Integrated Program

An integrated program consists of a set of units rather than discrete subjects each of which combines content and processes from a number of disciplines and other relevant domains around themes or organisers. Units frequently address key questions or concepts.

Schools organise integrated programs in various ways:

across the whole school
across the VELS levels or within year levels
with selected disciplines/subjects that can be in combination with other program/s.

An integrated program:

draws together elements of different disciplines into a meaningful whole
combines general and specific content, as well as generic skills that can be applied in many different environments. For example, students may apply mapping skills in an investigation into sustainability that is combining content from the Humanities, Mathematics and Science. They could apply research skills to an investigation into community life
reflects the complexities of knowledge and its application in diverse contexts, problems and situations
reflects closely the interdependence between aspects of life in the ‘real world’
encourages learners, through active investigation, to unify rather than separate knowledge as they move from the acquisition of facts to the development of broader concepts and generalisations
has a strong emphasis on student-centred, active learning and on the process of investigating as much as on the product.

Schools that successfully implement integrated programs:

enable professional learning/teaching teams to meet regularly to plan integrated units and develop a clear understanding of who is responsible for teaching, assessing and reporting
provide opportunities for teachers to develop their professional learning in areas such as understanding the VELS, inquiry learning and creating integrated units
use tracking/monitoring tools such as scope and sequence charts/planners
develop timetables that support the program such as individual class timetables that allocate specific time to the teaching of an integrated unit or ensuring teachers who are collaborating on an integrated unit have access to the classes
provide opportunities for teachers/teams to evaluate their programs.

When developing an integrated program, schools consider the appropriate duration of units of work; this may be a few weeks, a term or a semester. The amount of time allowed for a unit is dependent on the age of the students, the nature of the cohort, a school’s timetable and the number of standards that are selected to be assessed. Mapping the curriculum and having a consistent approach to unit design assists schools in ensuring units of work do not unnecessarily overlap or duplicate key learning.

Two year scope and sequence charts show the concepts and standards to be covered across the school. Throughlines or big ideas can be developed that run across levels and disciplines.

Explicit teaching of domain specific concepts and skills occurs within these units, enabling students to apply the knowledge, skills and behaviours when working in other contexts throughout the year.

There are many ways in which assessment can be undertaken, for example:

one teacher might teach and assess all aspects of a student’s learning
two or more teachers might teach and assess different aspects of a student’s learning.

The following example demonstrates shared teaching and assessment planning between two teachers.

In an integrated unit on fairy tales where Level 4 students learn about the genre and work in small groups to produce a new claymation fairy tale for a targeted Prep audience, the classroom teacher and the art specialist collaborate in the planning and delivery of the integrated unit. The teachers work closely to support each other by being responsible for some common and different aspects of the teaching, learning and assessment activities.

The following table illustrates one way in which the teachers’ responsibilities could be organised and shared.

Domain	Dimension	Teaching and learning activities	Assessment
Interpersonal Development	Working in teams	Classroom teacher Art specialist	Classroom teacher Art specialist
English	Reading	Classroom teacher	Classroom teacher
	Writing	Classroom teacher	Classroom teacher
	Speaking and listening	Classroom teacher Art specialist	Classroom teacher
The Arts	Creating and making	Art specialist	Art specialist
ICT	ICT for visualising thinking	Classroom teacher Art specialist	Classroom teacher
ICT	ICT for communicating	Classroom teacher Art specialist	Classroom teacher Art specialist

The case studies of Darley Primary School and Lakeside Lutheran College show examples of integrated curriculum programs.