Continuity, Sequence, and Integration
Continuity, Sequence, and Integration
Continuity
- Vertical reiteration: an element recurs so it can be developed and practiced again.
Sequence
- One step beyond continuity: each new experience builds on the last, going deeper and broader.
- Rejects mere repetition at the same level.
Integration
- Horizontal relationship: an element in one subject is supported by others at the same grade.
- Builds a unified view and unified behaviour, not isolated skills.
Three criteria decide whether a curriculum’s organization actually works. They are continuity, sequence, and integration. Two of them govern vertical organization over time; the third governs horizontal organization across subjects. Together they are the most-used test of any curriculum’s structure.
| Criterion | Direction | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Vertical | An element recurs for repeated practice |
| Sequence | Vertical | Each recurrence goes deeper, not flat repetition |
| Integration | Horizontal | The element links across subjects into unified behaviour |
Continuity
Continuity ensures the vertical reiteration of curricular elements. It means an important element comes back, again and again, so it can keep being developed and practised. If an objective is to develop reading skill in social studies material, continuity shows up as recurring opportunities across the curriculum for that skill to be developed and practised. If the objective is a meaningful concept of energy, continuity means the concept is dealt with again and again in various parts of the course. Continuity is a major factor in effective vertical organization.
Sequence
Sequence is one step ahead of continuity. Continuity moves an element from grade to grade, but if the element simply repeats at the same level, it is useless, because there is no new development of the concept, skill, or attitude. Sequence demands that every new experience build upon the previous one and go more deeply and broadly into the matter.
For the reading-skill objective, sequence would require more complex social studies material, increasing breadth in the skill, and greater depth of analysis, so each grade is not a repeat of the last. For the energy concept, sequence requires greater depth and breadth and broader, deeper implications each time. In short, sequence requires a higher level of treatment with each successive experience, and it rejects repetition.
Continuity brings an element back; sequence makes each return go deeper
Continuity is the vertical reiteration of an element so it can be practised again. Sequence demands each new experience build on the last, with greater depth and breadth, rejecting flat repetition.
Integration
Integration ensures the horizontal relationship of learning experiences. A horizontal relationship means the content in one subject area is supported by another subject at the same grade level. Integration is what maintains it.
Its purpose is unity. Good integration lets learners gain an increasingly unified view and unify their behaviour in relation to the elements they are learning. Take an objective to develop skill in handling quantitative problems in arithmetic. If the ways to develop that skill are also used in social studies, science, and everyday shop work, then the skill is not developed as an isolated behaviour usable in one course only. It becomes part of the learner’s total capabilities, usable across many situations in daily life. Whenever a concept is developed in one subject, it helps to see how it links to learning in other subjects.
The horizontal link of an element across subjects, building unified behaviour
When a skill learned in arithmetic is also used in science and daily life, it stops being an isolated behaviour and becomes part of a learner’s general capability, usable across many situations.
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