In a very rare situation, an instructor might find themselves teaching the same set of students in two courses in the same term where the topics are complementary. In these cases, it is possible to consider combining the two courses into a single course in terms of material and delivery while keeping assessments separate. This is what we call full integration. Two courses integrated with twice the credit, expected work.

When you combine concepts and materials from two courses into a new integrated course, it is sometimes called fusion in the literature. Please see Lam et. al. for a longer, more general discussion on integration.

In the fusion case, it is occasionally possible to take two 1/2's and make one course from two courses. This might be possible in some cases, but might not fit well in some cases. The learning outcomes for the term need to be aligned and there cannot be issues with downstream courses. Thus, this can possibly work for a variety of situations (not all) and also does not need a cohort mechanism.

Beyond the simple fusion, it might be feasible to consider merging two full courses for the purpose of lectures and combined assessments. This is more challenging and is what this note is about. This will ONLY work if you have the same students in the two groups, a cohort model!

In this latter case it might be possible to combine both courses into one larger integrated delivery where the learning is dramatically and significantly enhanced and enriched by combining the material and learning outcomes; to the point where some students might in hindsight say, “best course ever!”.



With some effort, it is possible to design the two courses so that the learning outcomes are still identifiable for each course and can be attributed appropriately for the purpose of assessment.

From a pedagogical perspective, this can be very attractive but there are risks and we would normally advise against doing this (having learned from first-hand experience attempting this). We have had one situation where we did this and we learned some important lessons. We would actually do it again if we were starting a full teaching cycle with a long, foreseeable future with a steady teaching assignment, AND it is sustainable with other instructors capable and willing to continue the course delivery. The learning experience for the students is worth it.

The full integration into a full, double credit studio type course has great potential and will be perhaps the best course ever, but for others not wanting such an intense, deep experience, it will be possibly the worst course ever. Possibly best to be done as an elective? Or, with a highly motivated cohort? Perhaps.

Realize the effort and risks. This should not be attempted before one has tenure and has significant experience teaching both topics.

Reflections...

• Warning: the majority of students will not likely enjoy the experience during the term because the two courses will have a codependency with respect to their marks, and the courses will look like a mountain too high to climb. In hindsight, some might view it as the best course ever, where they learned the most. Some will still hate it years later.
• In reality, the total work might be less if the course activities are flowed together, but this might not be apparent to the students. They need to believe that things will work out in the end and it is actually a good thing.
• When we did it, we used the same 'large' theme or example across the two topics with each 'course' focusing on what was relevant in its context.

• We were able to use one course to set a higher level view from a conceptual level and the second course got into the weeds, focusing on a subset of the situation.
• The timeslots and registrar's schedule can be played with; the topics and material flowing naturally from one topic to the other - when needed, as needed. E.g., schedule the two courses back-to-back.
• Warning: it is hard to sustain unless the instructor is just starting a new teaching cycle, for example after a sabbatical. There needs to be a department level strategy for sustainability.
• It is way too much effort for a one-off situation.
• Continuity from one year to the next is a challenge if the instructors change or if the curriculum changes, or when the next sabbatical comes around.
• Remember, just because you can do something and it makes sense on paper, does not mean you should do it; we suggest you stay with the simple forms of horizontal integration unless the stars are aligned and you are equally skilled in both topics.
• But, even with all of the challenges, it is worth it; if you can pull it off.

Further reading

• Lam, C.C., Alviar-Martin, T., Adler, S.A., and J. B.-Y. Sim. (2013). Curriculum integration in Singapore: Teachers' perspectives and practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 31, pp. 23-34.