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Cross thematic approach to curriculum design
and applicationThe case of Greece with special
reference to the use of ICT

• Eleni Karatzia Stavlioti
• University of Patras
• Hellenic Pedagogical Institute

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Main points of the presentation

• The role and the importance of Curriculum
• Contemporary socio political, cultural and
  scientific developments
• The effectiveness of using cross thematic
  approach to learning together with the existence
  of the different disciplines
• Teaching, learning and understanding beyond the
  facts The macro (cross-thematic concepts)
• Competencies, skills, attitudes and values as
  cultivated in the initiative being introduced
  in the Greek System by the Hellenic Pedagogical
  Institute
• How learning with the support of ICT is designed
  to support this initiative

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Curriculum

• Curriculum design attempts to answer
  three basic questions in education
• Which should be the content and the shape of
  school knowledge?
• How this knowledge should be organized?
• How and through which processes this knowledge
  can be obtained and successfully used by all
  students?

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1. Content Of School Knowledge 2. Organization
of school knowledge 3. ?ethod of teaching

• TRADITIONAL PRACTICES
• Whatever the different disciplines have quoted,
  in a form suitable for students
• 2. In different independent subjects in
  accordance to the disciplines
• 3. Direct methods of teaching

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• CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF EDUCATION
• (Trends of) Globalization of
• the markets
• The cultural capital
• 2. The Big Bang of human knowledge
• 3. The radical transformation of production and
  the new organizational forms
• 4. The demographic changes

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A ? T H E M A C R O L E V E L
THE DISCOURSE FOR EDUCATION
Emphasis on the improvement of the quality of
education (discussion on methods for quality
control)
Policies concerning the recognition, the
understanding and the respect of the needs of all
the students as well as of the requirements of
all the education actors (politicians,
educationalists, parents, employers ) (
Policies of transparency in the goals of the
educational process and in the means to achieve
these goals
Policies of continues and multi faced
evaluation, of continues improvement and
assessment in education
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A T T H E M A C R O L E V E L
THE DISCOURSE FOR EDUCATION
The reinforcement of school autonomy Policies of
self management Culture of participation self
evaluation cooperation self - controlled
development negotiation
accountability
The reinforcement of pluralism in values as an
antidote to mono cultural orthodoxy Policies
including intercultural approaches to the goals,
the programs and the school textbooks
Management of educational change (crisis and
danger) Ways, mechanisms and techniques)
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A T T H E M I C R O L E V E L
THE DISCOURSE FOR EDUCATION
The management of the huge amount of knowledge
Encyclopedism Knowledge pragmatism Knowledge
minimalism
The management of the radical enlargement of
knowledge From knowledge itself to the way of
acquiring it From borders in knowledge to its
organization in an interdisciplinary way Problems
in the selection, organization and inclusion of
information in the field of knowledge
The management of the asynchronous development of
the different discipline fields From the
dichotomy of theoretical vs applicable knowledge
to its unification From the stability to the
re-negotiation of school time per subject
corpus, selection interdisciplinarity, cross
curricularity in the school program
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A T T H E M I C R O L E V E L
THE DISCOURSE FOR EDUCATION
The management of socio cultural and learning
diverse student populations ?from orderly to
cooperative management schemes From value
orthodoxy to value pluralism From the pessimism
of equalitarianism to the optimism of high aims
From the shot of minimal effort to the
happiness of the creative outcome
The management of interpersonal relations in the
open school Matters of communication between
parents, teachers and local community The
important role of the personality and of the
leadership characteristics
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CROSS CURRICULAR APPROACHTHE DEFINITION IN THE
GREEK CURRICULUM (INITIATIVE )
Cross curricularity refers to the possible
horizontal links that can be achieved amongst the
curriculum of the different subjects. For these
horizontal links to be achieved a suitable
organization of the teaching matter of each
subject is necessary, so that the different
themes are treated from diverse angles , they
are given light in a multi dimensional
way and their relationship to everyday life is
revealed
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CROSS CURRICULAR APPROACHTHE DEFINITION IN THE
GREEK CURRICULUM (INITIATIVE )
Within this framework we search for the
extensions that the themes under investigation
have in the fields of science, art and
technology as well as in the development of
skills, attitudes, behaviors and values. In this
way we treat the themes in a holistic way and we
manage to relate knowledge to everyday life. In
this way cross - curricularity inludes
interdesciplinarity
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THE HELLENIC PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE PROPOSAL
FOR THE PROMOTION OF CROSS - CURRICULARITY

1. Cross curricular links in the school textbooks
   and in the other learning material (ie software)
   using as linking elements (as a vehicle) the
   macro concepts (cross curricular concepts) as
   well as the skills, attitudes, behaviors and
   values that can be cultivated across the
   curriculum

