1 Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Renae Alston
Regent University

Interdisciplinary Curriculum

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

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Students attend school for a minimum of twelve years and are exposed to vast amounts of
information, many different teaching styles, and diverse curricula. The question is: will the
students remember even half of what they were taught? From my own personal experience, I can
say that I cannot remember much of what I was taught in my former years. For this very reason
interdisciplinary education is so important. According to Marzano (1991), interdisciplinary
curriculum is seen as a way to address some of the habitual problems in education, such as
fragmentation and remote skill instruction. Fundamentally, interdisciplinary curriculum is about
not teaching anything in isolation. It is about applying the knowledge and skills learned in one
subject to another content area and even a real life application. It requires that we as teachers
give personal and relevant meaning to what we teach our students. Interdisciplinary curriculum is
a way to solidify a students skill set and add value to what the students are learning.
Wind Turbines off the Coast of Virginia
In science, the students were being taught about alternative and renewable energy sources
and the impact that these alternative or renewable energy sources may have on the environment.
After exploring the different types of alternative energy sources they were enlightened to the fact
that there is currently a referendum being considered to install wind turbines off the coast of
Virginia. In collaboration with the gifted resource teacher, Becky Wallace, the students were
asked to visit the list of websites pertaining to the referendum and decide whether they were for
or against wind turbines in Virginia. They were to collect facts that supported their position from
the websites and put those facts on a facts sheet that was provided to the student.
Beck Wallace informed the students that they would be able to write a letter to the energy
office so that their voices could be heard on the issue. Piggybacking off the lesson from science,
during language arts the students were taught a lesson on persuasive writing and the proper

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formatting for a business letter. The students were told that in persuasive writing one is trying to
convince someone to see things the way they see them. Also, that in order to convince someone
you had to have facts. They students were then asked to use the fact sheet from their science
lesson to formulate their persuasive letter, including the facts in their details. Once the students
generated the body of their letter, we proceeded with proper business formatting including the
heading, greeting, and closing.
These artifacts were chosen because this interdisciplinary lesson took a fragmented
science lesson about alternative energy and made it personal to these Virginia students because
their voices would be heard by an outside party. It made it relevant because these students live in
the state of Virginia where these turbines are being considered. Moreover, they were able to
apply their skills in language arts to a science lesson and their letters were posted on the energy
website.
Reflection
Until this moment I have never understood the importance of interdisciplinary
curriculum. My focus as a student has always been on the practical application of concepts
learned in class. As a student, I would often use my books, notes, and teacher quotes from one
class and apply that knowledge to another class, but none of that information was content
specific. But what I understand now is that students will not always be provided the opportunity
to practically use all the information that they encounter. That is why it is so important to
integrate as many concepts across the curriculum as possible; as a way to solidify and create
meaning for the students where they might not otherwise get the chance. The bible says in
Proverbs 4:13(ESV), Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
The ability to create a handle from one subject to the next is a springboard to the holding of

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instruction. I can remember Professor Crosland constantly saying, Never teach anything in
isolation. The goal is to maximize student retention and create a meaningful learning
experience.

References
Bible (ESV)
Marzano, R. What is Interdisciplinary/Cross-Curricular Teaching? Retrieved from

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marzanocenter.com. February 2015