Meeting the cross curricular challenge
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Nations involved
Ireland England |
Project leads
Conor Harrison, Professional Development Service for Teachers Chris Waller, Association for Citizenship Teaching |
Project timeline
November 2010 to December 2011 |
This project allowed teachers in Dublin and London to see how cross-curricular and cross-national collaboration could work to promote positive citizenship. The teachers shared their findings through an online blog, which outlines fully the process that was taken over the course of the year between the teachers and the four schools. Download the report
Aims
- To see how cross-curricular and cross-national collaboration could work to promote positive citizenship
- To explore how teachers could address common curricular challenges across national borders
Actions
The project was between two schools in Dublin and two in London. Five lessons on identity were planned and completed:
- An introductory lesson on what it means to be English and what it means to be Irish.
- Two team-teaching lessons (involving exchanges between the English and Irish teachers)
- A bridging lesson
- An evaluation lesson
Outcomes
Main outcomes for pupils:
- Experience of cross-national communication
- Encouraged broader ideas about identity
- Opportunity to challenge commonly held stereotypes through real communication
- Realisation of essential commonality whilst still being able to appreciate differences
- Sharing experience, ideas and teaching methods
- Gaining different perspectives on common issues and themes
- Development of resources and a unit of work on identity
- Teaching in different contexts
- Working organically
Two years on, Michelle Springer, one of the teachers that took part in this project, has outlined the continued benefits to her teaching.
Last edited February 2015
