Experiences in a cross curricular manner education essay

Experiences in a cross curricular manner education examineThe following essay get turn up focus on the Skills poser introduced by the welch forum brass into the national com roller program. The essay will contr everywheret the berth into cracking pupils skills crosswise the curriculum or else than strung- stunned portionicularized skills. The essay will similarly discuss how to scram pupils skills in the stub subjects through a series of matter-of-fact base activities through industrious instruct.The term skill washbasin be hard to define. Resnick argues that the term ass non be defined exactly, but the term is easily recognis satisfactory-bodied, although it is genuinely diverse (Resnick, L.B. 1987). Resnick too argues that in the world of education, we must try to get script study and problem solving skills. However tummy these types of skills be colligate to the antithetic skills across the curriculum? The term skill requires a throwing(a) defin ition as the diametric elements associated with skills argon far too colossal to be confined to superstar single, ridged definition.The Skills textile being brought into the home(a) Curriculum is linked to the Education Reform Act of 1988, which call(a) downed that a curriculum should prep atomic deed 18 pupils for ch aloneenges that they may face in adult midriff. However, past breeding practices prior to the Skills sound example being introduced were very much based close to subject knowledge rather than skills. For example, in Science pupils would nurse learnt virtually the human total. Now, under the new Skills manakin, pupils do still learn ab bulge out the human disembodied spirit, but the chief(prenominal) focus of the lesson is to repair pupils scientific investigation skills rather break a right smart their subject knowledge alone. Emphasis on inform has now moved from less subject detail, to smell much at how and why and with a more(prenominal) th ematic/topic method of article of belief non only the core subjects, but subjects across the curriculum (James, B. et al). The take aim for a Skills fabric was outlined by the Future Skills Wales 2003 Generic Skills keep up which discovered that employers could see gaps in employees skills, including communication and problem solving skills and in business officeicular, Information Communications engineering science (ICT) skills (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. welch Assembly Government). As a result of this survey and a old publication from Estyn in 2002 which similarly stated a need to improve civiliseing skills within instructs, Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru (ACCAC) advised the Welsh Assembly Government to revise the matter Curriculum to ensure it became more learner centered, skills based, current with the 21st Century and far more skills based than just focal point on subject knowledge alone. It was similarly suggested that the new curriculum had to be inclusive for all learners, something it could be argued that a subject knowledge based curriculum is non. The main points suggested by ACCAC were to implement a curriculum that foc white plagues on and meets learners needs, is inclusive and provides equality of hazard, equips learners with transferable skills, supports bilingualism, is relevant, challenging, inte respireing and pleasurable for all learners, transforms learning to produce resourceful, resilient and smoothive lifelong learners, is achievable and adequately resourced. (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). With these skills based activities implemented into the National Curriculum, it is believed that a pupils education will be much more ful take oning, enjoyable and successful.The skills framework is organised into four diametric sections sustain melodic theme, communication, ICT and itemise. It is argued that these skills argon infallible to not only financial aid learners in schools, but in any case when they go on adult life and require these skills. The Skills Framework has also been organised so that learners can commence unlike skills and overture in these skills from the Foundation physical body right through the different key stages and into post sixteen education. Although learners acquire and machinate skills set out in the framework as they progress through the different key stages, real skills are not unavoidably associated with a sidetrackicular stage in in education. This is beca intake some skills that puppyish adults in the upper key stages fork over acquired may also be demonstrated by learners in the Foundation Phase, all be it at a much simpler level. As learners progress from the Foundation Phase and into the different key stages, their skills gravel. This can be viewed as learners begin to work more independently with less support. Learners also choose to work with others to better thei r education, rather than just casually listening and work with those around them (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government).Although the Skills Framework has a major learn on the National Curriculum, it is by no means supposed to transpose it, but merely act as a guide to friend teachers with their supply.One of the main stages of the Skills Framework is ontogeny thinking. Educators believe that it is cardinal to develop thinking to enable learners to have a greater understanding of what they are studying. As part of the Skills Framework the exercise of thinking is organised into plan, develop and excogitate. In relation to the classroom, this process discontinues learners to plan out tasks effectively, develop their feature ideas, and and so reflect adventure upon their work (Swansea Grid for Learning). The Skills Framework has been put in place to help teachers develop a learners thinking across the curriculum, although it is not possi ble to cover all subjects within the curriculum (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). Developing thinking is seen as a continuous process. This allows learners to keep up, as they are constantly planning, developing and reflecting upon their work (See Figure A).Figure A.