Integration: Principles and
Planning
• Students to feed back on their lesson plans and discuss the
development of their integration map posters.
• Examine further, the principles of integration
• Look at the core elements needed for planning integrated
lessons and curricula
• Applying these core principles to students’ own lesson plans
and posters
• Examine the nature of RE in the eyes of the law
• Examine relevance of the law to an integrated Jewish Studies
curriculum

2. What have you done so far?
•Series of 3 integrated lesson plans, for a specific
Year group showing;
•Integration within the JS Curriculum and
integration between JS and the NC
•A poster should be constructed for 1 of the 3
lessons in the series or of the module, showing
how integration takes place.

3. “Building a school whose curriculum is suffused
with coordination, integration and interaction is
difficult. It is much easier to work in a school in
which each subject is taught in isolation, where
teachers do not have to plan with one
another, where parents are clear about what is
being taught and when. Integration in any of its
forms requires significant support from the
administration of a school, from its Board, and
from parents.” Michael Zeldin, “Integration and Interaction in the
Jewish Day School”, in Robert Tomberg (ed.) The Jewish Educational Leader’s
Handbook (Denver: A.R.E.), 1998

4. THE STRUCTURAL FRAME
• Help teachers understand the school’s goals and
philosophy, particularly as they apply to integration.
• Assign general-studies teachers parts of the Jewish
studies curriculum and vice versa.
• Design the schedule in such a way that it is possible
for two teachers to be together in the classroom for
at least part of each day.
• Set aside time in the schedule for Jewish and general
studies teachers to plan together.
• Identify opportunities for integration within general
studies disciplines, as well as between general
studies and Jewish studies.
• Support teachers for taking risks and trying new ways to
integrate.
• Provide supervision and coaching for teachers as they
integrate in their classrooms.
• Furnish rewards and recognition for teachers who design
new ways to integrate in their classrooms.
• Involve teachers in identifying new opportunities for
integration within the school.
• Acknowledge how difficult it is for teachers to change
patterns of teaching learned in certification programs or
by teaching in other schools, and provide support for
teachers as they learn to integrate.
• Locate materials that support teachers’ efforts to
integrate, and where none are available commission
teachers to develop them in-house.
HUMAN RESOURCES FRAME
Four Frames for Integration, BUT
HOW?

5. Structural Frame and HR Frame
•SF – How would YOU like to be
supported to better understand the
school’s philosophy about integration?
•HRF – What support would give YOU the
courage to try new ways of integrating?

6. THE POLITICAL FRAME
• Develop consensus within the board, faculty and
parent body about the importance of integration.
• Educate parents to understand that integration is
a powerful means to help children develop strong
Jewish identities, a near-universal parental
concern.
• Help parents and teachers understand that
integration uses the limited time available in
school in an efficient way, to accomplish multiple
goals simultaneously.
• Provide safe arenas for parents and teachers to
express concerns about the school’s curriculum.
• Shape public ceremonies (graduation,
orientation, etc.) so that they embody the value
of integration.
• Design report cards and parents conferences so
that they make the importance of integration
evident.
• Give public recognition to teachers who
successfully create new and interesting forms of
integration.
• Tell stories about adults who are exemplars of
integration.
• Express support for integration in public
meetings with parents, teachers and board
members.
• Create symbols that express the school’s
commitment to integration and find
opportunities to display these symbols publicly.
• Encourage public displays (in the hallways,
newsletters, etc.), which exemplify integration.
SYMBOLIC FRAME
Four Frames for Integration

7. Political Frame and Symbolic Frame
• PF – How would YOU educate parents to understand
that integration is a powerful means to help children
develop strong Jewish identities.
• SYMBOLIC FRAME – Create symbols that express the
school’s commitment to integration….
Actually draw (briefly) a logo that would express a
school’s commitment to integration!!

