Why you should incorporate skills from other contents in your classroom

One of the main reasons I love teaching science is that it is a culmination of all other subjects. My students need to have reading skills, computational abilities, creative thinking, analytical skills, writing abilities, and so much more! Students can still succeed in science if any of these areas are weak, and learning science can even help students increase their abilities in other content areas.

In my classroom, we often draw on the skills needed in other classrooms. As a simple example, I always laugh with students get confused why they need to bring their calculators to a place other than math class. Since we teach older students by content area, they often "turn off" and "turn on" their focus of different skills based on what class they're in.

But if you oftentimes utilize other skills in your classroom, students get more used to the idea of perhaps needing to do math in their English class or analyze the history of past artists in art class. If you already do these types of things - great! And honestly, you probably already do.

The skills students need to be successful in each individual class have less to do with that particular class and more to do with what students need overall to be successful.

In science, we often need to write lab reports or essays, using skills learned in English. We need to read text and analyze that text for main points and conclusions much like students would in a reading class. We continually practice and strive to understand concepts that are difficult, much like learning a difficult piece of music. We analyze the history of scientific figures to help us understand the scientific principles we have now like you do in history class. And we design experiments, thinking creatively and being detail-oriented, skills you hone in an art class.

The funny thing is, you could argue that any of those skills I just listed could come from any subject taught in schools.

So why is it such a strange thing when we use what's taught in other classes to enhance what is taught in our own class? This is a win-win for everyone! Students learn that skills are transferable, and they learn to use those skills no matter where they go. You benefit in your classroom because students will be more engaged and can improve the skills they may not be as strong in, which benefits the teachers who teach those skills more regularly than you do!

In what ways do you bring in skills to your classroom that aren't "stereotypically" taught in your subject area? In what ways could you collaborate with other teachers you work with to break down the barriers between your subjects to benefit your students?

Keep being awesome, teacher!

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