1. Integrative Curriculum Approach
Sue L. T. McGregor

2. Basic premises of integrated curriculum
Humans are hard-wired (soft-wired?) to make meaning by seeing patterns. Conventional approaches to schooling tend, however, to teach people to see things in straight lines, separately and to look for cause and effect (not networks, links, connections)
The human brain is very adept at making connections to solve problems – we just have to provide opportunities for people to practice this
Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills (KAS or ASK) are best learned in relationship to a WHOLE, which gives purpose to the learning

3. People Need to learn how to CONNECT THE DOTS

4. Integrative curriculum is all about teaching students how to build and use MENTAL bridges

5. Team teaching is great, but not enough
Simply presenting perspectives separately is not enough
This stance leads to breadth of knowledge (which is good), but it does not provide chances for students to connect the dots. It simply safeguards compartmentalization of information leading to students creating boxes of knowledge in their head with no links between them (i.e., nothing is woven together)

6. In an integrative curriculum….
Students need to learn a lot about each subject (facts and information and various perspectives).
The concepts have to mean something to them (be authentic, relevant to their lives).
Then, they have to learn what to pull out, what is relevant to the issue at hand, and
then learn how to weave it together to address the problem (connect the dots).
In order for this synthesis to occur, curricula must be designed in such a way that the content and processes are restructured to create a new entity, often using thematic units, issues-based learning, inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, question- posing learning.

7. The colored strands represent the teachers on the team, working on an integrative curriculum

8. Integrated curriculum
An integrated curriculum can be confined to making links among subject areas OR expanded to mean creating new models to use to understand the world. From the latter stance, planned (even serendipitous) learning experiences:
ultimately help learners gain a unified view of commonly held knowledge and
motivate learners to want to develop their power to see new relationships, patterns and links, thereby enabling them to create new models, systems and structures.
They are learning to learn during their whole life and learning to make their life whole.

9. Final note
Information is common to everyone, but an integrative curriculum teaches students how to unify the information to create new knowledge by helping them see and make new connections, patterns and relationships among the bits of information and existing knowledge in their head, thereby finding creative ways to pose and solve comprehensive life problems and issues - move from compartments to the total whole (rather than a hole)

10. Example – Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) Connecting the Dots education for sustainability curriculum
lst.ca/media/LSF_Connec ting_the_DOTS_Executiv eSummary.pdf
lst.ca/en/projects/teacher -resources/dots