The basic idea of this paper is to outline a cross-curricular approach between mathematics and science. The aim is to close the often perceived gap between formal maths and authentic experience and to increase the students’ versatility in the use of mathematical terms. Students are to experience maths as logical, interesting and relevant through extra-mathematical references. Concrete physical or biological correlations may initiate mathematical activities, and mathematical terms are to be understood in logical contexts. Examples: physical experiments can lead to a comprehensive understanding of the concept of functions and of the intersection of medians in triangles. Biological topics can lead to the concepts of similarity and proportion as well as to the construction of pie charts. In the European ScienceMath Project a variety of teaching modules was developed and tested in secondary schools.

Abstract In our dissertation we address the needs rooting in the ongoing process of systematic efforts to improve the Czech educational system. Mainly, we focus on the question of how to implement the cross-curricular topic Multicultural Education into English language classes at lower and upper secondary schools. As Multicultural Education, along with the other cross-curricular topics, has become an obligatory and essential part of the reformed Czech curricula. The author of this dissertation is employed with the English Department at the Faculty of Education of The University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. That is why we aim to introduce the theoretical background and history of the cross-curricular topic Multicultural Education in the Czech educational system. Then, based on that theoretical background, we shall design and run a course at the Pedagogical faculty for our students (teachers-to-be) that will provide them with sufficient amount of theory. Within the course the students will be given enough practical examples of the implementation of Multicultural Education into English classes when combining cultural and linguistic aims and at the end of the course we will allow the students to design and try such a class during their peer teaching. We will also publish the results of the course for...

The basic idea of this paper is to outline a cross-curricular approach between mathematics and science. The aim is to close the often perceived gap between formal maths and authentic experience and to increase the students’ versatility in the use of mathematical terms. Students are to experience maths as logical, interesting and relevant through extra-mathematical references. Concrete physical or biological correlations may initiate mathematical activities, and mathematical terms are to be understood in logical contexts. Examples: physical experiments can lead to a comprehensive understanding of the concept of functions and of the intersection of medians in triangles. Biological topics can lead to the concepts of similarity and proportion as well as to the construction of pie charts. In the European ScienceMath Project a variety of teaching modules was developed and tested in secondary schools.