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Social Studies as an Integrated Curriculum

Integrated curriculum as defined by Shoemaker (1989), is education that is organized in such a

way that it cuts across subject-matter lines, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into
meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It intends to create meaningful experiences
by allowing learners to establish connections between and among learning areas, thus making sense of
the social phenomena examined.

This what Beanne is trying to point out when he said that integrated curriculum is concerned
with enhancing the possibilities for personal and social integration through the organization of
curriculum around significant problems and issues, collaboratively identified by educators and young
people. These include of the following aspects:

 Integrated experiences;
 Social integration;
 Integration of knowledge; and
 Integration as a curricular model

In integrated experiences, the learners take an active role in the educational process by
linking experiences with the information shared by the teachers. They reflect on their “lived
experiences” while connecting it to the curriculum content. Meanwhile, social integration
encourages learners to examine the content from ‘positions of power (powerlessness) and
action”. It presents rich opportunities for learners to become socially aware and engaged. On the
other hand, integration of knowledge happens when learners solve problems using eclectic
approaches acquired from various personal and classroom-based experiences. Finally,
integration as a curricular model is achieved when the curriculum mirrors the realities and issues
relevant to learners, when the process takes precedence over product, and when there’s a
concerted emphasis on “project-based learning with direct application to addressing real-world
issues”.

An integrated curriculum may manifest in various forms like project-based units,

correlated units-where two separate subjects are taught in parallel- or a problem-based unit that
serves to solve the problem rather than differentiating the subjects (Applebee & Flihan, 2007).
In addition, in an integrated curriculum, both teacher and learners drive the inquiry,
presentation, and assessment process.
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To understand more the concepts of integrated curriculum, look at the illustration below:

 activities
Objective &
 activities
questions

Theme Objectives &  activities

questions  activities

Objectives &
 activities
questions
 activities

Figure 1. Visual model of an integrated curriculum adapted from the Integrative Opportunities in
the Social Studies Classroom.

Constructivist Theory in Teaching Social Studies

Constructivism is a theory of learning that has roots in both philosophy and psychology.
The essential core of constructivism is that learners actively construct their own knowledge and
meaning from their experiences. (Fosnot, 1996; Steffe & Gale 1995).
This core has roots that extend back to many years and many philosophers, including
Dewey (1938), Hegel (1807/1949), Kant (1781/1946), and Vico (1725/1968). Philosophically, this
essence relies on an epistemology that stresses subjectivism and relativism, the concept that
while reality may exist separate from experience, it can only be known through experience,
resulting in a personally unique reality. Von Glaserfeld (1984, 1990) proposed three essential
epistemological tenets of constructivism to which a fourth has been added in light of recent
writings.

The Basic Tenets of Constructivism

 Knowledge is not passively accumulated, but rather, is the result of active cognizing by the
individual;
 Cognition is an adaptive process that functions to make an individual’s behavior more viable
given a particular environment;
 Cognition organizes and makes sense of one’s experience, and is not a process to render an
accurate representation of reality, and
 Knowing has roots in both biological/neurological construction, and social, cultural, and
language-based interactions (Dewey, 1916/1980; Garrison, 1997, 1998; Gergen, 1995; Maturana
& Varela, 1992).
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The above tenets acknowledge the learners’ active role in the personal creation of knowledge, the
importance of experience (both individual and social) in this knowledge creation process, and the
realization that the knowledge created will vary in its degree of validity as an accurate representation of
reality. These four fundamental tenets provide the foundation for the basic principles of teaching,
learning, and knowing process as described by constructivism. However, these tenets may be emphasized
differently, resulting in various “degrees” or types of constructivism.

Types of Constructivism

A. Cognitive Constructivism
This is typically associated with information processing and relies heavily on the
component processes of cognition. It emphasizes that in order to acquire knowledge, an
individual has an active role in cognizing any stimuli that formed part of his/her experiences.
Adaptive process is essential in this kind of knowledge creation. It maintains the idea that an
independent yet knowable reality exists. This differentiates cognitive constructivism from radical
and social constructivism.
Thus, knowledge is the result of accurate internalization, construction, and reconstruction
of external reality by any individual capable of doing so.
The internalization of process and structures corresponds to the process and structures
that exist in the real world. These internalization, construction, and reconstruction are what we
call 'learning'; learning that creates accurate internal models or representations that reflect
external structures that exist in the "real" world.
This perspective on learning focuses on:
a. the process of learning;
b. how "experiences" are represented or symbolized in the mind; and
c. how representations are organized within the mind.
Overall, the construction of knowledge is considered primarily a technical process of
creating mental structures but has little bearing on the nature of the subjective knowledge within
the mind.
Cognitive constructivism contributed significantly to empirical findings regarding learning,
memory, and cognition, including schema theory, working memory models, computational
models of learning and memory, and neurological models of brain function. Likewise, this
theoretical development has led to successful instructional applications such as the use of
advanced organizers, concepts maps, teaching for transfer, elaborative practice, teaching for
automaticity, and the use of reading strategies (e.g., SQ3R: survey, question, read, recite, review)
and problem-solving strategies (e.g., Identify problems, define goals, explore strategies, act,
learn)

