Integration

We need our young people to learn how to ask questions that burst the boundaries of what we think, and feel inspired to apply the answers in their own lives. The research supporting integrative learning shows that it is equally effective at teaching the standard skills we expect of our young students. It is even better at teaching the global perspective and creative connections that are now so sorely needed. It leads to better application of skills to real situations. It results in faster retrieval when students must remember what they learned. It increases depth and breadth in learning. It offers more quality time for exploration. It brings students to a more positive attitude toward learning. And of course, it forms more connections among areas that have traditionally been taught in isolation.

Integration, practiced with depth, acts as more than just a way to organize curriculum. It demands that students look at themselves and each other and the relationships in their lives. How do we participate in the world that we are studying? What choices do we make? These are the kinds of questions that produce change makers.

Integrative studies at Trū is organized into a three-year cycle of themes which are purposely broad and philosophical: Beginning, Living, and Becoming. These themes are applied to every area of study and provide a unifying influence for the entire school year. They ask questions that lead us to better knowledge of ourselves — individually, collectively, and globally. These themes lead us to reflect on the following key questions: Where do we come from? How do we exist in this world? How are we trying to change?