Linking the Learning 3-15

Education

Building a Curriculum for Excellence

“Celebrate, don’t censor or curtail the connections that are effortlesslyeffected by the young mind.” (Howard Gardner)

INTRODUCTION

Curriculum for Excellence places young people at the centre of the curriculum and clearly outlines the importance of developing the active engagement of all learners in the learning and teaching process. As schools work towards improving learning experiences and developing achievement opportunities for all pupils, it is vitally important to ensure that the twenty first century curriculum promotes deep and secure learning throughout a pupil’s school career.

Recent local and national publications have encouraged schools to consider the curriculum they offer and focus on improving approaches to pedagogy. The introduction of Co-operative Learning in Angus has been enhanced by advice and guidance contained in “Building a Curriculum for Excellence – Active Learning 3-15” which fully endorses the positive aspects of developing active approaches to learning through play in the early years and reflection on interactive teaching and lesson structure for adults working with older pupils. This focus on pedagogy, coupled with the recent launch of the draft outcomes and experiences for all eight areas of Curriculum for Excellence, has meant that schools now need to consider how they plan to ensure learning is challenging and enjoyable, with opportunities provided to engage and motivate all learners and enable them to develop creativity and resilience. A broad range of experiences needs to be provided which will involve schools reflecting on the curriculum they currently offer and ascertaining if pupils are given sufficient opportunities to learn in a variety of contexts. Depth of learning and coherence are also a major focus and this involves drawing different strands of learning together through extended activities across the curriculum. This is fully recognised in the Progress and Proposals paper (LTS 2006) which clearly states that:

“The curriculum is more than curriculum areas and subjects; it is the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education – a canvas upon which their learning experiences are formed.”

The promotion of a broad range of contexts for learning and interdisciplinary working is the main focus of this paper. Schools need to begin to reflect on how they connect both knowledge and skills across subject areas to promote deep and meaningful learning for all pupils. Some primary schools have sound experience of planning for learning through contextualised approaches and linking knowledge and skills across subject areas. This is fully recognised in the recent report “Making effective use of curriculum flexibility in primary schools” (HMIE 2007). However, it must be noted that many schools still adhere too rigidly to inflexible programmes of study and commercial schemes and the potential for creative and innovative approaches to curriculum delivery is not being fully appreciated or developed. Secondary schools do offer pupils some opportunities for interdisciplinary projects but many of these tend to be on a “one off” basis and more attention needs to be paid to how these deepen understanding within subject areas and make learning more meaningful and

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enjoyable for all pupils. The nature of the new curricular outcomes and experiences will demand closer working between departments in secondary schools and a renewed focus on developing contextualised approaches to planning for learning in our primary schools to enable pupils to make connections and develop the skills and capacities required for life.

Section 1 considers essential learning across the curriculum through literacy and numeracy.

Section 2 focuses on developing contextualised approaches to planning for learning 3-15 and the implications of developing interdisciplinary projects.

Appendix 1 summarises key research papers for those interested in undertaking further reading.

Throughout this paper key questions are posed to encourage schools to reflect on their current practice and plan for improvements.

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SECTION 1 – ESSENTIAL LEARNING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

One of the main aims of Curriculum for Excellence is to embed learning and teaching in literacy and numeracy in all subject areas. All teachers in all subject areas have a responsibility to teach literacy and numeracy. The importance given to ensuring all pupils have a strong base of literacy and numeracy skills cannot be underestimated and this has recently been reinforced with the decision to introduce new national, compulsory qualifications for all pupils in these areas in S4.

The development of literacy skills is critical in all subject areas and, although developing numeracy may seem more relevant in some areas than others, the expectation is that all teachers have a part to play in supporting literacy and numeracy development. What is required within schools is shared agreement on the approaches to be taken to achieve this and awareness amongst staff of how pupils benefit from links being made across the curriculum. It is very clear that this is a long term development for the whole school. Successful development requires senior management support and involvement and it is crucial that any action plans developed must have SMART targets which are sustainable. In all Angus secondary schools the principal teachers of Mathematics and English have been allocated responsibility for the development of numeracy and literacy respectively across the curriculum. In primary schools this is the responsibility of a nominated member of staff.