(Swansea Grid for Learning)One of the most important features of this continuous process is metacognition, thinking about thinking. Metacognition is a process whereby learners reflect upon their own work, and therefore use this reflection time to improve their learning.Metacognition is also crucial in allowing learners to progress through the different skills stages.In mathematics, thinking can be substantial through a variety of different problem solving activities. Whilst on school organization, I ground that Abacus maths Scheme had a shed of practical activities that helped improve pupils thinking skills. The Abacus natural action book 6, by Ruth Merrtens and David Ki rkby features a range of different practical mathematical activities whereby learners work through the different activities and thus answer questions at the end. One particular act consisted of letter from A to K. An example of the worksheet utilize in this practise can be found in addendum 1. Learners had to work in groups to let on what number each of the different letters represented. To envision the correct answer, learners had to answer different questions such as I+C=D. To find the answer, pupils had to reflect upon what answers they altakey knew, for example they may already know that I= 4 and that C= 8, so they could therefore signalize what number D must represent. at a time learners had identified what poesy all of the letters represented they then had to answer questions such as What is the extreme of B, C and F? (Merrtens et al 2001).The plenary for this employment also presents an opportunity for learners to use the process of metacognition. Questions such as, what did you learn from this activity? How did you identify what numbers game the different letters were? How did you answer the different questions? What parts did you find favourable? What parts did you find hard? all allow learners to reflect upon their work and how they planned and developed their work throughout the activity to solve the different problems (Revill 2010).Another method to develop thinking is use a KWHL storage-battery gridiron (what learners already Know, what they Want to find out, How they will find out and what they have Learnt). The grid allows learners to reflect upon prior learning to fill out what they already know on the grid. Learners then think about what they might privation to find out from the work and how they are sledding to find this out. erst learners have completed the work, they then reflect up on what they have learnt. The use of KWHL grid very much consists the ideas of developing thinking and metacognition as learners must pla n what they wishing to find out, develop this into how they are going to find out, and then reflect upon how they have found out certain learning (The Centre for Research in Primary Science and Technology (CRIPSAT) 2007).I have found one of the best uses of a KWHL grid is to assess what learners learn during a science investigation. On school placement I utilise a KWHL grid during a science lesson looking at different food for thought groups and their effects on the human body. Once the learners had identified what they knew and what they wanted to find out, they then set about theme down how they would find out information. Without prompt, learners reflected on previous lessons when they has been asked to research information from material provided from textbooks and wrote this in their KWHL grids. KWHL grids are not only good at developing thinking skills, but also at as a means of allowing learners an element of control by letting them decide what they want to find out, and h ow they are going to find out. In the science lesson on food groups, using the KWHL grid also led to pupils working in groups to research the different food groups, and then presenting them back to the class. An example of a KWHL grid produced by a pupil from the class can be fond in Appendix 2. The research and initiation skills required were skills that pupils had previously learnt by doing a similar task. They had then reflected on this task to use the same skills to find out and share information about food groups in the form of displays, which also promotes practical, active learning.In language lessons, one of the best examples that I found whilst on school placement for developing thinking skills and making the lesson more practical and active was through a method of story writing by Pie Corbett. The Canal by Pie Corbett is learnt not by simply yarn text, but by looking at pictures that illustrate events in the story. The Canal and a sample of pictures used to give out the story ca be found in Appendix 3. This process uses a multi-sensory approach, combing actions with speech which enables learners to learn the story quickly and more effectively (Cambridge Literacy Catalogue 2003). Once learns know the story, they can then use the framework to design their own versions. This develops thinking skills as learners have to reflect upon what language and structure they have learnt from the Pie Corbett story, and use this in their own writing. Learners can also reflect upon the structure of the Pie Corbett text to generate speech within their own text. The next step for learners was to sketch pictures illustrating the events in their stories and then playacting them out. This again created an active and practical means of learning, whilst developing learners thinking skills.The main principle of the Skills Framework is to develop learners skills which they may transfer to different aspects of life (Revill 2010). By learning these different thinking sk ills through a range of practical activities, this section of the framework will definitely help fill the current gap in skills suggested by employers.Another stage of the Skills Framework is developing communication. Communication is a very important aspect of learning as it enables learners to carry what they already know or want to find out. To be able to bring correctly, Valette (1973) suggests that learners must engage in a variety of activities such as listening and tuition comprehensions and be able to express themselves through speech and writing. Osborn et al (2003) argues that there is increasing show which proves that by improving communication skills, other aspects of learning in global will also improve. The Skills Framework organises communication into oracy, reading, writing and wider communication skills such as through ideas and emotions (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government).In language lessons, a good