Integrating the Curriculum Through Active Processing

By:
James Pelech, Benedictine University

In Press 2025

The purpose of the book is to present a different perspective on curricular theory. The book extends knowledge in the Education fields of curricular theory and learning; it does this by directly blending the concepts of active processing and the integrated curriculum. The active processing of knowledge and the integrated curriculum are interrelated and interdependent on each other, and the book leads the reader to experience this connection by asking the reader to participate in numerous Learning Activities. A unique feature of this book is that it presents an environment for readers to develop their own version of the integrated curriculum (as opposed to just feeding the reader concepts through a top-down approach) by using Learning Activities to connect learning theory with curricular theory. This book utilizes active processing, an application of the Constructivist philosophy, to enable the learning of the integrated curriculum, as an ”audience participation” endeavor.

In addition to the concepts discussed in the above paragraphs, the book provides and discusses (a) specific examples of how to choose topics for the integrated curriculum, (b) suggestions for developing lesson plans, and (c) a model for motivating faculty and colleagues to implement the integrated curriculum.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments. Foreword, Norman Weston. Introduction. CHAPTER 1: Curriculum in a Perfect World. CHAPTER 2: Building a Foundation. CHAPTER 3: Creating a Definition. CHAPTER 4: Buying (Into) the Integrated Curriculum. CHAPTER 5: Planning Logistics and Choosing a Topic. CHAPTER 6: Planning Learning Activities. CHAPTER 7: Note-Taking, Active Processing, and Transfer. CHAPTER 8: The Bridging Question Strategy. CHAPTER 9: Some Ideas for Assessment. CHAPTER 10: An Example of Planning. CHAPTER 11: Creating an Environment for Implementation. CHAPTER 12: Call to Action. About the Author. Index.