Using Prompts and Links to Foster Interdisciplinary Learning At Secondary School

Author(s):

Stefan Keller(presenting / submitting)ute Bender(presenting)Albert Dueggeli

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 06 B, Subject Integrated Teaching and Vocational Training

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-03

15:30-17:00

Room:

B016 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Meinert Arnd Meyer

Contribution

Across Europe, modern curricula describe ‘interdisciplinary competences’ as important goals of student learning at secondary school and in higher education (OECD, 1998). Interdisciplinarity can be defined as an approach in which learners utilize modes of inquiry drawn from two or more subjects. It is marked by an ability to evaluate multiple approaches and integrate knowledge from different subjects to solve complex problems in ‘real world’ contexts (Rychen & Salganik, 2003; Weinert, 1998).

This paper presents an empirical study of a learning environment designed to foster interdisciplinary competences in English and Nutritional Science. Students learn to understand and discuss important issues related to their eating habits in a foreign language. The specific topic is ‘healthy living and healthy breakfast’, which is a focus-point of secondary education: the latest HBSC study (Health Behaviour of School Aged Children) has shown that young people often tend to skip breakfast in a mistaken attempt to lose weight. In Switzerland, only 44% of 14 year old girls and 50% of boys have breakfast every school-day (Currie et al., 2012). This issue needs to be addressed urgently.

In this learning environment, the goals are for students to (1) acquire reading and writing competences in English; (2) to understand the nutritional principles of preparing a healthy breakfast; and (3) be able to connect knowledge from the two subjects to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems. It is innovative at the level of its task design (Keller & Bender, 2012). The two partner-subjects are not combined into one (as in project-learning or CLIL), but the connection is made by ‘prompts’ and ‘links’ alone, respecting the realities of school learning, which is still organized as separate subjects in most European countries.

Prompts are defined as recall and/or performance aids which are based on the central assumption that students already possess important concepts and processes to solve problems, but do not recall or execute them spontaneously (Bannert, 2009, p. 141) . In our study, students are regularly called upon to use existing knowledge from the 'partner-subject’ to solve problems in the other one. In English, for example, they may be prompted to use the food pyramid from Nutritional Science to analyse the nutrients of a full English breakfast of eggs, sausages and fried mushrooms.

Links are performance aids concerning future learning and understanding, and were designed specifically for this project: Students are asked to carry a question over into the partner subjectand get to the bottom of it there. For example, they read about different breakfast-styles in different countries in English, note questions they have and then analyse them in the Nutritional Science class.

The learning environment thus promotes ‘horizontal connectedness’, a term used by OECD to characterize innovative approaches to learning (Dumont et al., 2010). This means that the curriculum is organised around real world problems instead of separate subjects, and that learning goals combine areas of knowledge from different subjects, connecting the classroom to the world outside.

Method

The data we present comes from a quasi-experimental filed study in a treatment-control group pre/post design (N = 496; 8th grade Swiss secondary schools; January-March 2014). It has three measurement points (t1 pre-intervention, t2 post-intervention, t3 six weeks post-intervention). Students in the treatment group (N = 249) completed the learning environment as described above. Students in the control group (N = 247) were also taught about ‘healthy breakfast and healthy living’ in the same subjects, but without links or prompts. The overarching research question is: What is the effect of links and prompts on the development of students’ interdisciplinary competences in this setting? At t1 and t2 students’ subject specific knowledge was measured in English (Key English Test KET, 2011, adapted) and in Nutritional Science (Nutrition Knowledge Test NKT, Diehl 1999a,b). Students’ ability of interdisciplinary problem solving was measured at t2 and t3 using a newly developed ‘test of connected knowledge in English and Nutritional Science’ Keller & Bender, in press). This involved students evaluating English texts for nutritional content, and writing a letter in English in which they counsel somebody about their breakfast habits. In addition, students’ readiness to connect and elaborate their learning was also measured at t1 as a baseline value (Kieler Inventory of Learning Strategies KSI, Heyn at al., 1994). The first measurement effect concerns students’ subject-specific knowledge. Here, no large differences are expected between treatment- and control group, because both worked on the same topic in the same two subjects for a substantial period of time. The second measurement effect concerns students’ ability to connect knowledge from two subjects (interdisciplinary competence). Here, we expect that students in the treatment group will significantly outperform those in the control group in their ability to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems in the area of ‘healthy breakfast’. This is the intended effect of the links and prompts used in the treatment group. At the point of writing this proposal, intervention was still on-going in some classes, so no full analysis of the data set was possible. Preliminary analysis for a sub-sample was done using ANOVA with repeated measurement (general linear model). It showed significantly larger gains in the treatment group as regards students’ capacity for connected problem solving. Once the full data set is available, this trend will be validated with hierarchical linear models (nested models). The results would be shown for the first time at EERA conference 2014.