REFLECT

AND

DISCUSS

What steps have you taken to evaluate where your school is at in planning for literacy and numeracy across the curriculum?

How will you ensure effective implementation of key action points over the course of the year and how will these be monitored?

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NUMERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

“All teachers have responsibility for promoting the development of numeracy. With an increased emphasis upon numeracy for all young people, teachers will need to plan to revisit and consolidate numeracy skills throughout schooling.”

Building the Curriculum 1

Numeracy can be defined as the application of mathematical ideas to everyday life.

Good numeracy skills are important for learning across all curricular areas and are essential for life after school. Numeracy is much more than the routine facility with basic mathematical ideas and techniques and being numerate requires a blend of mathematical, contextual and strategic know-how. Mathematical know-how involves pupils knowing, understanding and using the mathematical ideas which are a typical part of the Maths curriculum. Contextual know-how involves an understanding of what mathematical terms mean in context and which interpretations make sense. Strategic know-how involves pupils in routine or complex problem solving and this can involve them:

• finding strategies to get going when stuck

• selecting key information

• organising information in a range of models

• using a range of problem solving strategies in a systematic way.

SKILLS KNOWLEDGE

THINKING

What does this mean for your pupils?

They need a fluent use of mathematical knowledge and skills used within a context

They need to use mathematics to make sense of something new – to learn.

They need to use maths sensibly and critically knowing what it can and can’t do in order to be able to judge the appropriateness of its use.

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One of the challenges facing schools in developing approaches to numeracy across the curriculum is identifying the actual responsibility of individual departments in teaching numeracy and developing a consistent approach for pupils.

Angus Council Mathematics Subject Network group are currently working towards providing advice and guidance for schools in this area. They are drawing upon a model used by Stromness Academy, Orkney Islands Council in their Numeracy across the Curriculum Project 2006.

(www.Ltscotland.org.uk/numeracy/sharingpractice/nationalprojects/20052006/orkney/asp)

This involved the development of a guide for teachers of all subjects as to how numeracy topics should be approached. This was a positive attempt to avoid unnecessary confusion and difficulties for pupils. In addition to the aforementioned guide, the Stromness team also identified prior mathematical knowledge expected by all departments in a secondary school and identified when it was taught by the Maths department. This approach has been very worthwhile in that it has increased staff awareness of whether the Mathematical skills pupils need in different subject areas have been taught. The main drawback to this approach is that it appears to leave full responsibility for teaching the numeracy/mathematical skills required in other subject areas within the maths department itself. Our aim in Angus is to ensure that all staff are aware of the responsibility they have for developing numeracy skills within their subject area as well as revisiting and consolidating numeracy skills within a context.

REFELCT

AND

DISCUSS

What can you do at whole school and departmental level to identify the numeracy skills that need taught in different subjects?

How confident are staff about teaching and consolidating numeracy skills?

What are the implications of this shared responsibility for tracking individual pupil progress?

How do you ensure all teachers in all subject areas take responsibility for ensuring pupils develop skills in all three of the

above areas?

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WHAT DOES THIS SHARED RESPONSIBILITY LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE?

It is vital that effective communication takes place within school and time must be made for this to happen.

Within the context of the Mathematics and Numeracy draft outcomes:

• Pupils need to LEARN the structures, patterns, concepts, ideas and techniques within the Maths and Numeracy outcomes and experiences

• Pupils need to APPLY their learning to other situations and contexts

Within other curricular areas:

• Teachers need to USE different learning contexts or integrated settings as arenas for explicitly teaching mathematical ideas and techniques

• Pupils need to DEAL with the mathematical demands inherent in performing tasks, handling information, designing and making things or learning ideas

Examples of developing Numeracy in other curricular areas

Curricular Area Numeracy Development

English Language • Use of mathematics vocabulary and technical terms

• Reading and interpreting problems to identify mathematical content

• Explain, argue and present conclusions to other

Science • Classifying

• Counting

• Measuring

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• Estimating

• Recording in tables or graphs and plot, interpret and predict from graphs

• Order numbers including decimals

• Calculate simple percentages,

• Use negative numbers

• Make decisions on the most appropriate methods of recording information

Expressive Arts / Technologies / Health and Wellbeing

• Measurement is needed in all these areas

• Patterns (Music)

