Chapter 14: Developing Interdisciplinary Curriculum through Humanities Study

1. Chapter 14: Developing Interdisciplinary Curriculum through Humanities Study EQ: Why is it important to include interdisciplinary curriculum for gifted learners?

2. General Notes • The humanities are comprised of all formal and informal acts of humankind that have resulted in creative products that deliberately attempt to portray and enhance the human condition in some form.

3. Phenix’s Categories of knowledge • Symbolics—our invention and use of various symbol systems • Empirics—concerned with abstract phenomena and human behaviors • Esthetics—desire to create new forms and perceive object in particular ways • Synoptics—reenact the past and seek ultimate answers related to life’s purpose • Ethics—make judgments of good and evil • Synnoetics—relationships to other people

4. Brandwein—five core concepts • Truth (consistency, relevance, reality) • Beauty (significant form, ideal form) • Justice (compassion, mercy) • Love (loving, kindness) • Faith (ultimate concern, commitment)

5. Why are the humanities important? • Provide a perfect union of cognitive and affective elements • Whole structure is based on constantly interrelating form and content across knowledge bases • Enrichment tool • Provide a basis for understanding creative as well as intellectual processes through being actively engaged in the creative process

6. Some Ways to include Humanities • Focus on the past, using chronology, to note the important contributions of men and women across history and fields. • Focus on the present and future, using the perspective of contemporary society • Focus on universal themes or ideas • Focus on the common elements across humanities subject areas

7. Lindsey’s 6 Important Variables • Value focused • Interdisciplinary • Topical • Student-Centered • Intellectual • creative

8. Perry’s Framework to account for shifts in student understanding • Duality—student sees everything in terms of black and white • Multiplicity—student is able to determine the idea that people could have more than one point of view about the same event • Subordinate Relativism—student seems that some truths are based on perspective of viewer • Relativism—students recognizes that all truth is relative to situations and circumstances

9. Chart on Page 232 • Look at the Matrix of Key Concepts provided • Develop 2 other examples for your subject area • Share with group

10. Examples of Creative Tasks • Visual Arts—create a photographic montage • Music—write and perform a musical composition • Poetry—write an original poem about humankind and our environment • History—research and write the history of a small nearby town • Science—design and carry out an experiment to answer a question you don’t understand • Mathematics—create a mathematical model to represent how something of interest to you works • Philosophy—develop your own philosophy of life and articulate it on paper.

11. Reflection: Discussion Question How do interdisciplinary units help build on student learning?

12. Preview • Chapter 15 CCGL • 2 Extension Activities due • Action Research Proposal due April 4—Maximum 3-minute presentation • Peer Review of Unit April 11