Integrated Units
In an overcrowded curriculum with many outcomes that are mandated to be taught over seven years of primary school there is a need to condense and combine these into units of work with outcomes, knowledge, skills and values from several NSW Key Learning Areas (KLA’s) in an integrated, enquiry based approach. At St Kieran’s, the choice to teach Integrated Units is linked to current, sound pedagogy and to the catholicity of the school.
Contemporary education researchers express the notion that teaching and learning in the 21st century should be authentic and transformational. Patrick Duignan explains authentic, transformational learning in this way;
“Authentic teaching and learning are moral activities because they engage both teachers and students in a deeper understanding of the nature and purpose of their lives and in determining how they can best contribute to the greater good of society. Authentic learning is not just about taking new knowledge and skills for oneself but is more about developing the capacity to give one’s unique contribution to others. Authentic learning makes a difference in the lives of all those who engage in it.” (Duignan, 2006 p.129)
As a contemporary Catholic school in the diocese of Broken Bay we have a commitment to the concepts of discipleship and evangelization embedded in the curriculum. This means that we strive as educators to teach our students their role as ‘action’ Catholics in the world, where what they learn can be used for the common good of all and to promote gospel values of love, justice and care for the environment through their learning.