Curriculum Integration

Students who study business principles are exposed to a variety of opportunities that could be fruitful in today's interconnected society. Understanding business terminology has numerous advantages, but when it is connected with other curricular subjects, daily experiences can be improved and made more meaningful. Collaboration with coworkers and a spirit of mutual support are key to integration's success.

In order to create a full, all-encompassing learning experience for pupils, curriculum integration simply connects different topic areas by stressing relevant concepts throughout the subjects. To improve students' learning experiences, restrictions and limits within topic areas are removed in order to make learning more relevant and meaningful to students. According to (Drake & Rebecca Crawford Burns, 2004), life is not divided into different disciplines, therefore in order to live successfully, one needs skills from a variety of disciplines; as a result, curricular integration prepares one for life's experiences.

In the Business classroom, integration is presented using the interdisciplinary model. In this approach, the curriculum is focused on common learnings across disciplines. This model caters to the individual differences and learning styles of students and aids in developing skills that can be transferred from one discipline to another.

Integration can be beneficial in a number of ways. First off, learning is concentrated on real-world situations, which makes the curriculum more pertinent to these students' requirements. As students can integrate the information from the various disciplines to grasp the overall picture rather than studying a subject in isolation, their learning becomes more cohesive. Their capacity for critical thought and problem-solving grows as a result. The diverse learning preferences and multiple intelligences of students in the 21st century, who use technology and favor methods like cooperation, are also taken into account by this integrated approach.

Information Technology is one of these subjects that is regularly incorporated in business classes since it integrates so well with the various sections of Principles of Business. The combination of these two disciplines improves student collaboration, engagement, and creativity; it also appeals to many intelligences and learning styles, and it appropriately stimulates and integrates all learning domains, particularly the cognitive. Additionally, this subject helps students improve their social skills, a crucial component of Principles of Business.

In planning to integrate elements of Information Technology in my Business classroom, my colleague and I used certain criteria. Firstly, we discussed the topic to be taught, the level, and then which element could be easily integrated and understood by the students. As such the topic of Budgeting was chosen to be taught to a Form Four class.

My colleague expressed that using Microsoft Excel would be an excellent software to design and utilize; thus, this element was selected as the focus of integration in the lesson. She also indicated the Information Technology school-based assessment includes a section that involves Microsoft excel, so this lesson would enhance this area for the students. Further conversations revealed that my colleague had some basic knowledge of Principles of Business and was very enthusiastic about assisting me in the class. As such, it was decided that the lesson would focus on developing students' money management skills with the content of the lesson being presented in the form of a pie chart that my colleague and I created. She would utilize her technical skills and I would provide her with the data required for the budget. This interdisciplinary approach applied concepts of computer software (automatic calculation tools) in a business class.

The lesson was planned with technology forming the presentation of the content, so students were exposed to both teachers excelling in their designated disciplines. This facilitated that the core concepts of both disciplines were integrated effectively; the content and structures in Business were presented using an aspect of technology, which students would have been exposed to in the Information Technology class. According to research, when technology is integrated into the curriculum, students learn both content understanding and technology abilities (Silverstein, Frechtling & Miyaoka, 2000)

While planning the lesson, my colleague showed me a few tips and tricks to improve my competence in using the software. During our conversations, I explained to her some of the core concepts in budgeting and even suggested ways to create a savings plan for her future. This collaboration proved beneficial to both teachers as we realized the numerous advantages gained through sharing knowledge and skills.

We concentrated on the areas we wanted the students to become versatile in. The main concept in Budgeting is allocating income. The students will be required to manage and allocate the limited income to various areas. The allocation is usually displayed visually on a chart or diagram. This is where we would incorporate using technology to create and easily display the charts. The students would create the data tables and manipulate the formulas to produce the desired results. My colleague and I examined our schedules and chose the period to conduct the lesson. We booked the lecture room, allowing us sufficient space and electrical outlets. All the resources were sourced and various approvals given by the different department heads.

On the day of the lesson we divided the students into six groups. Each group sat around a table that contained a laptop, activity sheet, calculator, index cards, and paper. This facilitated easy collaboration amongst the students. Students were given different roles to engage in; parents preparing the budget (with given limitations), data entry clerks (entering the data into excel), and group presenters (using the software to generate colorful charts). My colleague and I both demonstrated what was required by using a real-life example of our own personal budget. All elements of the budgeting lesson were designed to create an authentic scenario, bringing that real-life context to the classroom; an advantage of the interdisciplinary model.

The interdisciplinary approach has demonstrated how integration and collaboration with other disciplines can contribute to the holistic development of my students and create a meaningful learning experience for them.