• Spatial ideas and construction (Technologies, Art and Design)

• Properties of shape including symmetry (Physical Education and Dance)

• Multiplication and ratio (Design enlargement, reduction)

• Measurement and estimation of quantities in cooking activities

• Time and costings working with recipes

• Problem solving using ICT – collecting and classifying data

• Using data handling software

• Producing graphs and tables

• Interpreting graphs and tables and explaining results

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• Measurement of height, distance and time (PE)

• Counting, time, movement, position and direction (PE)

Social Studies / Religious and Moral Education

• Collecting data by counting and measuring

• Study of maps and co-ordinates

• Angles

• Direction and position

• Scale

• Ratio

• Time and calendars

• Timelines and number lines

The key for schools to make the most of all these opportunities is to identify the mathematical possibilities across the curriculum at the planning stage. Teachers of all subjects need to make links between their subjects and numeracy explicit by talking about links frequently in their lessons.

HOW WELL ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS?

WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS?

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LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

The importance of literacy cannot be underestimated nor undervalued. It is crucial that all teachers have an understanding of the importance of literacy skills in the learning process. Literacy and learning are inextricably linked because good literacy skills contribute to learning and poor literacy skills present a tangible barrier to learning. The main challenge facing our schools is to ensure that literacy skills are taught systematically and consistently across subject areas with regular opportunities provided for pupils to consolidate their literacy skills by using them purposefully in order to learn.

In Angus, a range of advice and guidance to support school based CPD around improvements in Literacy have been developed in recent years. These include:

• Reading for Excellence (3-15) which enables teachers of all subject areas to increase their knowledge of and skills in teaching reading through the development of higher order reading skills.

• Listening and Talking which enhances the quality of interactive learning and teaching of Listening and Talking in Groups (L.T.i.G) across all curricular areas. This includes a highly effective teaching tool in the form of a rubric detailing key stages of progression for pupils aged 3-15.

• Writer’s Craft Support Pack which promotes integrated approaches to teaching writing through group discussion of the writer’s craft.

• Moving Images Education which develops integrated approaches to literacy through the use of digital media with a focus on skills of analysis and creativity.

REFLECT

AND

DISCUSS

What steps have you taken to evaluate the use of the above resources in your school / department? What impact have these had on developing teachers’ confidence in teaching literacy skills?

Which literacy skills are the main barriers to learning and teaching at each stage of the school?

Identify the strengths and needs in literacy teaching across the school – what key actions derive from this audit?

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DFES (2004) has developed a framework for literacy and learning which schools could use as a tool to develop literacy and learning across departments and subject areas. This framework identified three main areas for learning:

• Learning through talk 1. Using talk to clarify and present ideas

2. Active listening to understand

3. Talking and thinking together

• Learning from text 1. Developing research and study skills

2. Reading for meaning

3. Understanding how texts work

• Learning through writing 1. Using writing as a tool for thought

2. Structuring and organising writing

3. Developing clear and appropriate

progression

REFLECT AND DISCUSS

In what ways could you use all three elements from the framework to support the implementation of the new literacy outcomes in every subject area?

What are the implications from this for planning for learning across the school?

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Angus Council’s Literacy Steering group is currently developing more detailed advice and guidance to support schools in taking forward Literacy across the curriculum. This includes identifying what schools need to do more and less of. What is clear, however, is that language skills cannot be taught out of context and that we cannot separate listening and talking from reading and writing. Listening and talking are essential skills without which reading and writing would not be possible. They are a necessary part of the thinking process which leads to high quality writing. All teachers should therefore continue to support and promote the development of active learning approaches including Co-operative Learning. These encourage the integration into the learning process of listening and talking in groups prior to sharing information through writing and other media.

The pervasiveness of language in the teaching of all subjects demands that schools take a closer look at their practice in this area to ensure learning is not incidental but planned for consistently and systematically.