B. Radical Constructivism
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Radical constructivism, on the other hand, believes that the acquisition of knowledge
(e.g., ideas, concepts, processes, insights, etc.) is an adaptive process that could be attributed
from the active cognition of an individual translating an experientially based mind.
It maintains that there is an internal nature of knowledge. Also, it recognizes the existence
of an external reality that is UNKNOWABLE to the individual (Von Glasersfeld, 1990, 1996) since
our experience with external forms is mediated by our senses, and the latter is not adept at
interpreting an exact representation of these external forms (e.g. objects, social interactions).
Thus, while knowledge is constructed from experience, the way it is constructed is not an
accurate representation of the external world or reality (Von Glasersfeld, 1990, 1995). It means
that knowledge is not objective truth, rather a viable model of experience (Von Glasersfeld,
1995). These models are created within an individual and influenced by various contexts.
Staver (1995) precisely articulate this idea when he mentioned that "knowledge is
knowledge of the knower, not knowledge of the external world; improving knowledge means
improving its viability or fit in, but match with, an external world" (p.1, 126).

C. Social Constructivism
Social Constructivism as a school of thought lies between the transmission of the
knowable reality of the COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISTS and the construction of a personal reality
of the RADICAL CONSTRUCTIVISTS. Social constructivism "upholds the social nature of
knowledge and that knowledge is the result of social interaction and language usage, and thus is
a shared, rather than an individual, experience" (Prawatt & Floden, 1994).
Moreover, social interaction occurs within a socio-cultural context, resulting in knowledge
that is bound to a specific time and place (Gergen, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978). Bakhtin (1984)
explained this position by saying that "truth is not to be found inside the head of an individual
person; it is born between people collectively searching for truth, in the process of their dialogic
interaction" (p. 110).
Thus, truth is considered not an objective reality as espoused by cognitive constructivist
not the experiential reality as argued by radical constructivists, but rather is a socially constructed
truth which evolved from co-participation in cultural practices (Cobb &Yackel, 1996, p. 37).

Constructivist Pedagogy
Due to breadth of constructivism's theoretical underpinnings, pedagogies vary among
practitioners. Among these differences, however, there were identified eight factors that are
essential in constructivist's pedagogy (Brooks & Brooks, 1993; Larochelle, Bernarz, & Garrison,
1998; Steffe &Gale, 1995).

**(Take note that these are not solely constructivist in nature)

1. Authentic and real-world environments are necessary for learning to take place. An
authentic environments are essential in realizing "learning experiences" for it provides actual
learning contexts. It provides the activity upon which the mind operates. Also, knowledge
construction is enhanced when the experience is authentic.
2. Social negotiation and mediation should be taken into account in any form of
learning. Social interaction is a vital element of learning for it provides socially relevant skills and
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knowledge. In the age of globalization and cultural heterogeneity, learners should be exposed to
various opportunities of interaction in order for them to develop the necessary knowledge, skills,
and values such as tolerance, social adaptation, flexibility, peaceful co-existence, and
collaboration, among others. Language is an integral part of social mediation since it is the
medium through which knowledge and understanding are constructed in social situations
(Spivey, 1997).
3. Content and skills are made significant to the learners. Regardless of types,
constructivism emphasizes the importance of knowledge since it serves an adaptive function.
Knowledge could enhance one's adaptation and functioning; thus, it is necessary to the
individual's current condition and even goals.
4. Learner's prior knowledge is fundamental in the acquisition of content and skills. All
learning begins within an individual's schema or prior knowledge. This simple yet profound
statement can unravel learning possibilities for it allows us to examine the personal history (i.e.
experiences, trauma, interests, contexts) of each learner. Only by attempting to understand a
student's prior knowledge will the teacher be able to create effective experiences, resulting in
optimum learning.
5. Formative assessment should be done to inform future learning experiences.
Constructivism asserts that knowledge acquisition and understanding is an active and on-going
process that is heavily impacted by the student's prior knowledge and experiences. Thus,
teachers should continually assess the individual's knowledge. This assessment is needed to
accurately design the appropriate series of experiences and activities for students.
6. Constructivism encourages learners to become self-regulated, self- mediated, and
self- aware. One of the basic tenets of constructivism is the idea that learners are active in
knowledge and meaning construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. This cognitive
exercise requires individuals to manipulate and organize experiences, regulate own cognitive
functions, integrate new meanings from existing ones, and form awareness of current knowledge
structures.
7. Teachers should act as guides and facilitators of learning. The teacher's role plays a
major part in students' learning. In the cognitive constructivist perspective, teachers create
experiences where students participate, leading them to knowledge processing and acquisition.
Thus, teachers are seen as the "guide on the side" instead of the "sage on the stage".
8. Teachers must employ multiple perspectives and representations of content. If
learners are provided multiple perspectives or lenses in examining a particular phenomenon or
event, he/she can have the raw materials necessary to create and develop varied
representations.

References
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 Andres, B, Semeralda, E. Padernal, R. and Pawilen, G. (2021). A course module

for teaching social studies in the elementary grades ( Philippine history and
government).Manila: Rex Bookstore
 Corpuz, B and Salndanan, G. (2015). Principles of Teaching with TLE.
Manila: LORIAR Publishing, Inc.
 K to12 Gabay Pangkurikulum ARALING PANLIPUNAN Baitang 1 –10. Department of Education
retrived August 2016 from https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2019/01/AP-CG.pdf