Cross-Curricular Teaching

The example of collaborative teaching given on this site has been designed using Hobsonville Point Secondary School’s Learning Design Model (LDM) (Wright, 2018, p. 82). During the ten-week study of the controversial issue, students will

• refine their understanding of nuclear decay with statistical models,
• test the decay pattern of nuclear waste using household radioactive items with statistical inference methods,
• explore the plausibility, benefits, and possible disadvantages of having a nuclear power station in New Zealand,
• evaluate both sides of the argument on the issue by making sense of the statistics from both sides,
• and generate a report to present their judgement with findings as evidence.

This term-long activity perfectly aligns with two internally assessed NCEA achievement standards Physics 2.5 (NZQA, 2019b) - Demonstrate understanding of atomic and nuclear physics - and Mathematics and Statistics 2.9 (NZQA, 2019a) - Use statistical methods to make an inference.