crosscurricular

Crosscurricular refers to teaching and learning that deliberately integrates content, skills, and perspectives from two or more subject areas around a common theme, problem, or question. The goal is to help students make connections across disciplines, transfer knowledge to new contexts, and develop broader competencies such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. The term is often used interchangeably with cross-curricular or interdisciplinary instruction, though some educators distinguish crosscurricular work as connecting subjects around shared goals rather than blending disciplines at a fundamental level.

Implementation typically involves collaborative planning among teachers who align objectives, materials, and assessments around a driving question or project. Common approaches include thematic units, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and design thinking. Instruction may feature real-world tasks that require applying math, science, language arts, social studies, and arts in integrated ways. Assessments often use performance tasks or portfolios that demonstrate learning across multiple domains, with rubrics that capture disciplinary and cross-disciplinary outcomes.

Benefits of crosscurricular work include increased student engagement, improved ability to transfer knowledge to authentic contexts, and development of transferable skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, and information literacy. It can also foster a more cohesive curriculum and stronger collaboration among teachers.

Challenges include limited planning time, scheduling constraints, alignment with standards, and the complexity of designing integrated assessments. Successful implementation typically starts with a clear driving question, a scoped scope of integration, alignment to standards, and purposeful professional development to support teacher readiness.