personal manner to enable learners to communicate is through guided reading activities. The book 2020 Vision, part of The Navigator series by Harcourt Education et al, offers a range of activities whereby learners read, and then report back answers and ideas to the rest of the group. However, many an(prenominal) of the activities in the books do not contain any text but pictures instead. One example is compar index pictures of a town in 1900, with the same town today. Learners must read the pictures, and then answer questions about what they have read in the picture. This helps develop not only a learners reading skills in a way other than reading text, but also their wider communication skills, as they are having to communicate ideas in regards to the picture. Learners also develop oracy skills by answering questions and reporting them to the group. The book also contains written questions to complete at the end of the activity, which will then improve learners writing skills. This example of a gui ded reading activity incorporates all of the skills listed in the Skills Framework under developing communication. It is also an active and practical activity which encourages learners to communicate with each other.There are many opportunities for learners to develop their communication skills in science. When studying science, learners must a great deal write clearly and concisely and be confident with oral presentations (Osborn et al 2003). When writing a science investigation learners are expected to communicate clearly using specific language and structure. Learners use the future filter to communicate what they think may happen in an investigation, the present separate out to rationalize how to do carry out the investigation, and then the past stress to reflect upon it. Learners must also explain the results from the investigation in a way which will enable the reader to understand. Oral presentation is also very important to developing communication skills. Whilst on sch ool placement, part of a science lesson required elements of the class to prepare a presentation to the rest of the class which would inform them about the different organs in the body. The pip-squeakren worked in groups to research a particular body organ, produce a fact file and then prepare questions ready to present to the class. This activity developed the childrens communication skills by allowing group members to feedback information that they had researched to the rest of the group. The children then communicated through writing by recording the information they had found out into fact files. The template given to pupils to produce the fact files can be found in Appendix 4. The groups then had to prepare a presentation about their chosen organ to the rest of the class. This allowed for communication within the groups, as the children sorted out what would be said and who was saying it. The groups then presented their information to the class, again drawing on their oral co mmunication skills. After the presentations the rest of the class had to answer questions from the group. An example of the questions asked by the pupils can be found in Appendix 5. This again improved communication skills as pupils were able to answer questions with confidence, in front of the whole class. This science based activity therefore helped to improve and develop the children written and oral communication skills.In mathematics, learners use mathematical vocabulary when working with others. Learners also use a variety of written methods for communicating data such as diagrams, graphs, tables and symbols (Mathematics in the National Curriculum for Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). At Key defend 2 level, learners are given opportunities to their reading skills in mathematics by interpreting graphs and diagrams, and then explain the data either orally or in written format. Another feature of developing communication skills in mathematics at Key Stage 2 is to visualise and puff shapes, movements and transformations (Mathematics in the National Curriculum for Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). Whilst on school placement, I carried out a mathematics lesson based on 2d shapes. Over the course of the lesson, the children learnt the discerns of different 2d shapes, what they looked like and if they were a regular polygon, irregular polygon, or not a polygon. As a plenary activity I arranged for the children to sit back to back in pairs, one confront the whiteboard. The member of the pair not set about the whiteboard was given an individual white board, on which they could write. I then wrote the name of a 2d shape on the main whiteboard. The child facing the board had to communicate with their retainer what the shape was by saying if it was a regular polygon, irregular polygon, or not a polygon and how many sides the shape had, but could not say the name of the shape. The other member of the pair then had to interpret this information and draw what sh ape they thought it may be on their own individual whiteboards. This activity helped to develop communications skills as one member of the pair had to interpret what they were reading on the board, reflect upon what they had learnt about polygons from the lesson, and then orally describe to their partner the information, so that it could be easily interpreted by their partner, who would then be able to draw the correct shape. This activity was done more than once so that both members of the pair had an opportunity to describe the 2d shape.The wideness of developing communication skills is critical for all learners. Some researchers even suggest that there is a clear relationship between communication skills and having a positive relationship with other peers as well as achieving academically (Brigman et al 1999). It is therefore demand that subjects across the curriculum incorporate the exploitation of communication skills to enable leaners to develop both academically and social ly.Another part of the Skills Framework is developing number. Following research over the last twenty years it is apparent that numeracy involves more than calculation work, it also encompasses a learners ability to use number accurately including working with shape, measurement, creating graphs, and then using them to explain data (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). Although