8. Chagim Integration Model
Calendar
Event
Language Maths Science History Geography Art/Design
and
Technology
Citizenship
Omer Biography of Rabbi
Akiva
Ways to make
70
Irreversible
changes (fire)
How is bread
made (wheat
harvesting)
Planning a
picnic meal
Fire safety
Yom
Ha’atzmaut
Exploring famous
Israelis, Israeli
children’s books
etc
Drip irrigation
and agriculture
Modern
Israeli time
line
Exploring the
country through
different maps
Israeli artists Who are the
citizens of
Israel?
Shavuot Story of Ruth.
Stories of
immigration and
refugees
The Boy at the
Back of the class
book
Calculating
10% of
amounts
(tzedakah)
Where does
milk come from
Harvesting and
seasons
Dissection of
flowers
Laws of the
land

9. Integration Model 2
First Grade How could you be the next Jessica Ennis or Mo
Farrah?
(Science – keeping healthy)
On your Feet Britain 28th April
Shmirat HaGuf
How can we grow our own food?
(Science)
Forest School
Food Brachot
Third Grade Ghana (Tzedek)
(Geography see Focus Year 5)
(fairtrade (Feb)
Fairtrade Fortnight 27th-12 th March
Red Nose Day 24th March
Chesed and Tzedakah
Are the animals and plants in Ghana
the same as in England?
(Science )
Forest School
Africa Unity Day 25th May
Chesed and Tzedakah
What happens when I turn on a
switch?
(science)
Shabbat Project

10. A Practical examination of the principles of
integration
• Perkins (2002) ‘The quality of your organisations can be measured by the
quality of its conversations.’
• Each school has a prospectus which includes key aims, mission statements,
overarching goals which underpin SMSC, Curriculum and other activities.
• Examples might include; ‘To promote a feeling of well-being for all
children.’ ‘To ensure that the beliefs and values of the
Jewish/Muslim/Christian/Hindu faith underlie what we do.’ ‘To promote
lifelong learning.’ ‘To develop high standards across the school, striving to
reach and go beyond national standards in all subjects and key stages.’

11. Principles of integration
• The suggested principles which promote Cross-curricular thinking
may be linked under these 5 main categories;
1. Learning
2. Knowledge
3. Teaching
4. Children
5. The world

12. 1) Beliefs about Learning
‘Ultimately, as professionals in education, we have to decide what we
believe to be right and true about learning.’ (Barnes 2007)
Some current beliefs about learning, for discussion;
• There are many ways of thinking and understanding…each child has
their own way of being bright. (Krechevskey, in Sternberg and
Williams 1998)
• Group work, particularly in promoting conversation and other means
of communication, is an effective way to promote learning. (Vygotsky,
1978, Bruner, 1968, John Steiner, 2000)

13. Beliefs about Learning
• Modern technology are powerful ways of promoting, sustaining and
deepening learning. The resources that support intelligent behaviour
do not lie only within the mind and brain. They typically occur
distributed throughout the environment and social system in which
we operate.’ (Perkins, 1995)
• Deep transferable learning is best facilitated by a general sense of
‘positive emotion’. (Fredrickson, 2003)
• Intelligence is partly learnable (Shayer and Adey, 2002)

14. Once beliefs of the kind we have addressed have been
discussed, we need to decide if they can be turned in to a fixed
statement about teaching and a principle
•We will help each child discover his or her strengths
and interests
•We will ensure learning is practical and physical
•We will help children learn to learn
•We will ensure all children have opportunities to
achieve
•We will promote enjoyment of the learning process

15. 2) Understandings about
Knowledge
WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE?
• Knowledge outside the classroom is cross-curricular and organic in nature. It
is not confined to single subject disciplines. (Gardner, 2004)
• Subject disciplines are essential to good teaching. (Gardner, 1999a, 2004;
Matheson and Grosvenor, 1999)
• All subject disciplines are equally valuable in understanding the world and
no one subject or groups of subjects should have special status. (Robinson,
2001)

16. Once Understanding about Knowledge of the kind we have
addressed has been discussed, we need to decide if they can be
turned in to a fixed statement about teaching and a principle
• We will look at the world in cross-curricular ways
• We will get to know the school locality very well
• We will be open to change
• We will involve all in deciding what we should know
• We will use subject disciplines as useful ways of ‘chunking’
knowledge
• We will treat all subject disciplines with equal value

17. 3) Attitudes to Teaching
Teachers should have;
• A belief in the importance of making the time and opportunity to
reflect on successful and not so successful lessons
• An enthusiasm for developing creative teaching behaviours
• An understanding that working together with staff with other areas of
expertise enriches teaching and the experience of children
• An awareness that their own subject knowledge can and should be
constantly improved