“The student who is articulate in oral and written language has an indispensable tool for all school learning, because the ability to give shape to thought through language is a necessary skill in every subject. Language, thinking and learning are inseparable.” (Suhor C, 1984, Visual Literacy and Print Literacy in Reading Psychology 9.4.469-81)

It is heartening to note that the recently released draft Literacy outcomes and experiences acknowledge this and will enhance learning for pupils in all areas of the curriculum

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SECTION 2 – CONTEXTUALISED APPROACHES TO PLANNING FOR LEARNING AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS

“The curriculum should include space for learning beyond subject boundaries, so that children and young people can make connections between different areas of learning. Interdisciplinary studies, based upon groupings of experiences and outcomes from within and across curriculum areas, can provide relevant, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences and stimulating contexts to meet the varied needs of young people.”

Building the Curriculum 3

Linking learning across subject areas is one of the main challenges facing schools. It requires staff to think carefully about what is meant by effective learning and teaching. Schools need to ensure time is set aside for professional discussion around this to enable a common and shared school vision to develop. One of the main reasons schools need to plan to link learning across subject areas lies within the challenge of new times and the need for new kinds of learners in a rapidly changing society and workforce. The move from an over crowded curriculum currently delivered in silos to an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary working is no easy task and has many implications for curriculum planning and delivery.

The key features of a cross curricular approach to learning and teaching include:

• Applying knowledge, principles and values to more than one academic subject simultaneously

• Relating disciplines through a common theme, event or context

• Establishing a framework with goals which specify what pupils are expected to learn as the result of experiences and lessons that are part of the theme, event or context

• Developing local and real life contexts which are meaningful for pupils

• Designing activities to develop planned understanding with challenge and problem solving built in.

• Involving pupils in the planning process

One of the dangers of developing interdisciplinary working is that learning can often be loosely linked and teachers try to include too many curricular areas. Interdisciplinary studies should link two or more disciplines but awareness needs to

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be raised that more is not necessarily better to ensure depth and maximum impact. What is important is that planning for learning demonstrates progression and coherence and places learning firmly at the heart of the process.

REFLECT

AND

DISCUSS

One way of auditing learning across subject areas and identifying meaningful links is through the development of the ‘Learning Wall’ approach.

(www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/sharingpractice/secondary/learningwall.asp)

This was initially piloted by St George’s School in Edinburgh and has now been taken on board by some Angus secondary schools. All staff were fully involved in carrying out an audit of learning for each year group in each subject area and each brick on the wall outlined what was done in each subject each year. Each brick was quarter of a sheet of A4 paper.

The student’s personal development was central, supported by the development of skills within learning contexts (subject areas). The ‘pillars’ of Numeracy and Literacy (at either outer edge) supported everything within the wall.

One of the main challenges staff at St George’s School faced was how to summarise a year’s work on a piece of paper measuring not more than 14 cm by 10 cm but one of the main benefits was that everyone in the school could see what was developing and what they were contributing. This approach will certainly enable staff to identify duplication between departments and begin to develop increasingly collegiate approaches to planning for learning across departments.

Why should we aim for a more connected curriculum?

How will your school best plan to achieve real connections in learning and teaching?

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REFELCT

AND

DISCUSS

In both primary and secondary schools, it is vital that linked learning is not incidental but planned for in a systematic way. Teachers still need to track pupil progress within subject area outcomes and experiences. In Angus, cross sectoral groups have been established to unpack the draft outcomes and experiences of Curriculum for Excellence and this will provide schools with a sound foundation to plan for learning within and between subject areas at all stages of the school.

A pilot project will take place in the primary sector in session 2008-2009 to implement an electronic planning database which will facilitate cross curricular working. The database to be used will enable staff to incorporate the knowledge and skills identified in the unpacked outcomes into medium term planning. It will also develop increasingly responsive planning through the involvement of pupils in the planning process. Teachers need to be outcomes focused and this may well change the nature of planning in most schools. Medium term planning should no longer focus on detailed planning of activities for a block of time but outline what pupils are expected to learn. The detail of activities should happen at a shorter term planning stage, involve pupils in the process and provide the flexibility for personalisation and choice for all learners. This view is supported in Making effective use of curriculum flexibility in primary schools primary schools’ efforts to develop more responsive medium term planning where, “Teachers did not draw up prescriptive plans in advance, but exposed the children to a stimulus such as a story or visit and listened carefully to their pupils’ thoughts and ideas. Planning was then undertaken to be responsive and allow learning to develop more flexibility according to pupils’ interest.”

