What is the importance of cross-curricular? What impact does it have in a classroom?

Good afternoon Education bloggers! I hope our previous discussion made you think about why creativity is so important in a classroom…it made me think! Today’s discussion is all about the impact on cross-curricular in a classroom and the importance of it.

Firstly, what is cross-curricular? Byrne and Brodie (2012, no pg., Section 1) stated that “from a holistic viewpoint, cross-curricular allows teaching to explore skills in an ultimately beneficial way”, which highlights the focus being on a child’s physical, intellectual, and social development rather than their academic ability. However, this is just one definition; the Oxford dictionary (2017) have a contrasting description of “involving curricula in more than one educational subject”. Cross-curricular does not just have one answer, as it is all dependant on how teachers and schools interpret it. It can be difficult to point out why cross-curricular is used in schools, as there are many reasons and a range of definitions out there for cross-curriculum learning.

In our lecture, we thought of our own and came up with the idea that learning a range of skills will prepare children and young people for the future, as they will gradually adapt on them through the development. Dewey argues with this statement as he wrote “I believe that education is a process of living and not preparation for future living” (Dewey, 1897 cited in Pound, 2006), as he feels that education and learning is about being present in the moment. Children can prepare themselves for what they will be doing in their next lesson, or any assessments rather than thinking about what the future holds. Dewey may feel that it is too early on for them to think about careers, and many people have this liberal view because Donaldson (2015, pg.60) has stated that “young people must build their confidence to use language not only in lessons but also in real-life outside the classroom and school”. Although there is no right or wrong answer, there is that constant debate as to whether cross-curriculum learning is put into place only because of the children’s futures.

An example of a cross-curricular activity is play, as you can use literacy, numeracy and digital competency as a fun way of learning. From using forms of dialogue and props to imitate famous performances by Shakespeare (literacy), to playing dice and card games to practice numeracy, there are plenty of ways cross-curriculum learning can be brought into a classroom. The idea of play links in with my view of “how creative pay can foster holistic development of young children” Wilson (2012, pg.4), due to there being such a range on what they learn that can then be used for the future.

Donaldson’s (2015, pg.1) comment on “proposing six areas of learning and experience:

-       Expressive arts

-       Health and well-being

-       Humanities

-       Languages, literacy and communication

-       Mathematics and numeracy

-       Science and technology”

implies he supposes cross-curricular has a positive impact because you can cover all topics equally and effectively as the “curriculum offers a broad and balanced structure” Donaldson (2015, pg.1). This is giving children an equal opportunity to explore new topics and ideas to give them more of a skill base. Similarly, “we stress that children’s learning does not fit into subject categories” Plowden (1967, p.203), therefore implying that some subjects may include a range of cross-curriculum learning within the topics that are being discussed. Also, putting subjects into different categories does not mean that children will not learn about the additional subjects like, Art, Music, History etc. because this could be fitted in elsewhere into a literacy, numeracy or digital competency lesson. For example, a group of pupils may be asked to create a story based on World War 2 so, what will children need to do? They would need to use the internet to research, which covers the digital and history aspect and they would need to understand the basic structure of a story (beginning, middle and end), as well as thinking about how it would flow, therefore using their literacy skills.

The example above shows that cross-curriculum learning does not have to be separate from any other subject, it could be combined to make it easier and quicker for children to learn. Fautley and Savage (2011, pg.24) feel that “a lot of single subject learning is focused on the assessment driven model” and could reflect that the government want young people to perform well academically, so they can continue further with their education. The stress about academic ability could be due to the government getting an increase in money if those that do well choose to progress in University, but it has been said by Education of England (2008, pg.1) that “high standards are secured when knowledge and skills are learned…through this being applied in cross-curricular studies”, therefore suggesting that it is giving children a wider knowledge and skill base. Education of England may feel that cross-curriculum learning helps those that struggle with the basic knowledge and skills, so they can use this in further lessons.

What does the future hold for cross-curriculum learning? Power (2012, pg.103) thinks that “schools need to embrace cross curricular learning, and move away from reform that positions subjects” because it can become dull for children and young people if they are learning about the same thing every day throughout the whole of their school life; it would bring a more modern feel to the school environment. Also, cross-curriculum learning would have a positive impact for the future of children, so they have a better understanding of their ambitions and goals in life. However, Kerry (2015, pg.15) believes that “in an information world, knowledge itself will be beyond the capacity of the human brain and important skills will be in evaluating and applying knowledge”, suggesting that cross-curricular will work well and effectively if there is more peer interaction, so children and young people can learn from one another to mirror society. Also, they are going to learn more as time goes on due to technology evolving, so children and young people will never stop learning, so they will be gaining knowledge without realising.

So, that is all for today guys! I hope you have all enjoyed reading this but before we click off, what are your thoughts on cross-curriculum learning? What do you think on Donaldson’s views?

Before you answer, I want you to think about the effects of Scotland when Donaldson’s report was put into place, and how this could impact Wales for the future. Thank you!

References:

-       Byrne. E & Brodie. M (2012) ‘Cross Curricular Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School’, New York, no pg.,

-       Dewey. J (1987) ‘The Early Works, 1882-1898: 1895-1898. Early essays’, London and Amsterdam, pg. 87

-       Donaldson (2015) ‘Initial Highlights of the Donaldson Report’

-       Education of England (2008) ‘Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum: Final Report’, pg.1, Available at: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/pdfs/2009-IRPC-final-report.pdf (Accessed: 27/10/2017)

-       Fautley and Savage (2011) ‘Cross-curricular Teaching and Learning in Secondary School’, Oxon, pg. 24

-       Kerry, T. (2015). Cross-curricular teaching in the primary school : Planning and facilitating imaginative lessons (Second ed.). London ; New York: Routledge.

-       Oxford Dictionary (2017) ‘cross-curricular’, available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cross-curricular (Accessed: 27/10/2017) 

-       Plowden, Lady Bridget. (1967). Children and Their Primary schools: A report of the Central Advisory Council for Education, Volume 1. London: HMSO.

-       Wilson. R (2012) ‘Nature and Young Children: Encouraging Creative Play and Learning’, Oxon, pg.4