What next?
In 2007, Chris had planned to repeat the unit, with some modifications. However the class he had was a more challenging one, so he taught a much simpler film-making project. He reduced the scope of the unit and trialled some alternative approaches to certain aspects of the project in an attempt to maintain student involvement – with varied success. He did not use outside experts and the research phase took a lot longer. Short plasticine animated 'monster' films were made by small groups, with students within the groups having changing roles at different stages of the project.
While this may have been slightly disappointing, the school's senior management has taken (great) interest in the film project, and considered it in the wider context of school's desire to promote cross-curricula initiatives.
Chris believes the original project was a good start, a way of generating interest and trialling ideas. "The work that followed, with support from the Rector, was to use the project as a starting point to work with staff from other curriculum areas to develop a model that could work effectively within our school across subjects, which is where we have got to now."
Other projects may have different contexts but similar aims in terms of collaboration, cross-curricula links and differentiated learning. Chris believes the joint planning of units of work across departments within the College will be key to sustaining and improving the concept long term.
During Term 4 2006, Chris chaired two planning sessions – a full-day and a half-day – with teachers from other curriculum areas with a view to developing a workable model for cross curricula or integrated projects. Departments involved in this planning included English, Social Sciences, Religious Instruction, Science, Visual Art and Music.
At the beginning of 2007, Chris was involved in two planning meetings to develop a collegially planned cross curricula project at the request of senior management. The outcome was a Technology/Science/Maths two-week project that was trialled with two Year 9 classes. The project was later used with all Year 9 classes during the year. However, Chris regards the project as a stepping stone towards his ideal as there were timetabling constraints not suited for the model preferred by Chris and the other teachers involved.
Chris subsequently had informal discussions with teachers from Science, English, and Music with the aim of developing a further cross-curricula project using the preferred model. This was to have been trialled in Term 4 of 2007 as a model of how things might work across departments. However, there was insufficient time to implement the project effectively, so the decision was made to wait and put it in to the pool of ideas for future work.
Chris's ideal is to have a project that is truly integrated into the normal year programme of each curriculum area involved, developed collegially with each teacher. Most teachers who have been involved in previous senior management-initiated cross-curricula projects acknowledge that having a compulsory, three-subject area unit of work that interrupts the normal programme creates tensions and difficulties. These include taking valuable time out of existing planned programmes (more of an issue for some subjects than others), difficulties in timetabling of rooms (especially computer rooms), communication and resource management difficulties in passing lesson/student progression from subject teacher to subject teacher and classroom to classroom over two weeks of classes in three subjects.
In 2008, Chris is trialling a new model he believes will solve these issues.
"The new model was developed in meetings I ran at the end of 2006, and refined in a series of meetings with the Rector and Assistant Rector through 2007. At the beginning of 2008, all teachers of each Year 9 form class met for 15 minutes (instead of attending staff briefing) and discussed project ideas and indicated their desire to be involved. Buy-in was up to the teachers concerned. Every subject had the option to participate. Staff from three or more subject areas needed to commit to a project, which at that stage was undefined. At this point (mid-March 2008), this part of the process has taken place, with very good indications for involvement. Following this, an afternoon will be allocated to the staff involved, to develop a project structure. The school provides relief for this – a significant commitment.
"Essentially, links are made across subjects, using work that is already part of each department's programme, with adjustments made where needed. Assessment is carried out as per usual in each curriculum area. An outcome and timeline are to be identified, written up, and given to the Assistant Rector. This becomes that form class's official integrated learning project for the year. If three or more subject teachers do not 'buy in' to this concept, that particular form class will revert to the existing, two-week cross-curricula project in Term 4."
