Cross curricular approach to teaching and learning

Assessment

Two main schools of thought:

Observations

or

Tests

427BC-347BC

Double-focus attempts to promote a balance between experience-based and disciplinary opportunities for learning.

"Anyone who can produce the best blend of the physical and intellectual sides of education and apply them to the training of character is producing harmony in a far more important sense than any mere musician"

Plato, The Republic, 1955: p.155

1592-1670

"The proper education of the young does not consist in stuffing their heads with a mass of words, sentences and ideas dragged together out of various authors, but in opening up their understanding to the outer world..."

Comenius, 1967: p.82

Its impact on the child

Inter-disciplinary methods aim at progression in two or more subjects, together with the promotion of creative thinking and connection making between the subjects involved.

Present day

Plowden Report 1967

"By teaching in a set, uniform manner only the elite (who are gifted either linguistically, logical-mathematically or both) will achieve their potential. However, if there is sufficient balance and variation then every child has a chance to succeed."

(Gardner, 1999a)

"The recommendation indicates

that the key competences are all

interdependent, and the emphasis

in each case is on critical thinking,

creativity, initiative, problem solving,

risk assessment, decision taking and

constructive management of feelings."

The Rose Review (2009)

"Children's learning does not fit

into neat subject categories"

(CACE, 1967: Para 555)

- Reflects the ethos of a preschool setting

Cross-curricular studies "provide opportunities for children to develop and apply literacy, numeracy and ICT skills."

"Children's learning is enhanced by making links to other subject or topic areas and to wider issues of interest and importance."

Opportunistic aims at allowing children to dictate the depth and direction of disciplinary learning in a number of subjects related to a shared theme or experience.

(Rose, 2009)

How times

have changed

"playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically – underpin learning and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner"

(EYFS, 2012)

Multi-disciplinary uses a single experience or theme to develop higher levels of understanding and performance in more than one discipline

Rose (2009) and Alexander (2010)

Curriculum requires a combination of discrete teaching opportunities and Cross curricular theme

Hierarchical achieve progress

in one discipline by using aspects of another.

Advantages of a Cross Curricular approach

1999 Curriculum

Disadvantages of a Cross Curricular approach

Boyle and Bragg 2008

Ten year longitudinal study

(1997 - 2007)

A Cross-curricular

taxonomy

Heavily focused on learning essential knowledge for tests.

Traditional approach when subjects are taught independently.

Thematic curriculum

=

Success

• Cover more subject knowledge in a limited amount of time
• Makes it easier for the children to relate abstract subjects to real life scenarios
• Pupils are able to make similarities in and between specific subjects making explicit links
• Children start to understand the purposes of what they are learning
• Learn transferable skills that they can apply to other subject areas
• The impact on pupil motivation and learning of structured dialogue in group work and of collaborative learning;
• • The need to create opportunities to identify and build on pupils’ existing conceptual understandings;

• Hierarchical
• Multi-disciplinary
• Inter-disciplinary
• Opportunistic
• Double focus

• Lack of depth you are able to go into when covering lots of topics
• The children’s lack of understanding of which subject they currently doing
• The increased temptation to stray off from only teach what the children need to learn according to the National Curriculum
• The role of the teacher is paramount
• "Many teachers report a lack of self-confidence with respect to cross-curricular themes" (Saunders et al 1995)
• This inadequacy relates to both the lack of content knowledge and to the inability to employ a range of teaching and learning approaches appropriate to the theme (CIDREE 2005, p.8)

Summary

• The idea of a cross-curricular approach is a cornerstone of teaching and has a pedagogical tool for thousands of years
• Underpinning ethos of education.
• It allows children to synthesis their learning from many aspects of the curriculum which results in a more thorough understanding.
• One main limitation is that it is difficult to go into depth within some subjects.

Principles of the Cross Curricular approach

According to Rowley and Cooper 2009 values and ethos should underpin the curriculum and school life.

Making explicit connections to subjects such as PSHE which focuses on society and the world around us children can apply knowledge to real life situations which will not only encourage a more well rounded child but also allow the child to make sense of the knowledge acquired.

Cross-curricular teaching and learning is developed by teachers who have a deep understanding of their subject including excellent subject knowledge and have the "capacity to reconceptualise this within a broader context of learning beyond their subject, and with sensitivity towards other subject cultures."

(Savage, 2011)

What is cross curricular teaching and learning?

"This approach is defined by combining skills, knowledge and attitudes of a number of different disciplines that are applied to a single experience, problem, question, theme or idea, we are working in a cross curricular way."

(Barnes, 2010, p.10)

Processing information in the eyes of Piaget...

For a cross-curricular approach to be effective it needs to be coherent when making connections with pupil's prior knowledge and experiences.

For children to develop a full understanding it is important for them to assimilate newly acquired information with prior knowledge.

When Cross-curricular learning has the biggest impact on a child's understanding it is effectively contextualized providing opportunities for pupil's to make explicit links with real world experiences.

Cross curricular approach to teaching and learning

Hunt, R and West, A. (2015)

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