Avoid Summer Interrupted Learning by Planning Cross-Curricular Learning Experiences

By Dr. Cletis Allen, Education Consultant

Summer is here! This time of year can be very concerning for many teachers and caregivers because of fear that children “lose” mastery of knowledge and skills learned during the school year. This fear has been the latest popular phrase in educational spaces: Learning loss! We see and hear this phrase in the news, on social media platforms, and in conversations with leaders across local, state, and national spaces. In recent years, many community members attribute the effects of learning loss to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic.

While many do not dispute the effects that the pandemic had on learning for children, the presence of learning loss really describes the phrase interrupted learning. Interrupted learning occurs when there is a shift in student learning trajectories (City Year, 2021). Traditionally, we view student learning from a linear trajectory, in which learning occurs at the same time for a set amount of days in the same building. Since the start of the pandemic, school districts and educational organizations have moved from traditional learning trajectories to more customized learning trajectories to allow opportunities for children to review skills that were not mastered during the previous school year. Teachers are tasked with preventing interrupted learning by implementing curricular and instructional strategies that support engaging and continuous learning for children beyond the school year.

How can we continue to engage children in grade-level skills while avoiding summer interrupted learning?

One strategy is the implementation of cross-curricular learning experiences.

Cross-curricular learning experiences are engaging, interactive units of learning that integrate knowledge and skills from multiple content areas to explore real-world issues. The creation of a cross-curricular learning experience is a form of curriculum innovation, where new units of learning develop from existing themes and principles (Bouckaert & Kools, 2018). Cross-curricular learning experiences provide opportunities for children to apply key ideas across multiple content areas and make connections to their culture and community. Cross-curricular learning experiences are rooted in collaboration, in which children work with teachers, peers, caregivers, and community leaders as they explore, engage, and apply knowledge and skills. In addition, children activate higher order thinking skills (i.e.: problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity) as they engage in these learning experiences.

If you are planning summer activities to extend learning from the school year, create a cross-curricular learning experience using an integrated unit and core ideas concept map! An integrated unit and core ideas concept map is a planning tool that shows the development of content and the connection of ideas (Davis et al., 2014). This map has two goals: the connection of core ideas across grade levels and within the unit of learning. During the planning phase, you give insight to how knowledge and skills are interconnected across time and spaces and how they apply to real-world situations.

Here are steps for you to start planning a cross-curricular learning experience using an integrated unit and core ideas concept map design:

1. Choose 1 core idea and an essential question that affects your children’s community.
2. Decide what culminating activity can be a solution to the essential question.
3. Research and choose 1–2 grade level standards from each content area (reading, mathematics, science, and social studies) that support background knowledge and skill application of the core idea.
4. Gather materials, resources, assessments, and community members are needed to enhance learning opportunities.
5. Create a timeline of learning, starting from the end of the experience. Decide how many days or weeks the children will need to explore the topic which includes reading informational literary texts, researching community information, engaging in rich discussions, and completing the culminating activity.

Some core ideas that you can use to plan your cross-curricular learning experience for K-12 are:

1. Weather Patterns in Regions
2. Life Cycles
3. Money Management
4. Investments
5. Transportation Over Time

We teach in communities with children who represent multiple cultures, languages, learning styles, socioeconomic dynamics, and life experiences. The creation of a cross-curricular experience may seem daunting considering all of the societal factors to consider during the planning and designing phases.

The wonderful aspect of creating a cross-curricular learning experience is the amount of flexibility available to tailor tasks to the diverse needs of children. Many of our children are still mastering grade-level skills due to interrupted learning. This is ok! Cross-curricular learning experiences provide opportunities for you to plan small-group and/or individualized time to review skills needed to access and apply content knowledge and skills.

Before the start of the learning experience, give caregivers a quick survey to gather more information about their child’s areas of learning growth. Your goal is to ensure each child is successful in accessing and applying content knowledge and skills across multiple content areas while exploring a topic that directly affects their community. Start planning a cross-curricular learning experience and join other colleagues that are committed to preventing interrupted learning for children.

Sources

Bouckaert, M., & Kools, Q. (2018). Teacher educators as curriculum developers: Exploration of a professional role. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), p. 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.217.1393517

City Year (2021). Why we don’t use the term ‘learning loss’. https://www.cityyear.org/national/stories/education/why-we-dont-use-the-term-learning-loss/?utm_source=google_grants&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwxr2iBhBJEiwAdXECw3av7Ph4ZLgWu9fstviOuKuD8rkDKQyYWl2QdJ8JtPayid0WXhfzFRoCKXEQAvD_BwE

Davis, E. A., Palincsar, A. S., Arias, A.M., Bismarck, A.S., Marulis, L.M., & Iwashyna, S.K. (2014). Designing educative curriculum materials: A theoretically and empirically driven process. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 24–52.

Dr. Cletis Allen is a professional educator with over 12 years of experience in multiple roles in education, including elementary classroom educator, professional learning facilitator, curriculum auditor and writer, and governing board member for a local charter high school. Currently, Dr. Allen serves as owner of an elementary education consulting firm, CLETIS Education Consulting. Dr. Allen supports both novice and veteran educators, educational leaders, and professionals with cultivating “Instructional Equity and Excellence” within careers in the field of education.

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