Coherence and integration (cont.)
Teachers integrate ideas and content from multiple domains and disciplines through themes, projects play opportunities, and other learning experiences so that children are to develop an understanding of concepts and make connections across content areas. For example, in discussing a draw children’s attention to the same pattern in songs.
Children’s learning is seen as occurring in separate content areas, and times are set aside to teach subject without integration. Teachers fail to connect curriculum topics in ways that are meaningful to children. As a result, learning is often fragmented, and children are less likely to generalize ideas and apply them across content areas.
Teachers use a “holiday curriculum” or build units on other themes with only surface appeal (e.g., teddy bears), rather than using a curriculum based on characteristics of children’s development and learning, the content and skills (including thinking skills) they need to acquire, and what they find deeply engaging.
Effective implementation
The curriculum, which is in written form, provides teachers with a useful and flexible framework for planning learning experiences can fit together to accomplish the program’s stated goals.
If there is a prescribed curriculum (published or adopted by a district or school), teachers do not have the flexibility or the capability to make adaptations in the curriculum to optimize its interest and effectiveness with the particular children in the group.
Teachers actually refer to and use the curriculum framework as they plan what will do with children, so classroom experiences are coherent. Teachers plan implement experiences that help children achieve important developmental and learning goals.
Teachers do not consider the curriculum framework in their planning (e.g., the “curriculum” is a book on a shelf). Children’s learning experiences do not follow a logical sequence. Goals of the program are unclear or unknown.
In planning and implementing learning experiences, teachers draw on their knowledge of the content, awareness of what is likely to interest children of that age, and understanding of the cultural and social contexts of children’s lives.
Teachers rigidly follow a prescribed curriculum plan without attention to individual children’s interests and needs or the specific and changing context (e.g., studying snow with children in January, regardless of where the program is located or the local weather conditions). Teachers use previously planned topics without attention to circumstances or events (e.g., an egg in the incubator beginning to hatch, first snowfall in November).