Expected Outcomes

The outcomes of this project are relevant at three levels: At micro level, links and prompts can be regarded as tools for fostering interdisciplinary learning in individual classrooms. Should the example of partnering English with Nutritional Science show the desired effects, arrangements using the same tools can be designed for different subject combinations (e.g. Maths and Physics, History and Geography, Physical Education and Nutritional Science, etc. ). At meso level, the project presents a model for co-operation of teachers of different classes within a school. It encourages them to focus on topic areas where their subjects overlap and gives them a tool for co-ordinating their efforts. They receive a mode of organizing interdisciplinary learning which respects the realities of distinct subjects, yet is efficient and manageable. At macro level, the ‘test of connected knowledge’ (Keller & Bender, in press) developed in this project can give new perspectives to educational researchers internationally as regards the design and measurement of interdisciplinary competences.

References

Bannert, Maria (2009): Promoting Self-Regulated Learning Through Prompts. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 23 (2), 2009, 139–145 Currie, Candace; Zanotti, Cara; Morgan, Antony et al. eds. (2012): Social determinants of health and well-being among young people: Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC). Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe Diehl, Joerg M. (1999a): Ernährungswissen von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Verbraucherdienst, 44, p. 282-287 Diehl, Joerg M. (1999b): Ernährungswissen von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Verbraucherdienst, 44, p. 282-287. Anhang: Literatur und Test Dumont, Hanna; Istance, David; Benavides, Franciso (2010): Executive Summary. In: Dumont, Hanna; Istance, David; Benavides, Franciso (eds.) (2010): The nature of learning. Using research to inspire practice. CERI Centre of Educational Research and Innovation. OECD, p. 13-18 Heyn, Susanne; Baumert, Jürgen; Köller, Olaf (1994): Kieler Lernstrategien-Inventar KSI. Kiel: IPN Keller, Stefan; Bender, Ute (in press): Test of connected knowledge in English and Nutritional Science Keller, Stefan; Bender, Ute (eds.) (2012): Aufgabenkulturen. Fachliche Lernkulturen herausfordern, begleiten, reflektieren. Seelze: Klett/Kallmeyer KET - Key Englisch Test (2011): Past Paper Pack. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press OECD (1998): Interdisciplinarity in Science and Technology. Directorate for Science and Industry. Paris: OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Rychen, Dominique; Salganik, Laura (2003): “A holistic model of competence”, in Rychen, D. and Salganik, L. (Eds), Key Competencies for a Successful Life and Well-Functioning Society, Hogrefe and Huber, Cambridge, pp. 41-62 Weinert, Franz E. (1998): Neue Unterrichtskonzepte zwischen gesellschaftlichen Notwendigkeiten, pädagogischen Visionen und psychologischen Möglichkeiten. In: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht, Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst (ed.): Wissen und Werte für die Welt von morgen. Dokumentation zum Bildungskongress. München: Bayerisches Staatsmin. für Unterricht, Kultus, Wiss. u. Kunst, p. 101-125

Author Information

Stefan Keller (presenting / submitting)

University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland

School for Teacher Education

Basel

ute Bender (presenting)

PH/FHNW

SEk I/II

basel

Albert Dueggeli

University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland

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