Date Approved
8-7-2024
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Education-Literacy Studies: Reading (M.Ed.)
Degree Program
College of Education
First Advisor
Elizabeth Stolle, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director
Academic Year
2023/2024
Abstract
Research demonstrates that developing a strong knowledge base is vitally important for students to demonstrate comprehension in reading. Comprehension strategies are an important skill to learn, but can only be utilized if a student has background knowledge of the subject. Schema theory supports the idea that knowledge is most effectively acquired through networks of prior knowledge built into the brain’s long term memory. The more vocabulary and concept knowledge a person has in their network of schemata the easier it is for them to connect and hold onto new information. An interdisciplinary curriculum can grow students' knowledge and their comprehension skills. Students encounter integral vocabulary through connected texts around a topic. They have multiple opportunities to apply new knowledge, integrating it into long term memory and thus opening up more space in their working memory. Through interdisciplinary units students can continuously build knowledge from one subject to another, developing connections within the brain that will support their learning throughout elementary and secondary school.
ScholarWorks Citation
DeBoer, Jessica A., "Knowledge Building Through Interdisciplinary Units" (2024). Culminating Experience Projects. 492.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/492
