Integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula have taken center stage in the recent education reforms. However, the challenge in teaching STEM curricula lies in finding ways to develop students' content knowledge and plan suitable learning activities and instructional strategies. This paper is focused on the…

Explores how practitioners might evaluate the merits of various curriculum integration formats. Provides a rationale, followed by an outline of prominent integration forms (interdisciplinary curriculum, integration around skills, and integration of students' experiences, internal life, and curricula) and criteria for establishing their merit.…

Describes the philosophy and development of an integrated science program in a British secondary school. Discusses constraints to the program including laboratory facilities, money, and fewer laboratory technicians. (MA)

Describes one school's plan for mixed-ability teaching that utilizes the knowledge, skills, and experiences of all English department members by providing an integrated and coherent curriculum pattern.

Several concerns regarding a shift from separate science disciplines to unified science in the secondary school are expresed. As an alternative, a life science--materials science diversion is proposed with applied sciences in each division providing an overlapping of areas. (CP)

Three approaches to defining curriculum balance are examined: the imposed "a priori" model, the social utility model, and the phenomenological model. Contends that the current social utilitarian approaches to reform the school curriculum may produce an unbalanced curriculum that ignores the socialization process and aesthetic qualities.…

Describes an approach to the development of an integrated science curriculum which involves the adaptation of existing separate science courses by school staff. Presents viewpoints which advocate the integration of the sciences, describes the associated organizational changes, and outlines the advantages of a team teaching approach. (GS)

Describes a quantitative study of secondary school teachers' beliefs about curriculum design. Uses the 33-item Science Curriculum Orientation Inventory (SCOI) to measure five distinct orientations to curriculum: academic, cognitive process, society-centered, humanistic, and technological. Collects data from 810 integrated science, chemistry,…

Reports results of a study that investigated whether the objectives of teaching computer science as an independent subject are met when computer science is integrated with school subjects. Components of a formal (independent) curriculum, identified through interviews with computer science experts, are compared with the operational (integrated)…

Argues U.S. secondary school reform requires a serious rethinking of the curriculum, in addition to revising the structures and relationships within schools. Explores problems posed by disciplines as the primary influence on curricula, and proposes an alternative model that evenly integrates the influence of disciplines with other influences on…

Suggests English teachers might draw from authors such as Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Mary Shelly and others: (1) to knock down the walls that separate science and literature; (2) to show their interrelationship; and (3) to instill enthusiasm for the study of both. (NH)

Five curriculum designs appropriate for general education programs that have evolved in American secondary schools and colleges are identified: distribution requirements, required courses, correlated courses, combined courses, the integrative seminar, and core curriculum. The advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Curriculum organization, particularly in the secondary school, should provide for continuity, sequence, and integration of knowledge. There are five basic schemes of organization discussed in this article. (Author/WD)

Comparing separate subject approach with an integrated approach to social studies instruction, it was found that neither approach taught process skills or changed student attitude; that integrated classes used more evaluative questions and were less teacher dominated; and that educational quality is related more to teacher quality than to…

One curriculum design model for integrating oral communication in the English classroom consists of three components: communication contexts, communication functions, and communication skills. The model provides a perspective through which appropriate communication curricula and activities can be developed for students of all ability levels,…