Curriculum integration in arts education: connecting multiple art forms through the idea of ‘space’

Arts integration research has focused on documenting how the teaching of specific art forms can be integrated with ‘core’ academic subject matters (e.g. science, mathematics and literacy). However, the question of how the teaching of multiple art forms themselves can be integrated in schools remains to be explored by educational researchers. This paper draws on data collected at a secondary school in Singapore. The case study analyses how three art teachers, using the idea of ‘space’ as organizing theme, implemented a module of instruction that connected concepts and processes from a variety of art forms (including dance, music, drama and visual arts). We present evidence from curriculum materials, lesson plans, student–teacher classroom interactions and students’ productions. Students were able to reflect upon the importance of space within the arts, analyse the points of convergence and divergence among several art forms, experiment with space and create their own interdisciplinary performances. Our ultimate aim is to provide insights that might inspire art teachers in designing instructional units focused on ‘big ideas’. We suggest that allowing more curricular freedom and providing teachers with adequate structures for interdisciplinary collaboration are key to achieving meaningful levels of integration.     

Una introducción a los espacios vectoriales y al lenguaje logo a través del ordenador

Resumen

Este artículo presenta la posibilidad de programar conjuntamente unos contenidos informáticos con los d e otras materias del currículo escolar. Después de ilustrar esta posibilidad mediante la programación de unos contenidos sobre espacios vectoriales y lenguaje LOGO de programación de ordenadores, se indican algunos aspectos positivos que favorecen los procesos de aprendizaje de los alumnos.     

Instructional Experiences of Graduate Assistants Implementing Explicit and Reflective Introductory Biology Laboratories

Science education reform documents identify nature of science (NOS) as a critical component of scientific literacy and call for universities, colleges, and K-12 schools to explicitly integrate NOS learning into science curricula. In response to these calls, this study investigated the classroom practices of nine graduate assistants (GAs) who taught expository and inquiry laboratories that implemented an explicit and reflective (ER) pedagogy to teach NOS. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the experiences that enabled or inhibited GA implementation of an ER strategy in a college setting. The findings revealed that achieving quality implementation in this setting was very difficult. Factors such as GAs' ability to foster meaningful classroom discussions, laboratory logistics (e.g. lack of time and supplies), and the value undergraduates and GAs saw in learning about NOS were identified by GAs and observed by the researchers as barriers to the technique maximizing its potential. Thus, for meaningful infusion of NOS into science curricula, pedagogical support for GAs to manage meaningful classroom discussions in support of NOS or other complex topics is recommended for an ER approach to NOS learning to be successful in college settings.     

El uso de los medios desde los modelos del currículum

El uso de los medios de comunicación y las tecnologías de la información en la escuela está experimentando una auténtica convulsión desde la incorporación del ordenador al escenario escolar. La anterior reforma educativa, emprendida en nuestro país se alumbró bajo los prometedores auspicios de los medios audiovisuales y ya entonces se levantaron voces, bien catastrofistas, bien entusiastas vaticinando en ambos casos consecuencias que revolucionarían los modos de enseñar en la escuela. El paso de los años ha demostrado que ambas premoniciones fueron inexactas y que la escuela ha permanecido relativamente impermeable a la revolución tecnológica del mundo exterior. La aparición del ordenador ha vuelto a suscitar una polémica de parecidas características, afortunadamente superada, aunque es cierto que el entorno informatizado—o aún más el entorno hipermedia que se avecina—al que inevitablemente se aboca la sociedad de hoy, supone tales cambios cualitativos en el modo de organizar el conocimiento y por tanto la impartición del conocimiento, que la escuela no podrá por menos que adoptar una actitud emprendedora respecto a las nuevas tecnologías como parte integrante del currículum.