How could you use the ‘Learning Wall’ model to begin to identify opportunities for linking learning?

What are the implications of this approach for tracking progression?

KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION:

1. What are the implications of this increased flexibility in planning for learning in schools and how will this impact on timetabling?

2. How will learning be monitored?

3. How will you begin to group the experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence into meaningful sets which will provide appropriate and exciting contexts for learning?

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(HMIE 2007:16) which describes one

Many schools in Angus are familiar with Queensland New Basics project (2001) which has been the main catalyst for improvements in learning and teaching in Australia over the past years.

(www.education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics)

This development is outcomes focused and staff and pupils are very clear about what is to be taught and learned. The focus on pedagogy, the how of teaching and learning, is also very strong. Learning is developed through interdisciplinary projects known as ‘Rich Tasks’.

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF A RICH TASK?

It overtakes a chunk of the curriculum

It is set within a real life context for the 21st century

It is highly engaging and motivating

Outcomes are the key drivers

Pupils demonstrate their learning to others

It is demanding and challenging

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The focus on outcomes and demonstrating learning is what sets a rich task apart from other types of interdisciplinary projects. The importance of pupils articulating and demonstrating their learning is crucial and teachers need to plan for ways to enable their pupils to do this. This element of the rich task approach is a main tenet of the Co-operative Learning programme which is currently being developed in all Angus Schools.

Principles of Curriculum Design

Generally already well

planned for in most schools

Planning for rich tasks needs to take into account all seven of the Curriculum for Excellence principles of curriculum design outlined above but four of these are crucial in improving what may already be a rich learning environment within the classroom. The first of these is coherence. At the planning stage staff and pupils not only have to consider linking the learning but staff need to ensure they enable pupils to see and understand the links between learning across the curriculum. This needs to be made explicit and evaluated as pupils demonstrate their learning. The second principle which has to be applied to rich tasks is relevance. This does not simply apply to the context within which the learning will take place but to the learning itself. It has to be relevant to the needs of the pupil and the world in which

BREADTH

PROGRESSION

PERSONALISATION

AND

CHOICE

CHALLENGE

AND

ENJOYMENT

DEPTH

COHERENCE

RELEVANCE

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they live. This is why the involvement of pupils in the planning process is so important. Teachers need to learn what pupils think is relevant and what they want to learn. The third principle which is central to rich tasks is depth. Opportunities need to be provided to enable pupils to go beyond the planned learning and have an ownership over contexts and the direction of any project. Finally, and crucially important, is challenge and enjoyment. Linking learning should involve putting the fun back into learning and teaching.

Contextualised Learning in the Primary

Contextualised learning is well established in most primary schools and in Angus most class teachers use Social Studies topics or book studies as the main theme around which learning in a range of curricular areas is linked. Most schools still use programmes of study for individual subject areas and contextualised learning is not always brought together in the medium term planning process. Some schools, however, are beginning to develop cross curricular approaches to planning which demonstrate the excellent practice taking place in these schools.

The following plan, using the Angus electronic planning database, simply outlines the key learning from a range of curricular areas to be explored through the central topic or interest. Once all the outcomes and experiences have been unpacked; teachers will be able to copy and paste core knowledge and key skills from relevant outcomes onto the planning page. No detailed information relating to specific activities is given on this page of the plan. The pupils would become involved at this stage and, through brainstorming or mind mapping, the teacher would discover what the pupils already know about each area of knowledge and skills, what they want to learn in relation to them and identify how they will share what they have learned (A page on the electronic planning database is available for recording this information). This will enable the teacher and pupils to plan key contextualised learning activities together and fully inform the teacher’s short term planning. Examples of an electronic plan, an early level mind map, a middle/upper primary mind map and some photographic evidence of pupils demonstrating their learning are included on the following four pages.

