Page 9 - EnhancingContentandPedagogicalKnowledge063015
P. 9
regulating the nutritional qualities of food available on campus, encouraging physical activities during recess, and integrating health topics within
other subject areas are designed to promote attitudes and behaviors for healthy living (McCary, 2007).
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 addresses the types of foods that should be available to students on campus during the school day.
Science-based nutrition guidelines were used to develop practical, operational healthy food options for schools to follow. Foods such as “whole
grains, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables and leaner protein” are promoted. Foods with high fat, sugar, sodium and caffeine are to be avoided. This
initiative involves all members of the school community in a quest for healthier eating (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013).
The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (2013) recommends standards for physical education classes.
Important objectives are the development in students of motor skills and movement patterns, personal fitness, attitudes of respect for others, and
enjoyment of challenge, social interactions, and self-expression.
Cross-curricular Strategies
The effective teacher sees instruction through the eyes of students and seeks opportunities to indicate connections and overlaps between subject
disciplines. Collaboration between colleagues enables instruction to be planned in such ways that the teaching of common skills is coordinated.
According to McTighe and Wiggins (2012) there are a small number of overarching, long-term transfer goals in each subject. For example, a
long-term goal in mathematics would be for students to solve real-world problems on their own. A long-term transfer goal in history might
be for students to apply what they are learning to issues that are occurring today: “In every case, the ability to transfer learning manifests itself
in not just one setting but varied real-world situations. Furthermore, transfer is about independent performance in context” (p. 1). Students
who develop depth of learning are able to apply concepts and skills without any further help from the teacher. Transference of learning enables
students to develop a repertoire of knowledge, skills, and strategies that may be selected in order to address the context of many real life
situations.
Writing across the curriculum. Students experience the need for writing in almost all of their subject disciplines. Effective teachers in any
of the content areas embrace the need for writing and promote the development of style and skills appropriate to that discipline. Writing across
the curriculum is a pedagogical approach that encourages students to write skillfully in order to enhance comprehension and improve retention
of knowledge. Wells (2013), on the Purdue Owl Web site, offers examples of “writing and reading journals, summaries, response papers, learning
logs and problem analyses.” This practice accepts that subject disciplines demand their own styles of writing as found in such common examples
as “literature reviews, project proposals, and lab reports.” Wells asserts that “the style, organization, and format that is acceptable in one discipline
may not be at all acceptable in another.” Students benefit from learning and practicing the writing conventions of each discipline.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (n.d.) Web site states that “Developing literacy skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening is a
collaborative responsibility of all educators.” There is an expectation that skills, such as communication and critical thinking should be enhanced
by improved literacy.
Dr. Douglas Reeves calls nonfiction writing one of the most powerful practices that impacts student achievement (California Department of
Education, n.d.). Michael Schmoker, author of Results Now, expresses concern that students are too often occupied for an excessive proportion
of instructional time on undemanding tasks such as “completing worksheets, watching movies, cutting and pasting PowerPoint presentations,
and passively listening to group presentations” (Murray, 2007). Schmoker advocates for more time spent on “analytical reading and discussion or
completing writing and mathematics assignments” and argues that students need to read non-fiction articles and simultaneously make notes and
ask critical questions. Depth of learning comes from discussion with other students and persuasive writing tasks about the topics studied.
Graham and Perin (2007) used a meta-analysis of research approaches in order to determine the most effective instructional strategies that serve
to enhance writing skills for students in the grades 4 to 12 range. Eleven specific elements were identified as effective in helping adolescents to
improve writing skills:
•• Writing strategies
•• Summarization
•• Collaborative writing
•• Goals for a specific product
•• Word processing
•• Sentence combining
•• Prewriting
•• Inquiry activities
•• Process writing
•• Study of models
•• Writing for content learning
The eleven elements are applicable for adoption by all teachers, in an effort to enable students to write well and to use writing as a tool for
learning across the whole curriculum.
