Cross Curricular Approaches

Poor cross-curricular teaching can result in ‘fragile, temporary, transferable and difficult-to-articulate learning’ whereas good cross-curricular projects combine ‘creative thinking with the maintenance of disciplinary rigour and challenge’; and although all 12 subjects ‘may be applied to a single theme, research suggests that subject progression and integrity is best ensured by limiting the subjects involved in cross-curricular work’ (Barnes, 2015:65). For this reason, ‘Munch and Crunch’ solely focuses on English, Maths, Computing and D&T. Barnes (2015) also suggests local communities concerns should be built into lessons as incorporating local visits leads to motivation and engagement. ‘Munch and Crunch’ allows children to visit their local

'Making cognitive connections, within subjects and between subjects...' ( Piaget 1977, Cockburn and Haylock 2008,Rose 2009) is an aspect of cross-curricular learning. Generally speaking, cross-curricular learning is when skills, knowledge and attitudes of a number of disciplines which are applied to a single experience, problem, question, theme or idea. In simple terms, it's also known as a thematic approach. From this point, I'd be exploring the reasons why a thematic approach should be adopted in the classroom and this approach could deliver the four core subjects in the National Curriculum in Key Stage 1. On top of that I'd be exploring the issues raised of adopting a cross-curricular approach and the implications of using a theme-based

Albert Einstein once said, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” This quote describes the responsibilities and standards of teaching children. I believe that teachers should be held to high standards for being the foundation of a student’s education and well-being. For my future students, my responsibilities as a future educator include supplementing the growth of a variety of students’ knowledge and creativity, abiding as a role model for students and colleagues, and understanding the issues in the foundations of education.

However, this creative spirit is quickly lost as students progress through their years in education, where independent thought is second to memorization and repetition. While vocabulary quizzes are common, this expansive vocabulary is rarely utilized in creative writing but rather regurgitated on the SAT examination. Instead of exploring the ways math could be used in various careers that students might pursue, math classes require memorization of trigonometric angles. In ethics class, instead of presenting one’s own views and providing support for these views, a student is expected to simply repeat what was said in class, whether the student agrees with these opinions or not. However, anyone can simply repeat back previously provided information and duplicate past processes. Education should be about finding creative new solutions to problems in the world today and encouraging individual thought that will change the world in the future. In order to improve the world, it is necessary to think of new solutions to problems. Creativity is necessary to come up with these solutions, and by stifling creative thought in education, educators are also stifling progress in the world. The goal of education is to prepare students for the rest of life, and educators are obligated to encourage creativity in order to achieve this

My understanding of how the world works has changed as my knowledge of science has developed. [For me, the study of sciences is so connected that one simply cannot be studied without the others]. I am attracted to so many aspects of science that focusing on one part is not something I am ready to do yet. The multidisciplinary course will allow me to continue a range of fields of science before specialising in a particular area.

Another key feature is that the National Curriculum identifies key subject disciplines. All the National Curriculum subjects are organised to show a carefully designed framework that will maximise a learners opportunities to achieve success. As illustrated by the QCA (2007), for Design and Technology, the curriculum is organised into 4 parts, which are:

In Ryerson University, there are lots of different kinds of co-curricular opportunities and services that can help me. And I researched Ryerson University Accounting Society and Academic Success Centre. I found out that the co-curricular opportunities and student services are very helpful, they can help students to develop their professional skills, strategies and behaviours.

I believe that cross-curricular learning experiences allow students to learn the same topic within different approaches. As an educator, it is import to expose students to different learning strategies, methods, and experiences to allow them to explore and apply their knowledge to real-world problems. As there are different learners, there are different teaching techniques that teachers need to implement in order for students to their knowledge to different settings. To be an effective teacher, I would provide opportunities for my students to learn from each other through cooperative learning, but at the same to create opportunities in which they can individually reflect and apply the new concepts across the curriculum. In standard 4, I used

The module, Learning Within in the Wider Curriculum, aims to prepare student teachers in teaching a range of foundation subjects. This is implemented by creating an environment that supports their developing teaching and learning strategies in order to further aid the progression of their students within school.