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Example of medium term planning for the primary years using the electronic planning database

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Involving children in the planning process through mind mapping in the early years

Findlay

Charlie

Archie Lauren Adrianna

BUGS

Luke

Liam

Owen

look for bugs

wet & damp places

bring in bugs

under rocks

trees

caterpillars & butterflies

in the garden

make a bug catcher

invent things using a jar

san

sand worms

sand castles

ladybirds on sticks daddy long legs earthworms

the wall

binoculars

soil

need a spade & digger

look in trees

need a ladder

soil

watering

frogs sand pit

outside

I know lots of

flies bumble bees grasshopper

tarantula

shed garden stepping stones

birds’ nests in trees

bark

garden

fire ants

spiders

cobwebs

in my house

bees

climbing frame

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Distant Nations

What we already know

it is a hot country

it is bigger than Scotland

it has rainforests

the people dance the Cappoeria

How will we share our learning

Day of Carnival Celebration

Information booklets

holiday brochures

database of facts

Brazil posters

Carousels

Stories for sharing

graphs & charts

What resources we want to use

to find out

Internet maps

google earth

newspapers reference books

What we want to learn

famous landmarks

what the schools and shops are like

what is the landscape like? how they shop

jobs

festivals

music, hobbies

how the people travel

what the people eat

what the houses look like

what the people wear

kinds of animals

population

Involving children in the planning process through mind mapping in the middle and upper stages of the primary school

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Demonstrating Learning

Investigating the landscape of Brazil Tasting the produce of Brazil

Sharing the music of Brazil with each other Carnival procession with decorated floats

The pupils of Newbigging Primary School put their ideas from the mind map into action in the class.

“I like doing mind maps and having a say in what we learn – it makes me feel good and it is more interesting because we have decided.” (P6 pupil)

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Interdisciplinary Projects in Angus Secondary Schools

All eight secondary schools have begun to examine their practice in this area and some projects linking learning across subject areas have been very successful. These include:

1. South America – 2/3 weeks S1

Curricular Area Content

History Exploration and discovery

Geography Rainforest environment

Modern Studies Focus on Brazil

RME Missionary work with street children

English Research on famous explorers

Imaginative letter to child in Amazonian rainforest

Creative writing – mythology

Recipes and menus

Report on the ecology of the rainforest

Functional writing – Brazilian football reports

Research on the arts and traditions of indigenous people

Modern Languages Basic Spanish

Health Education South American cookery

Physical Education South American dance

Music Samba

Maths Mesoamerican number system

Incan strip patterns

IT, Business Studies, Technology Support use of IT for all subject areas

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Social Education Tartan Teddy: building links on a personal level

2. Olympic Challenge – 4 weeks S2

During the month of May all S2 pupils take part in an Olympic Event, where, after an opening ceremony, departments focus on Olympic related topics for one or more lesson. Two or more departments work collaboratively in order to provide a more coherent challenge. Last session Home Economics, Physical Education and Computing provided a project in which pupils designed menus and Tee shirts for an athlete. They produced the designs in their computing class then wore their designs whilst participating in a decathlon even during PE. The Olympic month culminated in a closing ceremony which included the presentation of bronze, silver and gold medals and displays of work.

3. Art Animation Challenge – 8 periods S2

Curricular Area Description

Art and Design S2 pupils work in groups to design and produce a 45 second animation on the theme of ‘U R Wot U Eat’. Professional animators support the input. Animations are produced using a digital camera mounted on a rig.

Home Economics Input on Healthy Eating

Music Digital media are used to invent music to support the animations

4. Fair Trade Challenge – Geography and RME S2

Pupils worked in groups, each representing one of a range of rich or poor countries. to manufacture and sell paper shapes. This was set up to simulate world trade. Rich countries had an abundance of equipment and resources but these were severely limited for the poor countries. Trading of both equipment and resources was encouraged and the price of products varied throughout the challenge. This challenge finished with a presentation and interactive session on Fair Trade and follow up work exploring issues raised was undertaken in Geography and RME classes.

