Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Hannah Crow
Regent University

Introduction
The following paragraphs will explain the importance of integration in the classroom.
Two lessons will be used as examples. The first lesson focuses on the integration of Science into
Mathematics through to combination of sound and measurement. The second lesson focuses on
the integration of Language Arts and Math through the incorporation of metric measurements of
length into writing.
Rationale for Selected Artifacts
The first artifact I have chosen is a set of activities assigned to students who
demonstrating a solid understanding of the content being taught during Math based on the preassessment. This activity integrated the use of measurement (Math SOL 5.8), which was the
current Math topic, and sound (Science SOL 5.2), which had just been completed in Science. The
first activity asked students to cut five straws at various U.S. Customary lengths. The students
then measured the straws in centimeters and ordered the straws from smallest to largest. The
students then taped the straws to create an instrument and music. The second activity required
In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015

INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

students to measure the weight of three drumsticks, using both ounces and grams. For the fourth
station, students filled bottles with varying amounts of water, which were measured in both
milliliters and ounces. The students then had to record what sound each bottle made. For the final
activity, students found the volume of three different boxes and created music with each box.
After the students had completed each activity and recorded their findings, they had to answer
questions about pitch and sound and how they thought the variations of each object played a role
in the different pitches/sounds. The students who participated in these activities had a lot of fun
and demonstrated their knowledge of both measurement and sound through critical thinking and
creation.
The second artifact I have chosen is an example of student work for a writing assignment
during small groups. The writing prompt was If I were 1 cm tall The students were
instructed to write a one page story regarding this topic, being sure to demonstrate their
knowledge of comparing and converting at least two metric measurements of length (Math VBO
5.3.3). The students enjoyed this activity, and some students even went beyond the original topic
and also wrote a story about if they were one millimeter tall. It was interesting to see the different
perspectives of each student. Some students pretended they were the only thing to shrink and that
all of their surroundings remained the original size; while others pretended all of their
surroundings were shrunk with them. Overall, it was nice to see each student using knowledge
attained during our study of metric measurements of length to create a fictional story.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
Interdisciplinary instruction is crucial to create meaningful lessons. According to The
National Council for Teachers of English, Educational experiences are more authentic and of
greater value to students when the curricula reflects real life, which is multi-faceted rather than
being compartmentalized into neat subject-matter packages (National Science Foundation,
2010). Based on this idea, it is important to integrate learning into many different areas of
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INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

instruction and activities. This can be executed through enrichment activities, connections made
through discussion, reading, etc. However, it is important to create meaningful lessons that allow
the students to think critically, enhance their learning, and demonstrate their knowledge.
I have found that the art of interdisciplinary instruction goes hand-in-hand with
differentiated instruction. All learners learn differently. Each student has a unique set of strengths
and weaknesses, as well as multiple forms of intelligence. With this in mind, psychologist
Howard Gardner asserts that given that students are heterogeneous in their learning styles and
have diverse backgrounds, interests, experiences, talents, and values, drawing on a broad array of
frameworks and methodologies will enhance student engagement, and thus learning (National
Science Foundation, 2010). Therefore, it is important to incorporate content into various
instructional frameworks and in various or differentiated ways. Doing so will enable students to
utilize their unique learning style to receive the most benefit from instruction.

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015

INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

References
National Science Foundation. (2010, September 2). Why teach with an interdisciplinary
approach? Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://serc.carleton.edu/econ/interdisciplinary/
why. html

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015