white oaks Elementary
white oaks Elementary
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Integrated Curriculum- Adrienne Kravchak and Cassidy Glammaria
Integrated Curriculum- Adrienne Kravchak and Cassidy Glammaria
What if we could re-imagine the classroom experience of an elementary student? What if we could remove the subject specific silos and create a classroom organized around authentic learning experiences? What if we could increase student agency by purposefully integrating Content, Math, and Language Arts using student-driven problem based learning?
The experiences we can give students by imaginatively rethinking our approach to teaching and learning could give them the knowledge and skills they need to be more successful learners and citizens. While designing purposefully integrated units of study, our goal would be to develop the students’ ability to exhibit understanding across a variety of disciplines and transfer and apply knowledge across contexts.
By learning through real-world problems, students can develop problem solving skills and recognize how innovation can change their world. The end goal of any unit would be to turn ideas into actions to address problems, challenges, or unmet needs. Learning would be a collaborative process between the teacher, student, and community, supporting student skills in advocacy.
Through action research, this team is giving students the opportunity to become socially and civically responsible, while still learning the obligated standards and objectives. Giving students a purpose helps them to own their learning. Giving them an authentic purpose helps them learn to take responsibility for their actions and their consequences in real life contexts. Their learning extends beyond the classroom walls and has the possibility of changing how students perceive their world.
This student centered approach develops curiosity, critical thinking, and the transfer of understanding. All of this is done through authentic communication and collaboration, both inside and outside of the school building. Access to a variety of digital tools makes so much of this possible.
Spring school closures and uncertainties in the fall have put this project on hold. Summer was spent researching, including book and article studies on deeper learning, PBL, and student-centered digital learning. Team members are currently examining semester 1 curriculum, across subjects, to plan for a blended or remote learning environment, during which students can engage in authentic, student-centered units. The goal is to fully integrate multiple subjects, while creating active learning experiences with opportunities for problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
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