One of the most important principles of the state policy in education is integration in the international educational system. Effective integration in the international educational system is impossible without meaningful correlation within national curriculum. It is essential that students entering grade 10 be offered quite new content and format of teaching from the very beginning, so as they could witness the effectiveness of high school education. If we continue educating students with the same methods and standard structures, we run the risk of leaving them ill-prepared for the increasing demand of creative thinking and transferable, critical problem-solving skills outlined with other key attributes of the frameworks for 21st Century Skills.
We believe that finding alternative methods of teaching is a crucial skill for high school teachers. The novelty in approaches can truly enhance the learning process, and done right it can be a win-win for both students and teachers. What is integrated curriculum?
«An integrated curriculum is described as one that connects different areas of study by cutting across subject-matter lines and emphasizing unifying concepts. Integration focuses on making connections for students, allowing them to engage in relevant, meaningful activities that can be connected to real life»
Implementation of integrated curriculum in general and integrated lessons in particular is an experience worth sharing. Providing meaningful, practical and life related learning, should become a common strategy in high school classroom due to a growing interest in the areas of the interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum.
The integrated curriculum not only gives opportunities for teachers and students to apply and transfer information, but also supports the development of skills to use beyond the classroom to best serve the needs of our ever-changing 21st century world.
Therefore, the integrated curriculum provides an ideal learning environment for to learn 21st century skills.
In the specialized streams of high schools there is a compulsory component based on the specialized teaching of individual subjects and disciplines. The subjects chosen prepare the ground for further professional education contributing to one common goal.
The issue of correlation of the subjects within a certain stream is fallen on educators. Education is a co-ordinate process and the major aim of education is the ‘unification of knowledge’ existing in the related branches of learning material. The idea of correlating the teaching of various subjects is not new. But, today it is highly essential to lay stress on the integration in the teaching of various subjects. Educators should rely on one of the main principles of learning process that is «All knowledge is one unit»
A child’s mind is an integrated whole which wants to receive experiences in an integrated manner. All the subjects aim to develop the intellectual power of the students as a whole. Therefore, it becomes necessary to correlate one subject with another. No subject can be taught in isolation.
Integrated lessons as a new format of integrated curriculum
What are integrated lessons? Within education, integrated lessons combine two or more concepts into one lesson being alternatives to the traditional class structures with one teacher in class. They ensure a smooth transition to Content and Language Integrated Learning in grade 11 paving the way to the further professional education.
3.10. 2018 Teacher K Aleksanyan