While teaching in state-maintained schools, it is necessary that the National Curriculum Framework is followed and children are taught the relevant skills and knowledge stated within each Programme of Study. Therefore, there must be structure to the lessons where these skills and knowledge are to be developed throughout the academic year. Previous teaching strategies required teachers to follow a rigid plan where each individual lesson was to last one hour and be taught at a certain time on a certain day (i.e. The Literacy Hour). These strategies are no longer necessary for teachers to follow anymore; it is now possible for teachers to integrate lessons using a central theme, enabling them to teach pupils in a more imaginative and original way, which will stimulate children’s interest and engagement whilst still developing the necessary skills and knowledge specified in the National Curriculum (Sewell, 2015). This integrated curriculum allows children to pursue learning in a holistic way without the restrictions often imposed by subject boundaries (Kelly, 2001). ‘Subject integration provides an opportunity for students to make natural and meaningful connections between and among multiple content areas’ (Bogan, King-McKenzie, & Bantwini, 2012:1055). The human brain does not separate knowledge into discrete partitions but creates a complex web of information that recognises patterns…’, thus thematic teaching works with the brain rather than counter to its natural function

This paper explores the experience of synectics, a teaching model that comes from the informational-processing family. This model is known as the art of enhancing creative thought and through our group experience it has given us proof. Creativity is a huge part of the model and its purpose is to bring out creativity from the students. Synectics brings all children the process of metaphoric thinking known as the foundation of creative thought. As my group and I continued to study the model we discovered great connections and outcomes from teaching a lesson through synectics in two different grade levels. This paper will serve as a reflection from my experience using the synectics model as

Integrated curriculum is a researched discipline that has been discussed since the 20th century started (Drake & Burns, 2004). Many researchers recorded their findings on the impact of integrated curriculum in the classrooms. Lakes (2016) researched that gravitating towards integrated curriculum meant that teachers were pulling away from instructing students to memorize and recite isolated facts would decrease. Teachers began to move toward teaching meaningful lessons that incorporated connections between more than one

Having a creative nature is one of the main components corporations are looking for in employees. The ability to think outside of the box and be innovative with solutions is at the forefront of product development and growing businesses. All students are capable of being ingenious but it needs to be developed (Costa and Kallick, 2008). Teachers must use as many opportunities as possible to allow students to tap into their imagination, using their creative nature when the task requires it (Laureate, 1996e). Lessons should be designed that push students to devise solutions to problems in a variety of ways. One lesson that would force students to use their creativity is the construction of children’s books. Students are required to write a story and make a children’s book for school-aged children in a grade from K-2 to explain a biological concept discussed in the course. The challenge is to present the information at the level of the child’s grade chosen and to present it in a whole and accurate manner. Students who have mastered and comprehend the concepts will have no issues in conveying the information to another person with success. Over the process of the assignment, student will use techniques suggested by Costa and Kallick that help student develop their creativity and wonderment. Students will work with their peers to construct mind maps on various biological topic. This will guide students to ensure they include all the important facts about the topic.

This article helped me to understand the importance of including creativity within classroom instruction and the author did an excellent job at describing one way to do so. The author was all about using the inquiry based learning. The author explained this type of learning in a way that I could see myself using it within my classroom. Although the author is an advocate for using inquiry learning within science classes I could see myself using this type of learning within other areas of instruction as well. If I would use inquiry based learning within language arts or math it would still encourage creativity because the students would still be taking responsibility for their own learning.

Many teachers aim to inspire children, capture their imaginations and draw them into the world of Literacy. In this approach many professionals are seeking new innovative ideas and readily turning to a cross-curricular strategy, incorporating the creative arts.