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5. Eurofieth Event – 5 weeks S1

Curricular Area Content

Physical Education Each pupil assigned to a team for a sports tournament and participates in this

English Study of journalism and features of newspaper reports

Report writing

Home Economics Diet and nutrition of footballers

Cooking European dishes

Modern Languages Names of roles and position of footballers

Report in French or German on a footballer

‘Show Junk Food the Red Card’ – the school canteen offered daily specials and gave free fruit with hot meals

Maths Costing and design exercises

Geography Map work – European focus

Social Education What makes a good role model

A step by step guide for planning and delivery of this event is currently being prepared by a class teacher and will be issued to schools at the earliest opportunity.

To further support linking learning across the curriculum in secondary schools, Angus Council’s Curriculum Design Group is currently developing a rich task interdisciplinary project for all S1 pupils. This project will be carried out in schools during session 2008-2009.

A good start has been made in both the primary and secondary sectors to developing cross curricular learning but this tends to be mainly focused on linking knowledge. Schools now need to begin to think more carefully about how to link skills across different subject areas to truly deepen pupils’ understanding.

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APPENDIX 1 – RESEARCH PAPERS

1. Charles, Julia (2006), Talk transfers – investigating and developing oral skills in a cross-curricular initiative, Reflecting Education, Vol 2, no 1, pp 19-32, Link

This report explores a project undertaken in an inner city comprehensive school with a group of year nine pupils (13-14) in 2004. The project focused on the value of cross-curricular work and the value of ‘talk’ across the curriculum and as preparation for further/higher education. The author aimed to explore the reasons why despite the importance of ‘talk’ in progress in English, many students are reluctant to take part in speaking and listening activities and so observed students undertaking oral presentations in a History classroom. Teachers involved in the project felt it provided opportunities to learn from each other, to consider different points of view and implement new techniques and strategies. The success of the cross-curricular aspect of the project has led to discussion of the project in the schools’ development plan.

2. LT Scotland (2004), Collaborative Learning: Lenzie Academy and Partnership Case Study, (LT Scotland: Glasgow), Link

This report discusses the results of the Building Bridges literacy project in East Dunbartonshire which involved teachers and librarians from P6-S2. The project explored the importance of talking and listening to facilitate interactive learning. It focused on cross-curricular areas in P6, P7, an S2 English class, an S1 geography class and more than eight S2 library skills classes. It was found that 90 per cent of all pupils felt the project had a positive impact on their learning and/or motivation and staff reported increased confidence in interactive learning techniques. Staff further reported that primary-secondary links had improved through teachers from different disciplines working together in classrooms. It was also felt that the use of a common

Key Questions:

1. How well do you integrate the principles of curriculum design into linked learning opportunities? What can you do to improve this?

2. Does the timetable in your school / class facilitate learning or is it merely an organisational tool? What improvements can you make to enable depth in learning?

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methodology has led to talking and listening crossing into religious and moral education, mathematics and environmental studies in the primary curriculum.

3. Ransom, Peter, Cross-curricular work involving mathematics using hand-held technology, (TDA: London) Link

This short case study looks at cross-curricular work involving mathematics using hand-held technology. The aim of the study was to improve standards and improve curriculum coherence in mathematics, science and related disciplines by exploiting opportunities for collaborative teaching and learning and through using hand-held technology. Four schools took part in the study and involved pupils from year 6 to year 10. It was found that mathematics teachers realised the opportunities which existed to improve different areas of their own subject curriculum with information taken from other subjects. Additionally, the cross-curricular method allowed both teachers and pupils to exchange ideas and further develop their knowledge of their own and other disciplines.

4. Stuart, Joanne, Cross-curricular arts project, (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust: London) Link

This site discusses a three year cross-curricular arts project at the Charles Brooke Girls’ School. Specific paintings from the National Gallery were used to encourage lifelong learning and encourage the pupils to visit galleries either on their own or with their families. The project involved pupils from art, design and technology, English, drama, dance, music and PSHE. Pupils were assigned a specific painting and through explorative drama, research, art and group discussions developed their understanding of the painting. The project helped to increase motivation, confidence, time management and team working amongst pupils. It further improved teacher/pupil rapport and created a positive arts ethos within the school.