2. The materialization of activities and projects
with cross curricular approach in the time
frame of the various subjects (up to 10 of the
teaching time)
3. The involvement of the students and teachers
in projects of their choice (ie environmental
education, health education ) during the time
of The flexible zone
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(INDICATIVE) MACRO / CROSS CURRICULAR
CONCEPTS (Given by the different disciplines,
appear very often in the aims and in the content
of the curriculum and may be used to promote the
goals of education)
Change Communication Civilization
Dimension Interaction System Similarity
difference Unit (atom) whole
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THE CONCEPT SYSTEM

• Description of the concept Its application in
  cross curricular approach
• The system consists of parts that are related and
  interact etc. as a unity.
• The word may mean method and way of working. The
  concept exists in both the social and the natural
  sciences.

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THE CONCEPT SYSTEM(Application of the concept in
the different disciplines

• The understanding of the use of the concept
  system in the natural sciences helps the human
  beings understand nature more and realize the
  necessity and the operation of the natural laws.
• The transfer and the use of the concept in social
  sciences and in everyday life is closely related
  to the different types of social organization as
  well as to the diverse relationships that are
  formed in the various systems of social
  organization.
• The understanding of the various meanings that
  the concept system has helps the human beings
  understand the important influence that the
  systemic organization has on individual and / or
  social development (systemic and critical
  thinking ).

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THE CONCEPT SYSTEM (The benefit of the student)

• The student is supported to understand that many
  systems have self regulating mechanisms that
  protect them from distraction in cases of radical
  changes, instability etc.
• This kind of knowledge accompanied with the
  skills, attitudes and behaviors that are related
  to lifelong learning and active cooperative
  citizenship are necessary for the youths in the
  contemporary society

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THE CONCEPT SYSTEM

• CLASSES 1 AND 2
• When this concept is related with those of
  communication and civilization it promotes the
  sensitivity and understanding towards the
  students with learning and other specialties as
  well as towards the environment.
• The concept of the system is applied mainly in
  the subjects of Language and Mathematics.
• In these subjects the students begin to organize
  and gradually systematize knowledge concerning
  the numbers and the use of words. They generally
  begin to recognize the different systems, ie
  groups of plants and animals in their
  environment, the decade system of counting etc
•  

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?????? S?S????

THE CONCEPT SYSTEM

• ???e?? ???a? ??
• ? ?????a a?t?, ?ta? s??d?eta? µe t??
  ?????a t?? ep????????a? a??? ?a? t?? p???t?sµ??,
  p????e? t?? e?a?s??t?p???s? t?? µa??t?? p??? ta
  ?t?µa µe ?d?a?te??t?te? a??? ?a? p??? t? e???te??
  f?s??? ?a? a????p??e??? pe??ß?????.
• ? ?????a s?st?µa p????e?ta? ?at? a?a????a
  se ??a ta µa??µata ?a? ?????? st? G??ssa ?a? sta
  ?a??µat???. ?? µa??t?? a??????? ?a ???a?????? ?a?
  stad?a?? ?a s?st?µat?p????? t? ???s? ?s?? af???
  t??? a???µ??? ?a? t? ???s? t?? ?e????????.
  Ge????te?a a??????? ?a a?a????????? d??f??a
  s?st?µata, p.?. ?µ?de? f?t?? ?a? ???? t??
  pe??ß?????t??, t? de?ad??? s?st?µa, ?.?.
•  

 CLASSES 3 AND 4 The concept of system
is found a lot in the subjects of Mathematics,
Language and Environmental studies. Through its
application and use the students acquire a
deeper knowledge of measures for space and time.
They also learn more on the system of numbers
through the learning of ratios etc When this
concept is related to the concepts of
communication and interaction the students
recognize certain rules that exist in the
various systems and, whenever possible, they
practice their application ie. The application of
grammar rules in communicative circumstances,
the application of mathematical measures in
circumstances of everyday life etc
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SYSTEM CLASSES 5 AND 6   The concept
of system is applied in all subjects but mainly
in Mathematics, Language and Citizenship
Education In these subjects the student begins
to organize and use / apply the knowledge on
numbers In these subjects the student starts to
organize alone the knowledge on numbers, on the
use of words and their relationship to different
social groups as well as to the environment. The
application of this concept in all subjects aims
to help students understand that all systems
consist of parts that are interrelated  
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THE USE OF ICT TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT THE
SOFTWARE

• The software to be produced should be
• Interactive
• Cross curricular (with horizontal and vertical
  links)
• Creative (surfing through activities and
  projects)
• The producers should use
• The curriculum framework
• The identified concepts
• To create a software useable in class or at home