Running Head: INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTRUCTION

Interdisciplinary Instruction: Using the Cross-Curricular Program to Benefit

Student Needs in Education

Catherine Weisbrod

Franciscan University of Steubenville

INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTRUCTION

Teachers are constantly searching for new ways to improve their instructional methods in

order to see their students be even more successful. Sometimes they stumble across a new

approach that has such a desirous effect on the class, other times it is quite the opposite.

Although a common instructional approach is to focus on one course at a time with direct

instruction, studies have shown that this is not the most effective style to use (Jones, 2010). The

best way for students to learn is to incorporate opportunities for them interact with the content

through experimentation and putting it in action in real-life situations. Interdisciplinary

approaches, such as the cross-curricular program, are a unique way of integrating multiple

subjects into one that way the students are able to grow in their understanding of all the

disciplines at the same time and gain practice throughout the entire school day (Duerr, 2008).

Using an interdisciplinary approach to teaching the curriculum gives students the opportunity to

make connections between subjects, see the relevance to their own lives, interact with the content

in a way that they can gain a deeper knowledge and acquire life long learning.

The problem with the single subject design is that it does not bring anything new to the

table. Students have seen it in every classroom every year. They typically lack engagement and

occasions for inquiry and hands-on activities. The single subject classroom heavily relies on

textbooks as the main source for the content that the students learn. Students do not want to read

a textbook to learn, they need interaction with their material to learn it. Duerr states, “Although it

is possible for textbooks to be creative and accurate, few textbooks treat subject matter with the

breadth and depth necessary to develop ideas and concepts fully” (2008). The cross-curricular

approach of interdisciplinary instruction removes the defined lines between subjects until they

are no longer recognizably distinct but melded into one, so students are receiving instruction for

all of their subjects throughout every class of the day.

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Students are the most motivated to learn and take their learning into their own hands

when they can see its relevance and application in their own lives. Duerr wrote, “A cross-

curricular integrative stand makes material meaningful because it becomes connected” (2008).

The interdisciplinary approach integrates hands-on experiences for students to create meaningful

experiences with the information. This leads to the development of independent learning by

teaching them strategies to manage their education. When students are able to bring their

strengths and skills into the classroom and use them in a way that increases their knowledge,

they will take more of an interest in the content and find success in their education (Duerr, 2008).

Students will develop their own opinions and questions to take the material to a deeper level of

understanding.

This teaching style requires a large amount to preplanning beforehand to be effective, but

it makes use of team teaching. Working in conjunction with others allows for the workload to be

distributed among each person involved so that it is reasonable and manageable (Jones, 2010).

Therefore, not only does this instructional method aid students, but strengthens teachers’ skills in

communication, teamwork, and creativity (Al Husni, 2016). The students are also given

opportunities to act as the teacher in their groups and teach each other. When students explain

the content to one of their peers, they are reinforcing the newly learned information even more

(Jones, 2010).

Using a cross-curricular approach to teaching is a very effective model to incorporate in

the classroom. It greatly improves student learning because they have opportunities to make

connections to their lives. With its strong focus on integrating real-life scenarios that will prepare

students for the future and put their knowledge to the test, learners are thoroughly gaining the

knowledge that they can recall at anytime they need it. Students have the chance to see how
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everything they learn is connected to each other within the cross-curricular approach because

teachers are finding ways to bring math, reading, science, social studies, etc. together so the

students have to use them all at the same time. The most important benefit of using it is that it

makes education exciting and intriguing. The students actually want to learn, which is difficult in

middle school to accomplish, but with proper implementation of the interdisciplinary approach, it

is not only possible but probable.

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Bibliography

Al Husni, N. M., El Rouadi, N. (2016). Interdisciplinary curriculum empowers cognitive

advancement to solve real life problems. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(4), 34-43.

Duerr, L. L. (2008). Interdisciplinary instruction. Educational Horizons, 86(3), 173-180.

Jones, C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits

of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI, 7(26).

Lounsbury, J. H. (1992). Connecting the curriculum through interdisciplinary instruction.

Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association

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Dear Parents,

What a wonderful time of year! The birds are returning and chirping, flowers are
beginning to bud and bloom, and the green of new life is slowly reclaiming the dead of winter.
Mother Nature is calling for a change in the wildlife as the season of Spring works its magic in
the world. Just as this change in nature brings more opportunities for the plants and animals, our
school is giving your children an opportunity to participate in one of four mini courses where
they will acquire valuable experiences and skills through real-life application and
experimentation with the knowledge that they will gain. These are designed for students of the
6th, 7th, and 8th grade to partake in during the last quarter of the school year, and will span a total
of twelve days. The mini courses are as follows:

Going Green: This workshop goes into greater depth with the 3 R’s, reduce, reuse, and recycle.
During this course, students have time inside and outside of the classroom to learn more about
the affects of excessive wastes on our planet and how we can play a role in saving it by creating
a compost pile using “nature’s recyclers”, cleaning up the community, and visiting a recycling
plant to see how items are sorted and turned into something new. Students will learn the
necessity of recycling and, hopefully, adopt it into their own family practices if they do not do so
already.

Making Money: Students will be given the opportunity to create their own store and buy and
sell with each other using “money” that will be supplied. compete against each other to earn the
most throughout the course. The children will have to take their knowledge of economics and
money to determine an estimate for the cost to produce the products they will sell in their stores
as well as establish the price of their items so as to earn a profit rather than a deficit. At the end
of the workshop, students from each store will calculate their total incomes, and the group who
had the greatest gain will be the winner. From this workshop, children receive extra practice with
money and learn how to spend it wisely.

