Transdisciplinary, academically-integrated, thematic (TAIT) units in the career and technical education classroom

Abstract

The revision of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act in 2006 mandated the integration of core academics into the career and technical education (CTE) classroom. The purpose of this Stakian case study analysis was to examine the process by which one CTE high school located in the northeastern United States created and implemented transdisciplinary, academically-integrated, themed (TAIT) units in the CTE classroom and its relationship to student learning and engagement. Beanes (1997) Curriculum Integration Theory was used to examine the perceptions of six teachers three academic integration teachers and three technical education teachers directly involved in the creation and implementation of these units with high school juniors and seniors within their technical classrooms. The data showed that both academic integration and career and technical education teachers perceived that student motivation, engagement, and learning was increased in the presence of a TAIT unit as a teaching tool. Four types of social integration involving students was witnessed within the TAIT units including student-to-student integration, student-to-society integration, student-to-nature integration, and student-to-family integration. The education-to-career connection between the application of the units and students chosen career field facilitated learning in what was believed to be a greater breadth and depth of academic concepts compared to more traditional classroom learning. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.