SCHOOL-BASED LEARNING

Tools for Integrating Curriculum
and for Project-Based Learning

Buck Institute for Education (BIE) is a non-profit research and evaluation organization dedicated to improving schools by advancing knowledge about the practice of teaching and the process of learning. Located in Northern California, the Institute provides materials, training and technical assistance on project-based learning, problem-based learning with a special focus on economics, and internships. See their downloadable material on Project Based Learning, Teacher’s Manual for Problem-Based Economics and Buck Institute Handbooks for Internship (for employers, students and teachers).

The Career Academy Support Network (CASN), located at U.C. Berkeley, on its website, offers a number of resources to assist teachers in curriculum integration. The home page has the "Teaching and Learning Guide" for Career Academies that lists the best 75 websites for locating curriculum that fits well in academies, including projects.

Report on the California Partnership Academy Integrated Curriculum Development Project and Curriculum Integration Report: Action Projects offer a set of example integrated curriculum projects developed and tried out by the academies involved, across a variety of career fields. These project descriptions have common formats, with abstracts, goals, implementation, culminating activity, and student and project assessment spelled out (generally 3-5 pages long).

A 15-minute video with an overview of the Career Academy Integrated Curriculum that shows an academy team of teachers working to develop an integrated project. It demonstrates the basic steps in this process, including how teachers from different disciplines can examine what they're covering and find points of commonality around which to develop integrated projects.

Finally, CASN’s "Career Academy Course Sequences" report draws on several sources to sketch the courses typically included in well-run academies in seven career fields (e.g., health biosciences, business/finance, computers/info tech, tourism/hospitality, engineering/construction, arts/communications, and environmental science/natural resources). Sample curriculum is also included, with references to more in-depth sources.

Career Pathway Rubric, developed by Roman Stearns and Peter Crabtree available here for download in .

Designing Projects Forward and Backwards (Patricia Clark, EASTBAY Learns). It is an outline for implementing project-based learning. Designing Forward starts with learning standards or existing curriculum that you want to teach or enrich with a project and guides you through the planning steps. Designing Backward starts with a project idea (an issue/problem in your school, community or workplace) and then guides you through the planning steps.

Institute for Workforce Education (IWE) designs and delivers custom-tailored staff development to meet the needs of business, education, and community partnerships. It promotes workforce education for schools and communities through professional development, technical assistance and training. IWE provides lesson plans, sorted by the following career paths: Arts & Communications, Business, Management & Technology, Health Services, Human Services, Industrial & Engineering Technology, and Natural Resources & Agriculture.

Jobs for the Future has many resources and publications on their website. See Connected Learning Communities – A Toolkit for Reinventing High School.

 Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation has a directory that lists guides and handbooks, articles, documents for purchase, resources available upon request, newsletters and journals, evaluations and research, websites and additional funding all with direct link. See Getting Connected – A Resource Directory for Career Academies.

MPR Associates is an educational research and evaluation firm that offers publications and technical assistance. See their Getting to Work Guide on Integrated Curriculum, offering worksheets and instruction for the implementation and assessment of integrated curriculum.

National Academy Foundation is a national network of career academies centered around three themes finance, travel & tourism, and information technology. Their resource center has resources and tools applicable to any career theme. Their Academy Planning Guide is available here on .

National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC), is a coalition of schools, teachers, students and business that support career academies. See their Career Academy Toolkit for an action plan and timeline.

The New Urban High School: A Practitioner's Guide (The Big Picture Company) Excerpts from The New Urban High Schools: A Practitioner's Guide scanned and posted with permission from The Big Picture Company. Docutment includes a "Project Guide" on pages 82-108 and "Integrated Curriculum Unit (ICU) Guide" on pages 139-158.

Preparation for College and Careers: A Guide for Organizing Learning Around Career Themes is available by calling Peralta Community College District at (510) 466-7210.

Project-Based Learning with Multimedia was developed through the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project. The site has general literature on Project-Based Learning, Curriculum and Activities based around multimedia and classroom examples.

Senior Project at Amador Valley High School (Debbie Emerson-Forbes, Health and Bioscience Academy Coordinator, Dianna Damon, English Teacher) is an example of project-based learning in a multidisciplinary integrated curriculum (senior project).

Small Learning Communities is a federally funded program that creates small sub-schools within large high schools.

The Utah State Office of Education offers a complete Curriculum Integration Packet with sections on Curriculum Mapping, a Calendar to plot when core content and skills will be taught, Core Applications - determination of core content and process skills to be included in the unit, Essential Questions that bring meaning and coherence to the integrated units, Student Inquiry, Assessment and Reflection.

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