World Travelers: Who doesn’t have a place that they have always wanted to visit, but has never
gotten the chance to do so? In this mini course, students plan a trip to their dream destination for
a week’s vacation. Throughout the course, students will research the country they chose to travel
to and create an itinerary for the sights they plan to see, activities to complete, and restaurants
where they can taste the best local dishes. At the end of the workshop, we will have a meal,
where the students will make and bring in a dish to share with the class that is a traditional food
from the country they chose for their travels. Students will gain a greater understanding of other
cultures and traditions around the world.

Behind the Scenes: Students will take on the roles of director, editor, and actor in this
workshop. Taking one of the classics that students have read up to this point in the year, they will
modernize it so that it is relevant and applies to the state of the world that we are living in
currently. Retaining the main themes, characters, problems, and solutions, students will perform
analyses of the books to create a skit that could easily take place in society today. Students will
then act out their finished products to show off their masterpieces to the rest of the participants in
the workshop.
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We ask that you aid your children in deciding which of these four mini courses they
would like to participate in, and please inform their teachers which one they have chosen to join.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact the school to get those answered. Thank you
for your assistance and we look forward to hearing from you and your children soon.

Sincerely,

Ms. Weisbrod
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Workshop Standards Evidence of Formative Summative

Understanding Assessment Assessment

World CCSS.ELA- Students will create an Students will Presentation of

Travelers LITERACY.RH.6- itinerary for a vacation continually their travel
8.7 for 1 week in any work on their plans to the
Integrate visual place in the world. To traveling class and what
information (e.g., in better understand the itineraries they will see
charts, graphs, world, they will delve there
photographs, into the culture and Make a dish that
videos, or maps) traditions found in the would be eaten Bring in a
with other country that they in the country traditional food
information in print choose. Students will that they chose dish that is
and digital texts. make a dish to bring customary of
into the class that is their chosen
from the country of place to visit at
their choice. the end of the
course
Going CCSS.ELA- Students will make a Hand in plan to Presentation of
Green LITERACY.RST.6- compost pile, and use implement how they can
8.9 it to fertilize a garden. reducing, reduce, reuse,
Compare and They will visit a reusing, and and recycle
contrast the recycling center, and recycling in
information gained practice reusing their own lives
from experiments, objects that they
simulations, video, would normally throw
or multimedia away. Students will be
sources with that grouped to establish a
gained from reading plan how they can
a text on the same reduce, reuse, and
topic. recycle that they will
CCSS.ELA- present with the class.
Literacy.RST.6-8.3
Follow precisely a
multistep procedure
when carrying out
experiments, taking
measurements, or
performing
technical tasks.
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Behind the CCSS.ELA- Taking one of the Turn in work as Act out their
Scenes Literacy.W.6.3 classic books that the they progress on modernized
Write narratives to class has read this the new classics
develop real or year, students will storyline, script,
imagined modernize it. They and analyses of
experiences or will have to analyze characters daily
events using the characters and the
effective technique, main problem and
relevant descriptive solution to change the
details, and well- time that it occurs.
structured event Students will need to
sequences. have an understanding
CCSS.ELA- of the society during
LITERACY.W.7.4 the time of the original
Produce clear and story and of the
coherent writing in current times. Students
which the will be separated into
development, groups to do the
organization, and activities.
style are appropriate
to task, purpose,
and audience.
Making CCSS.MATH.CON Students will be Collect work Running stores
Money TENT.7.RP.A.3 divided into groups to showing how efficiently, so
Use proportional create a store with a each group they do not go
relationships to specific theme (food, calculated the bankrupt
solve multistep ratio clothing, hardware, cost and price of
and percent etc.) They will their items. Making a profit
problems. calculate the cost to gain rather than
Examples: simple make the items that a deficit
interest, tax, they will be selling
markups and and the price they will
markdowns, sell for. Students will
gratuities and buy and sell from each
commissions, fees, other, and learn the
percent increase and importance of money.
decrease, percent
error.
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Instructional Technology Diverse Learners Literacy Standards

Strategies Strategies

Modeling Use internet to research Handouts CCSS.ELA-

countries to visit and Graphic organizers LITERACY.RH.6-8.7
look up traditional Integrate visual
recipes information (e.g., in
charts, graphs,
Make use of Microsoft photographs, videos, or
Word, PowerPoint, maps) with other
Canva, etc. to create an information in print and
itinerary digital texts.
Field trips Watch videos on the Discussions CCSS.ELA-
Experiments effects of recycling and Hands-on experiments LITERACY.RST.6-8.9
Group discussion not recycling Compare and contrast
Direct instruction the information gained
Modeling from experiments,
simulations, video, or
multimedia sources with
that gained from reading
a text on the same topic.
CCSS.ELA-
Literacy.RST.6-8.3
Follow precisely a
multistep procedure
when carrying out
experiments, taking
measurements, or
performing technical
tasks.
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Group work Use Word to write out a Mixed-ability groups CCSS.ELA-

Discussion new script Literacy.W.6.3
Write narratives to
Use internet to do develop real or
research on the time imagined experiences or
period that the book events using effective
takes place in and technique, relevant
current events of today descriptive details, and
well-structured event
sequences.
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.W.7.4
Produce clear and
coherent writing in
which the development,
organization, and style
are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
Group work Create graphs using Mixed-ability groups CCSS.MATH.CONTE
Guided instruction excel to demonstrate the NT.7.RP.A.3
Teacher modeling progress of their stores Use proportional
relationships to solve
multistep ratio and
percent problems.
Examples: simple
interest, tax, markups
and markdowns,
gratuities and
commissions, fees,
percent increase and
decrease, percent error.