18. Once Attitudes to Teaching of the kind we have
addressed have been discussed, we need to decide
if they can be turned in to a fixed statement about
teaching and a principle
• Plan fun activities which really interest
• Work with children to improve life in the community and local
environment
• Include all children
• Help children achieve their plans and dreams
• Constantly be adding to their own knowledge
• Be creative themselves

19. 4) Attitudes towards Children
• To have a belief in providing frequent and multiple
opportunities for children to discover what interests
them as individuals – to develop passions
• To have an understanding that the child’s world is
different from the adult’s and that this needs to be
taken in to account when planning activities, curricula
and environments

20. Once Attitudes towards Children of the kind we have
addressed have been discussed, we need to decide if they
can be turned in to a fixed statement about teaching and a
principle
• We will provide the basic knowledge and skills children need to make a
positive contribution to their world now and in the future
• To help children see themselves as budding experts in a chosen area of
knowledge
• To help children see themselves as creative beings with original thoughts
• To understand that the world of our children is different from that of
adults
• To look from the child’s eye view and value it

21. 5) An informed view of the World
Key principles to include;
• How can everyone have sufficient water without conflict?
• How can population growth and resources be brought in to balance?
• How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes?
• How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently?
• How can ethical considerations be more routinely incorporated in to
global decisions?
• How can the threat of new and re-emerging diseases and immune
micro-organisms be reduced?

22. Relevance to Cross-Curricular
Learning
• Page 162 of J Barnes’ ‘Cross-Curricular Learning 3-14’
• Discussions on school principles should include
1. Parents, governors, children, teachers, SLT, volunteers (all
stakeholders)
2. The principles should be regularly discussed
3. They should be used to make internal evaluations of the success of
the school
4. They should be expected to be used by both stakeholders and
external bodies to judge the quality of the school

23. Look at the core elements needed for planning
integrated lessons and curricula
• Making links
• Planning for relevance
• Planning spaces for learning (eg EYFS and KS1)
• Communication
• Application of number
• Information Technology
• Working with others
• Improving own learning and performance (reflection time)
• Problem solving
• A Curriculum map
• Limiting subjects
• Powerful experiences

24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lOIw-0MC-E

25. Applying these core
principles to our
own lesson plans
and posters

26. Community, foundation and voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled schools without
a religious character
RE must be taught according to the locally agreed syllabus adopted by the LA by which
the school is maintained.
Foundation and voluntary-controlled schools with a religious character
RE provision in foundation and voluntary-controlled schools with a religious character
is to be provided in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus. However, where the
parent of any pupil at the school requests that RE is provided in accordance with
provisions of the trust deed relating to the school (or, where there is no provision in
the trust deed, in accordance with the religion or denomination mentioned in the
order designating the school as having a religious character), then the governors must
make arrangements for securing that RE is provided to the pupil in accordance with
the relevant religion for up to two periods a week unless they are satisfied that there
are special circumstances which would make it unreasonable to do so

27. Religious education
in English schools

28. Voluntary-aided schools with a religious character
In these schools RE is to be determined by the governors and in accordance with
the provisions of the trust deed relating to the school or, where there is no
provision in the trust deed, with the religion or denomination mentioned in the
order designating the school as having a religious character. However, where
parents prefer their children to receive RE in accordance with the locally agreed
syllabus, and they cannot reasonably or conveniently send their children to a
school where the syllabus is in use, then the governing body must make
arrangements for RE to be provided to the children within the school in
accordance with the locally agreed syllabus unless they are satisfied that there are
special circumstances which would make it unreasonable to do so. If the LA is
satisfied that the governing body is unwilling to make such arrangements, the LA
must make them instead.

29. Will RE be taught separately, be combined with
other subjects, or both? Will RE be taught every
week, term or year in the key stage? Is the
programme of study required by the agreed
syllabus properly met? Is the provision evaluated
as part of the school’s self-evaluation process?
What about curriculum design? Does the RE
curriculum ensure an appropriate balance
between RE-led units, whether systematic or
thematic, and cross-curricular units?