Monthly Archives: September 2018

My understanding of Interdisciplinary Learning so far…

What is Interdisciplinary Learning?

Curriculum for Excellence’s Briefing 4 ‘Interdisciplinary Learning’ explains that ” the curriculum should make space for learning beyond subject boundaries” and that learners should be making connections between different subjects. This involves grouping together experiences and outcomes from across the curriculum (Education Scotland, 2012)

Barnes’ (2015)in his book ‘Cross -Curricular Learning 3-14’ explained that there are many different types of cross curricular learning, for example:

Theme-based – Using a theme to explore several subjects. Barnes advises that this method works well with teachers who have a vast knowledge of the topic, however if they do not they can find themselves making weak links.
Multi- disciplinary- involves using a single concept to explore different subjects but also using different subjects to understand the concept. In this method there is no link between the subjects being explored.
Hierarchical – this method aims in achieving progression in one subject while using another subject to do this. Usually these other subjects are of the arts. Barnes stresses it is important to ensure these subjects do not get labeled as ‘less important’.
Interdisciplinary – This where you are applying knowledge from various subjects to work on a topic/project or problem. In this model links are made between the subjects too.

(Barnes, 2015)

Benefits of Interdisciplinary Learning

Strengthens motivation and promotes an inquisitive attitude
Development of collaborative working skills
Problem solving skills
Engaging and memorable

(Humes, 2013)

Empowers children to apply their knowledge and skills by showing them how they can be used In other ways
Consolidates knowledge

(Education Scotland, 2012)

Advice for planning

Through my reading and lectures I have discovered that if not taught/planned correctly learning can be confusing, unconnected and temporary (Humes, 2013). Therefore I found the advice for planning extremely useful:

Start with a few Experiences and Outcomes
Ensure you are able to justify choosing these E’S & O’S
Plan what you want to achieve form each session and next steps
Reflect after each session to ensure you have not gone off track
Involve children in planning to increase motivation

(Education Scotland, 2012)

Assess in context
Measure how well they can apply knowledge and skills

(Humes, 2013)

References

Barnes, J (2013) Cross-curricular learning 3-14. SAGE: London
Education Scotland (2012) CFE Briefing 4 Interdisciplinary Learning. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-briefing-4.pdf. (Accessed 25/09/18)
Humes, W (2013) ‘Curriculum for excellence and interdisciplinary learning’, Scottish Educational review, 45(1), pp. 82-93.

Lesson Planning

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Today in Social Subjects we were asked to use a current news story as a stimulus for creating a lesson. It was for a primary 7 class and the lesson could be anywhere in a series of lessons, it did not have to be the first one.

I choose a news story that discussed the effects our rubbish was having on turtles and created a lesson around recycling. You can see the lesson plan I made here:

We then presented our lesson plan to other members of the class. I found this activity extremely useful and learnt many things from it. Firstly it introduced to me the idea of using a news story as stimulus. I can see how this would give the children a context to their learning and show them it is meaningful and current.

Secondly, after discussions with my tutor and peers it was brought up that many aspects of my lesson plan were teacher initiated/led. For example, instead of the teacher telling the pupils ways in which our rubbish can impact the environment; I should be letting the pupils research this themselves. We continued to talk about how it can be extremely beneficial for pupils learning as it allows them to develop many skills such as note taking, team work and evaluating sources. Another benefit is that it cuts down teacher workload and time can be spent on other things.

I feel like I now have a new perspective on lesson planning and will ensure that after planning I critically reflect my lesson plans and consider if things can be done differently.

The Child’s Voice

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In this weeks lecture we looked at the child’s voice in the classroom, how this can be incorporated and the advantages of this.

Arguments for encouraging children’s voice in the classroom.

Stimulates development of skills ( accountability, resilience , confidence, turn taking, debating )
Children can bring in their personal experiences, making the learning more relevant to them
Children can be ‘co-teachers’ and can help other children understand concepts using ‘child’s language’
This also benefits the ‘co-teacher’ as by talking through a concept it will help consolidate it in their own learning
Children can steer direction of learning, which in turn increases motivation
Can add knowledge the teacher didn’t know
Shows the child that their voice is valued which can be vital in relation to child welfare issues

(Catling, 2014)

How can we encourage children’s voice?

Involve them in planning of new topics
Set up projects or clubs and make them leaders and decision makers
Help them develop a critical eye and skills on forming arguments
Organise debates
Organise ‘co- teaching’

(Cartling, 2014)

Arguments against children’s voice in the classroom (with solutions)

Not all children are able to articulate their voice – Give them other ways to be heard, eg drawing, acting etc.
Puts unnecessary pressure and stress on the child, especially with decision making – ensure that participation is voluntary.
Could develop a lack of respect for parents, teachers, elders – ensure that rules are in place for these discussion times.

(UNICEF, n.d)

How does a teacher’s educational philosophy influence the implementation of approaches that encourage children’s voice?

Teachers can struggle with giving away full control as they feel it is their job, however if the child does not feel their voice is not actually going to make a difference they will lose motivation to contribute again. Therefore it is not enough to just listen to the child, we must allow them to steer decisions too.
It is part of teachers philosophy to be the educator, however in order to get the most out of the child’s voice we must sometimes be ‘co- learners’ and learn with the child.
As teachers we are so busy and sometimes go for the quickest method of learning. However, so much more can be learnt for example during classroom discussions.

(Cartling, 2014)

If I am honest I have never put much thought into the role of children’s voice in the classroom, however now I feel I have a much greater understand of the benefits and how I can implement this in my practice.

