Like teachers in many other countries, South Korean educators face pressure to score high on standardized tests. South Korea's standardized exams for early elementary school assess Korean language and literature, mathematics, history, and science—the same areas covered by the curriculum of many of South Korea's elementary schools. But core knowledge in these areas is not the only knowledge future citizens of South Korea will need.
This situation introduces a set of challenging questions for teachers: "If I focus on the subjects the standardized tests evaluate, how can I teach other subjects—such as social studies and the arts—without trivializing them? How do I motivate students to learn concepts and acquire abilities in these fields?"
One way South Korea's teachers satisfy testing pressures and still teach essential concepts like ethics and environmentalism is through skillful interdisciplinary teaching. While researching instruction in Korean schools last summer, I observed exemplary interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
Interdisciplinary education is premised on the idea that knowledge in any discipline sends roots and tendrils out into other disciplines. Because the brain is naturally configured to connect related thoughts and ideas, effective instructional strategies connect learning from different disciplines.
- Learned about the section of Gwangju called Songjeongdong Town (including who works and lives there and the town's streets and landmarks).
- Developed a sense of respect for elders and learned what manners are appropriate when visiting older people.
- Discovered how to use recycled materials in artwork.
- Built relationships with friends and learned about being considerate, helpful, and mutually supportive.
An Opportunity Hidden in Plain Sight
The class started by learning about Songjeongdong Town. Studying local geography and important places hones a particularly useful set of skills (Gregg & Leinhardt, 1994); students develop an understanding of their location and learn to analyze spatial relationships using specific data (Macken, 2003). Mrs. Jeon guided students in these skills by having them create a simple map of Songjeongdong Town.
Students researched roles involved in maintaining the town and met some of the people who performed these roles, from street cleaners to park volunteers. Additionally, they sought to identify what kinds of people living in their neighborhood were less fortunate than others. Through these activities, the students uncovered a new aspect of a familiar place.
By happenstance, one of the places the class discovered on their neighborhood tour provided an opportunity for them to witness the essential ethical work of showing respect to and caring for vulnerable community members. One block from the school is a house that many students had seen before but had not known about. At the nonprofit Sungsim House,approximately 20 women from ages 75 to 90 who aren't able to live with their families reside, along with a few staff members and volunteers.
Mrs. Jeon realized that having such a neighbor provided a chance for students to learn through personal experience certain values and concepts that are part of their Korean heritage. Traditionally, Korean culture revolves around an extended family structure and strongly emphasizes respect for elders. But in recent years, the focus has shifted to the nuclear family. South Koreans now move frequently to seek better schools or employment, often meaning that young adults leave their extended families behind as they settle in urban centers. As a result, many seniors are excluded from family life, and fewer students spend much time with their grandparents.
- What was your favorite pastime as a child? What other activities did you enjoy?
- What kinds of toys were available for entertainment?
- What is your happiest memory?
- What do you currently desire the most?
At first, some students were reserved and some seniors had a difficult time hearing the students, but each group soon found a way to communicate with the other. There were a few bumps and mistakes, all part of the learning process through which young students learned how to talk respectfully with their elders and document their observations and thoughts.
Both groups benefited from the visit. According to staff members, no student groups had visited Sungsim House for more than 10 years. Besides enjoying contact with older people, students gained appreciation for people who reach out to others beyond their family as they saw how volunteers took care of the residents. Several students asked, "Why is it that they cook for and help bathe the old grandmothers who aren't even their family?"
On returning to school, students engaged in a discussion that reflected on the experience. Mrs. Jeon meant for this reflection to engage students in critical thinking, solidify the knowledge that they gained from the visit, and help them share their ideas with others. To enhance students' learning through their writing, each student wrote a reflective poem, piece of prose, or narrative journal entry about his or her visit.
Through their discussions and writings, students highlighted the differences between their favorite pastimes and those of the seniors at Sungsim House. While the students were used to playing with factory-made toys, the Sungsim residents had played with "toys" from nature, such as pebbles, sticks, or seaweed. Having grown up in the age of technology, pop culture, and visual stimulation, many students found it both fascinating and difficult to imagine how the seniors had been happy with such things.
The visit taught students the proper etiquette for visiting such a place and gave them experience in trying to comprehend other people's situations. It helped them think more about their own grandparents and value their time with family. One student said, "Now I want to make grass flutes with my grandma in her front yard."
These lessons came at a key time in the children's cognitive development in terms of helping them understand their place in the community. According to Piaget, at age 7, children move from the preoperational period—in which they view the world from a self-focused point of view—to the concrete operational stage—in which they can take the perspective of others and understand their thoughts and ideas. Activities like those Mrs. Jeon orchestrated are ideal for helping children learn empathy and develop a sense of caring for others (Macken, 2003).
Bringing in Visual Art and the Environment
As an educator and visual artist, I decided that an art activity connected to the Sungsim House visit would be a good way to extend the students' learning, and Mrs. Jeon agreed.
The students and I discussed what colors they could see in their town. We contrasted these with the colors they imagined were in Songjeondong 70 years ago, when the seniors at Sungsim House were young, looking at old photos and magazines and thinking about the elders' stories as a reference. Earth tones—such as white, green, brown, and grey from cotton fabrics, rice fields, and stone walls—were prevalent in the town decades ago, whereas currently one sees more artificial tones— bright, metallic, or transparent colors created by fluorescent signs, modern building structures, and glass walls.
I had students identify something each of them found especially interesting about the women's recounting of how they played in nature. Each student then created a book of several collages that used both the "old" and modern colors in the town. The children were excited to try collage methods, which they had never used before.
They created several interesting images. For example, Eunjoo created an image of a child finding shells on top of a rock and playing with seaweed, Minyoung depicted girls playing a traditional Korean game with pebbles, Jeongyoon crafted a scene of students playing straw jump rope, while Eunhye showed a child hiding in the hole of a tree. Through this process, the students were able to put themselves in the shoes of people from previous generations. This fostered their imagination and creativity and led them to make connections with people who initially had seemed very different from them. "It's strange to think that the old grandmas were once kids, too," several students said.
The students found the process of making collage books intriguing. They used recycled and discarded materials: scraps of old socks and yarns, empty cookie boxes for collage-book covers, and old magazines for color panels. I asked them to think about why it was good to use discarded materials. Using evidence from news articles, picture books, and their parents' stories, I guided students in thinking about how the environment had changed in the past 50 years.
Imagining the Future
As they engaged in these activities, many of the 2nd graders spoke of a newfound motivation to address the loneliness of seniors in the community. Students seemed particularly touched by the answer many Sungsim House residents gave to the question of what they desired: "I want to see my children and grandchildren, who are living somewhere else." Many students also began to speak more about their future goals and commitments, perhaps because the seniors reiterated the importance of studying hard and leading a meaningful life as a citizen.
The students decided they wanted to portray an image of "the future me" on the cover of their collage books. Their various images included a baseball coach, a scientist, and a figure resembling King Sejong from Korea's Lee Dynasty. Each student wrote a brief description of how he or she intends to contribute to the community—for example, one student wrote, "I want to be a doctor. I will invent needles that don't hurt."
These engaging activities not only connected different disciplines, but also helped students get a sense of the importance of citizenship, equal treatment, and providing for the needs of vulnerable members of society—key concepts of social studies. They brought together different learning points and proved to be important tools in the interdisciplinary teaching process. By creatively using interdisciplinary methods, elementary school teachers will be able to convey to students the importance and meaning of subjects not covered on standardized tests.