using number is mainly a mathematical skill, number can also be used in a variety of contexts across the curriculum.In Science, number is often used in scientific investigations. A good activity to involve number in science is to investigate how the heart rate changes with exercise. Whilst on school experiences, the children recorded their resting heart rate over a period of 30 seconds, using a heart observe linked to a computer. They then interpreted the results from the graph to give their resting heart rate. The children then ran around for five minutes and then on ce again recorded theyre heart rates. Once they had interpreted the results of the graph following the exercise, they could then compare the 2 graphs to work out the difference between theyre resting heart rate and heart rate after exercise. This activity helped to develop the childrens number skills because it allowed them to gather information from a graph, compare and interpret data and accurately measure their heart rates using suitable equipment (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government).Normally, you would not associate developing number with work in language. However, there are a number of activities which incorporate developing number into language lessons. When doing culture writing, learners develop number along with their language skills. For example, when writing a recipe, learners must use number not only to sequence their writing, but also to quantify the ingredients. Whilst on school experience, the children were firstly given a rec ipe cut up into different pieces and jumbled up. They then had to put the recipe back into the correct order. This developed the childrens number skills as they had to sequence the order of the recipe from the first instruction to the last. After the children had done this they then had to write their own recipes. An example of a pupils recipe can be found in Appendix 6. out front they began writing the instructions to the recipe, the children had to list the ingredients and what quantity of the ingredients should be used. This again helped develop number because the children had to choose and use everyday units of measurement (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government).In mathematics it is obvious that the subject helps to develop number skills. However, it is still important to ensure that activities are practical and enjoyable to help learners develop their number skills. One enjoyable, practical activity to help learners develop their number ski lls is to play multiplication bingo. An example can be found in Appendices 7 and 8. In the activity, each child is given a bingo card with multiplications of six and seven on them. The teacher has cards with time tables on them, for example the six times table and seven times table, but with a blank answer. The teacher had to read out each calculation, and the children would have to mentally work out the answer, and then check if they had the number on their bingo board. Like in normal bingo, the winner was the one to cross off all of their numbers first. I found this activity to particularly enjoyable with the children while on work experience. The activity also helps develop number as it allows learners to identify suitable calculations to get the result needed for the task (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government). The use of a calculator to allow the children to check their answers could also be incorporated into the activity to help develop n umber skills.Developing number is very important to a learners discipline in all aspects of life. Being able to use numbers is a global activity which brings together people from all cultures. It is therefore all-important(a) that learners develop their number skills not only by calculations and formulas, but as a means of solving problems and learning about the world (Sharma 2010). The Skills Framework will help to develop number in a way which helps learners to develop their number knowledge and skills across the curriculum, and not limit the increase to mathematics.The Skills Frame work also has a fourth stage, Developing ICT. It is essential that learners today have good ICT skills, as it was one of the main skills gaps pointed out by employers in the Future Skills Wales 2003 Generic Skills Survey. Developing skills in ICT has two strands finding and developing information and ideas and creating and presenting information and ideas (Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in W ales. Welsh Assembly Government). It can be argued that all subjects across the curriculum, not only the core subjects incorporate these strands. For example in nearly all subjects, learners will have researcnhed information using software programmes and also the internet. Learners also use ICT to create and present information such as word processing their work, or creating graphs to show results from an investigation. Developing ICT skills is more than just inform learners about ICT. Rather, it helps learners develop their knowledge of different technologies, add how these technologies maybe used to improve and benefit their learning. Also developing ICT skills will also greatly benefit learners from the very beginning of their journey through education and on into adult life, as ICT skills have aim almost essential in modern ways of living.The Skills Framework introduced to into the national curriculum by the Welsh Assembly Government has been incorporated as a means of improvi ng and developing skills that are currently needed not only in Wales, but the rest of the United Kingdom. By introducing skills into the curriculum such as developing thinking, communication, number and ICT will help learns to develop essential skills needed not only in education, but also later in adult life. It can also be argued that these skills will also help a learner improve both academically and socially. With the introduction of the Skills Framework into the national curriculum, we are now beginning to see a shift from a very much subject based way of teaching the curriculum, into a more skills based method. I firmly believe that in the future the shift into more skills based teaching will become even greater, with teachers focusing far more on the Skills Framework, and then planning the curriculum around it.