Interdisciplinary Teaching

Hayes (2010) has suggested that cross – curricular approaches can be defined using a variety of legitimate meanings, as it does not have a single identity. Moreover, cross – curricular approaches can be referred to as ‘interdisciplinary’ and a cross – reference can be made to ‘Curriculum integration’. ‘Interdisciplinary’ learning incorporates several subjects. Similarly, ‘Curriculum integration’ can be emphasised as subject disciplines being planned which all link together through a theme which can be known as thematic teaching (Caroll and McCulloch, 2014; Savage, 2011; Jacobs, 1989). Ordinarily, thematic teaching allows learning to take place with links being made between combinations of subjects within the National Curriculum (NC) (Department for Education, DfE, 2014). A MTP (Appendix A) can incorporate thinking and learning activities relating to thematic teaching, which provide opportunities for teachers to enhance thinking and

Before considering the proper balance between content and disciplinary literacy, I must first understand where my students are in terms of their reading skills and ability. One of the most difficult aspects of teaching is being able to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners who come from different backgrounds as well as learning styles and abilities, I do not believe that a proper balance can be determined that will meet the needs of every learner. It is equally important however to insure that a balance exist.

With that being said, EDU 350 offers countless materials to encourage teacher candidates to develop an interdisciplinary mindset, focused specifically around teaching the English Language Arts. Teacher candidates’ content knowledge is developed through the reading of two textbooks, Making Sense of Phonics by Beck and Language Arts: Patterns of Practice by Thompkins. The information collected from these resources are applied to both the development and execution of lesson plans, specifically the final Interdisciplinary Standards Based Unit. The SBU is the way that teacher candidates display their understanding of the content knowledge taught within the class. The SBU must incorporate an ELA strategy in every lesson, different reading comprehension strategies, technology, global perspectives, multiple content areas, and the integration of four expository and four narrative texts. Each of these components were discussed at length every week, so that the teacher education students would be comfortable implementing them into their final thematic unit

The final step in the approach that the authors present is to include a writing component within a lesson. There is no wrong way to include writing in any classroom. Teachers have to choose what mode of writing best fits each individual student. Again, there is technology available to use with students in order to aid with

In reading competency 2, Facilitate Learner Development and Socialization, it mentions about the various learning styles of students, as well as specific learning and teaching methods being utilized for diverse learners. By providing instructional methods fit to diverse learners need will results in an effective educational outcome for the students.

In the video on Academic Diversity: Differentiated Instruction the teacher has the children work in different groups to learn about the Caribbean. She has already taught the students some background on the Caribbean and now, based off their interests, they are able to learn more about different aspects of the culture. Each group had a specific task to work on that they had to complete but they were allowed them to show their opinion and creativity. After she broke them into groups based on their interests she planned each group to have a chance to put their own twist on the assignment. The students in flag making got to choose what flag they wanted to make, the students in map making got to create a map, the students in the food group got to create food, and the group listening to music got to write about their favorite kind of music and why it was their favorite. The teacher made sure that the students worked as a group but also had an element that was theirs alone.

ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on novel approaches open to teachers of philosophy in particular, but more generally also to other university teachers, in the face of what Allan Bloom saw as the waning of a literary culture. It is argued that, although some of Bloom's suggestions regarding the successful engagement of students' interest-against overwhelming odds-are didactically valuable, he neglects precisely those avenues from which students could benefit most on the basis of their own experience in a world largely devoid of literary attachments but saturated with audiovisual ones. These options are explored in some detail from various perspectives, including the difference

When using the checklist provided by Bean, Readence, & Baldwin (2010), to analyze my own teaching strategies I noticed there is a huge lack of literacy integration within my curriculum. Three main areas where this gap is evident is the textbook used within our curriculum, adapting reading materials, and integration of text variety. First I would like to analyze number five, materials for instruction, including the textbook, are chosen to match the reading levels of students. This is not true within my own classroom. The textbook we use is provided by Carnegie Learning. While this textbook connects the mathematics to practical everyday situations, it is extremely difficult to read. Many of the students within my classroom are reading below or at grade level. With the text requiring extremes amount reading comprehension, I find my students struggle understanding what they are reading, and what

Select a literacy-based strategy that you could use in your classroom to aid students in developing content area expertise. Present this strategy to the class, including the strategy name, an explanation of the strategy, examples of possible uses, and an opportunity for your classmates to participate actively in the strategy. This presentation should be between 15 and 20 minutes. For this activity, you will need to post handouts for the class which include the strategy name, the source, steps to follow, materials needed, suggested uses as related to the content area(s), and the appropriate related Indiana Academic Content Standard(s).

A number of influential scholars and educators have worked to help recognize ways of supporting students in using literacy strategies to acquire and deepen their understandings of academic subject matter. A range of terms are used to describe work in this field, including content literacy, content area reading and writing, academic literacy, disciplinary reading and writing, and literacy across the curriculum (Moore, 2007).

I believe the aim of higher education is not to get a job but rather to embark upon a journey to discover one’s true self and stimulate oneself to succeed in one’s passions. Therefore, I’m drawn to the Honors Program offered by University of Washington as it emphasizes on an interdisciplinary education.

In chapter nine of their book, Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, Vacca et al. (2014, pp. 280-307) discuss strategies that encourage writing across the curriculum. Throughout the chapter, the authors present numerous instructional practices and strategies that can be applied by educators to facilitate writing in their classrooms. As I read through this chapter, I was surprised by how mathematics could be applied to these strategies, a learned new information, and was surprised at times. Overall, this chapter offers a plethora of information to up and coming educators, and gives insight into how writing can be implemented into their content areas.

For literacy instruction to become consistently taught and utilized throughout all subject areas as well as grade levels, teachers first need to identify aspects of the curriculum that connect with various types of literacy. For example, when studying genetic testing in Science, students can read three different viewpoints with pen in hand and then participate in a debate representing an assigned or chosen position. Literacy is required to be authentic and engaging such as the genetic testing debate above. As a future administrator I envision a generous amount of instructional time devoted to purposeful reading, writing, and talking, the essentials of authentic literacy (Schmoker, 2006, p. 53). To assist teachers in developing authentic literacy within students, I would first ask them to use common

Literacy is the term used when talking about the ability to read and write. It leads to success in K-12 school, post-secondary school, the ability to compete in the job market, and participation in democratic process (Wei, Blackorby, & Schiller, 2011). Teaching young children how to read and write however is a very complex process that requires a teacher to employ a myriad of strategies to help students. When a teacher takes into consideration all the different abilities in a classroom having multiple strategies that help all students become proficient in speaking and listening, reading, and writing, is essential.

The teachers would also examine the school’s curriculum to ensure that the instruction provided in the course covers across and within the specific topic areas. It instigates the integrated curriculum by cross-fertilizing ideas to make them more interrelated and co-informed. The impact is seen in the move the curriculum makes of going beyond the pieces of knowledge that might appear to be seemingly unconnected to one that is holistic in its narrative (Parkay, Anctil & Hass, 2014). Moreover, the subjects in the curriculum will grow to be aligned in a proper manner that tells of the what, who, and why story. A probable example of this scenario would be to have the students of a biology course in their ninth-grade only learn and stick to what mirrors what their peers are learning in other ninth grades elsewhere. This alignment is seen in the manner in which publishing is done while targeting at the educational policies that will enhance rigorous standards. The theory behind this alignment is that it will circumvent the prioritization that might be placed on one subject line or skill set over the others (Watermeyer, 2011). Doing this as a part of the horizontal alignment would point to the learning standards that the learners should attain and whether they have done so in the specific