References

Cartling, S (2014) ‘ Giving younger children voice in primary geography: empowering pedagogy – a personal perspective’, International Research in Geographical and Environment Education, 23(4), pp. 350-372.
UNICEF (n.d) Every Childs Right To Be Heard. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/french/adolescence/files/Every_Childs_Right_to_be_Heard.pdf (Accessed 18/09/18)

New Module Motivation

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Yesterday we had our first input of our new module ‘Developing Effectiveness In Learning and Teaching’. The module aims to show us how we can ‘take learning beyond subject barriers’ known as Interdisciplinary Learning (IDL). This is where teachers plan to make appropriate links to other subjects across the curriculum to create a learning experience (Education Scotland, 2012).

I found the whole input very interesting and as the class discusseed their own IDL experiences at school I constantly found my mind getting carried away with hundreds of ideas I could use in my own practice. However, now the time has come for me to reflect on my own experinces I am at a stand still. I only remember some of the topics I covered in school such as Evacuees, The Victorians and Bridges etc. I recall very little about what activities and avenues we explored within these topics. The only memory that truly sticks out was when my class visited a mock victorian school. We spent the morning dressed up as victorian children and were taught by a victorian teacher. We got to see the type of resources children in those days used and got to experience the harsh ways of victorian teachers. This experience was very exciting for me as I loved history and it was showing me clearer than ever what it was really like back then. From a professional perspective reflecting back on this I appreciate it is not always possible to go on school trips but it has got my imagination running wild with ways you can bring that aspect of realness into the classroom.

I have gone on to read Education Scotland’s CFE Briefing 4 ‘Interdisciplinary Learning’ which has given me a real insight into what IDL learning should look like in the classroom. The briefing emphasised the importance of careful planning of IDL ensuring the links are strong and are clearly planned through a few Experiences and Outcomes. It also suggested teachers should always call upon childrens previous knowledge and involve them in the planning too (Education Scotland, 2012).

Overall I am very motivated to learn more on this topic and look forward to further inputs.

References

Education Scotland (2012) CFE Briefings, 4 Interdisciplinary Learning. Availible at: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/CfE%20Briefings. Accessed 18/08/18.

The Role of Knowledge in the Curriculum

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After many hours of reading articles about powerful knowledge I was struggling to get a grasp on what this term means. However, I am hoping by combining my notes in this post, that by the end I will have a clearer understanding.

What is Powerful Knowledge??

Powerful Knowledge was a concept introduced by a curricular theorist named Michael Young who was on a mission to determine what should be included in a curriculum. What I believe Young means by this term is knowledge that you would not have access to out with formal education/ teaching (Roberts 2014). He also emphasised that this knowledge is specific to subjects and is not related to prior experiences or everyday knowledge (Young, 2013). He believed this knowledge was important as it give pupils access to new understanding and new ways of thinking.

What are the arguments for powerful knowledge in the classroom??

Some of the positives to powerful knowledge in the classroom is that it helps give stability to teachers and pupils. It clearly indicated what content is being learned and what subject it is related too. Secondly, this type of knowledge is usually taught in a hierarchical way meaning that it is easier to plan and see progression in (Young, 2013). Finally, Young argues that a curriculum made up of powerful knowledge would provide national coherence as it would ensure every child is being taught the same thing. He continues to explain that if teachers use children’s home experiences’ as a starting point for teaching then different things would be being taught across the nation. This could also lead to inequalities as he explains that some children would have access to ‘better knowledge’ (Young, 2013).

What are the arguments against powerful knowledge??

Young believes that powerful knowledge should be separate from every day experiences. However, he acknowledges that the practical implications of not linking knowledge to children’s experiences could cause them to be less interested and less motivated to learn (Young, 2013). This links with Vygotsky’s theory of ‘Spontaneous Concepts and Scientific Concepts’ discussed in Roberts (2014). Vygotsky explains that a spontaneous concept is when a child learns something subconsciously through everyday experiences. On the other hand, scientific concepts are learnt through instruction from a teacher. Vygotsky proposes that these two concepts are linked and work together to consolidate concepts and enhance further learning (Roberts, 2014). This therefore supports the argument for linking knowledge with everyday experiences to support the child understanding and progress their learning. It could also be argued that it is not possible for a curriculum to put an end to educational inequalities and that there are many other factors that cause geographical educational inequalities.

My thoughts on knowledge in the classroom/ curriculum…

I am glad to say that I now feel I have a much better understanding of powerful knowledge and its place in the curriculum.

I acknowledge that powerful knowledge is fundamental to learning and therefore must be included in the curriculum and classroom. However, I do not agree that this knowledge should be kept separate from other important aspects of the curriculum such as every day experiences and the development of skills. From my own experience as a learner I know that if new concepts are linked to things I experience in everyday life I will find it much easier to understand and remember in the future.

The Curriculum for Excellences Experiences and Outcomes give perfect examples of how the two can be combined;

I explore and discover the interesting features of my local environment to develop an awareness of the world around me. SOC 0-07a (Education Scotland, 2016)

This incorporates knowledge such as the name of the features, how they came to be there etc but also links it to the child’s life.

Overall, I believe teaching should be meaningful and memorable. Nobody likes to sit and listen to facts all day…

References

Education Scotland (2016) Experiences and Outcomes, Social Studies. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes#soc ( Accessed 12/09/18)
Roberts, M (2014) ‘ Powerful knowledge and geographical education’ , The curriculum journal, Vol 25(2), pp. 187- 209.
Young, M (2013) ‘Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory: a knowledge-based approach’, Journal of Curriculum Studies,45(2), pp.101-118.