5. Wilson, Valerie and Pirrie, Anne (2000), Multidisciplinary Teamworking: Indicators of Good Practice, (SCRE: Glasgow) Link

This article was written in response to an increased focus on the need for different professional groups to work together to better support pupils and young people in the newly established community schools. The authors draw on findings of previous research to explore what multi-disciplinary working is, what supports multi-disciplinary working, what inhibits multi-disciplinary working and the implications for educational practice in Scotland. Findings include that personal commitment in terms of a dedicated professional (s) is necessary for successful multi-disciplinary working as is a common goal, clarity of roles and communication and institutional support. Additionally, the logistical requirements, negative attitudes of team members and a lack of liaison between different professional bodies are believed to inhibit multi-disciplinary working.

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6. Thompson Klein, Julie (2006), A Platform for a Shared Discourse of Interdisciplinary Education, Journal of Social Science Education, Vol 5 No 2, pp10-16, Link

This report discusses the growing importance of inter-disciplinarity in education and the need for administrators, curriculum planners and teachers at all stages of the education system to be aware of the terms’ definitions. The author suggests that there is a potential for long term international dialogue which bridges the discourses of inter-disciplinarity across national contexts and school/university levels. She argues that a shared discourse and teacher training programmes require an awareness of the historical context of inter-disciplinarity, the appropriate terminology, pedagogical approaches and related learning skills.

7. Hulse, Richard (2006), Preparing K-12 Students for the New Interdisciplinary World of Science, Experimental Biology and Medicine, 231 (7): 1192, Link

This report considers the impact of the increasing importance of inter-disciplinary science on education. It argues that the impact on the earliest education levels from Kindergarten to 12TH Grade should be considered as this overlaps with issues in improving science in education. Areas discussed in the report include inter-disciplinary science in the context of the K-12 curriculum, developing the capacity for inter-disciplinary work, problems and skills associated with inter-disciplinary working and implementation challenges.

8. Mansilla, Boix Veronica, (2004), Assessing Student Work at Disciplinary Crossroads, (Harvard University: Boston) Link

The report discusses the need to provide students with an inter-disciplinary education to adequately prepare them to participate in modern life and the increasing number of inter-disciplinary undergraduate courses at American higher education institutions. The main focus of the article is on the difficulties associated with assessing inter-disciplinary work such as the lack of clarity regarding quality indicators and how the quality can be measured. The author presents a definition of inter-disciplinary understanding and a framework to support assessment of inter-disciplinary work. The arguments are developed from a project examining inter-disciplinary research and educational practices in research centres and programmes such as the Media Lab at MIT and the Human Biology Program at Stanford University.

9. Nikitina, Svetlana and Mansilla, Boix Veronica (2003), Three Strategies for Interdisciplinary Math and Science Teaching: A Case of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, (Harvard University: Boston) Link

The authors explore three strategies for overcoming the relative isolation of science and mathematics in traditional high schools. The strategies explored include essentialising which involves raising the science and mathematical facts to a level of

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fundamental concepts and establishing internal connections between the disciplines. The use of theories such as contextualizing which creates external connections between the theories of science and mathematics and their roots and problem-centred integration which mobilises different disciplinary tools towards a solution of a pressing problem are also discussed. The strengths and weaknesses of the different strategies are explored in an effort to help educationalists to find the most appropriate inter-disciplinary strategy for their school.

10. Nikitina, Svetlana (2002), From a Community of People to a Community of Disciplines: The Art of Integrative Humanities at St. Paul’s School, (Harvard University: Boston) Link

The author explores an example of a successful interdisciplinary classroom in the humanities at St Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire and reviews the factors which have contributed towards its’ success. The two main factors which have allowed the development of an inter-disciplinary programme are identified as teacher commitment and administrative support from the school. Core characteristics include a curriculum focus on a few essential topics approached from the perspectives of art, history, literature and philosophy, a single and not a team teaching model, extensive use of dialogue and discussion and teacher facilitation of connection making.

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