Collaborative concept planning. Collaborative planning is key to developing a culture in which teachers share responsibility for the
advancement of all students in the school. Newell (2012) explains the advantages of collaborative lesson planning by teams of teachers in
other subject areas are designed to promote attitudes and behaviors for healthy living (McCary, 2007).
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 addresses the types of foods that should be available to students on campus during the school day.
Science-based nutrition guidelines were used to develop practical, operational healthy food options for schools to follow. Foods such as “whole
grains, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables and leaner protein” are promoted. Foods with high fat, sugar, sodium and caffeine are to be avoided. This
initiative involves all members of the school community in a quest for healthier eating (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013).
The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (2013) recommends standards for physical education classes.
Important objectives are the development in students of motor skills and movement patterns, personal fitness, attitudes of respect for others, and
enjoyment of challenge, social interactions, and self-expression.
Cross-curricular Strategies
The effective teacher sees instruction through the eyes of students and seeks opportunities to indicate connections and overlaps between subject
disciplines. Collaboration between colleagues enables instruction to be planned in such ways that the teaching of common skills is coordinated.
According to McTighe and Wiggins (2012) there are a small number of overarching, long-term transfer goals in each subject. For example, a
long-term goal in mathematics would be for students to solve real-world problems on their own. A long-term transfer goal in history might
be for students to apply what they are learning to issues that are occurring today: “In every case, the ability to transfer learning manifests itself
in not just one setting but varied real-world situations. Furthermore, transfer is about independent performance in context” (p. 1). Students
who develop depth of learning are able to apply concepts and skills without any further help from the teacher. Transference of learning enables
students to develop a repertoire of knowledge, skills, and strategies that may be selected in order to address the context of many real life
situations.
Writing across the curriculum. Students experience the need for writing in almost all of their subject disciplines. Effective teachers in any
of the content areas embrace the need for writing and promote the development of style and skills appropriate to that discipline. Writing across
the curriculum is a pedagogical approach that encourages students to write skillfully in order to enhance comprehension and improve retention
of knowledge. Wells (2013), on the Purdue Owl Web site, offers examples of “writing and reading journals, summaries, response papers, learning
logs and problem analyses.” This practice accepts that subject disciplines demand their own styles of writing as found in such common examples
as “literature reviews, project proposals, and lab reports.” Wells asserts that “the style, organization, and format that is acceptable in one discipline
may not be at all acceptable in another.” Students benefit from learning and practicing the writing conventions of each discipline.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (n.d.) Web site states that “Developing literacy skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening is a
collaborative responsibility of all educators.” There is an expectation that skills, such as communication and critical thinking should be enhanced
by improved literacy.
Dr. Douglas Reeves calls nonfiction writing one of the most powerful practices that impacts student achievement (California Department of
Education, n.d.). Michael Schmoker, author of Results Now, expresses concern that students are too often occupied for an excessive proportion
of instructional time on undemanding tasks such as “completing worksheets, watching movies, cutting and pasting PowerPoint presentations,
and passively listening to group presentations” (Murray, 2007). Schmoker advocates for more time spent on “analytical reading and discussion or
completing writing and mathematics assignments” and argues that students need to read non-fiction articles and simultaneously make notes and
ask critical questions. Depth of learning comes from discussion with other students and persuasive writing tasks about the topics studied.
Graham and Perin (2007) used a meta-analysis of research approaches in order to determine the most effective instructional strategies that serve
to enhance writing skills for students in the grades 4 to 12 range. Eleven specific elements were identified as effective in helping adolescents to
improve writing skills:
•• Writing strategies
•• Summarization
•• Collaborative writing
•• Goals for a specific product
•• Word processing
•• Sentence combining
•• Prewriting
•• Inquiry activities
•• Process writing
•• Study of models
•• Writing for content learning
The eleven elements are applicable for adoption by all teachers, in an effort to enable students to write well and to use writing as a tool for
learning across the whole curriculum.
Collaborative concept planning. Collaborative planning is key to developing a culture in which teachers share responsibility for the
advancement of all students in the school. Newell (2012) explains the advantages of collaborative lesson planning by teams of teachers in
