Curriculum

Merging Two Worlds (M2W) is a life skills/transition based curriculum that was developed specifically for secure care populations by the Arizona Department of Education’s Secure Care Education Committee. The M2W curriculum is based on the concept that resiliency is critical to an individual’s successful reintegration into the community. Resiliency is generally defined as the ability to come back from and successfully adapt to adversity. The four chapters in the M2W curriculum are aligned with this concept of resiliency. For example, an individual’s self-awareness strengthens resiliency. Therefore, Chapter 1 is entitled “Who Am I?" This chapter focuses on self-assessment. It guides the student through identification of his/her strengths, interests, abilities, values, learning styles, and skills. Lesson topics include values, beliefs, self confidence, learning styles and interests, personal skills, job/career pathways, and decision making. Chapter 2 is entitled “Where Am I Going?” In this chapter the student uses self-awareness and their own unique perspective to make decisions and set personal goals. Chapter 2 lesson topics include values, goals, choices, consequences, communication, other points of view, responsibility, critical reasoning, and priorities. Chapter 3 is entitled “How Do I Get There?” Lessons in Chapter 3 focus on motivation, self-confidence, work ethics, life management, decision making, health/wellness, relationships, communication, handling conflict and emotion, and persistence. Chapter 4 is entitled “How Do I Keep It All Together?” This chapter includes lessons in this housing, money management, transportation, medical treatment, communication skills, finding, getting, keeping a job, learning needs and opportunities, leisure time choices, and decision making.

As the student works through the four chapters of the M2W curriculum, he/she builds his/her own personal transition survival guide, My Resource Guide (MRG). This individualized portfolio or resource guide allows the individual to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources. The student then selects the lessons that are personally relevant and saves them in his/her individualized transition portfolio, MRG. The last lesson of each M2W chapter, instructs the student to think about all past M2W lessons. The student is guided as they review, reevaluate, record, reflect and report on their work. These reflections are also saved in MRG.

The M2W curriculum is flexible and can be easily enhanced or supplemented with content specific lessons or additional life skills/transition materials that the teacher already employs. There are several different versions of the curriculum available.