Co-designing Integrated Mathematics and Science Lesson Learning Sequences for Primary Education

Sep 1, 2026

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Integrating mathematics and science can enrich student learning by delivering relevant, meaningful, and engaging experiences that strengthen positive attitudes toward both subjects. The article addresses barriers to integration, including limited teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge and the need for professional learning support in planning and implementing integrated lessons. It reports on an initial project phase where researchers and primary teachers co-designed two sequences, highlighting critical success processes and providing replication guidelines for educators.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOCX

Pages13

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Concept of integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum

Challenges for teachers when planning integration

Lesson-sequence co-design approach

Co-constructing knowledge for integrated sequences

Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary models

Co-designing Integrated Mathematics and Science Lesson Learning Sequences for Primary Education Sally Hughesa, James Anthony Russob, Jennifer Mansfieldb, Anita Greenb, David Jonesc, Colleen Valeb, and Amanda Berryb Corresponding author: Amanda Berry ( HYPERLINK "mailto:amanda.berry@monash.edu" amanda.berry@monash.edu) aNorthern Territory Education Department, Darwin NT 0800, Australia bFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia cSandringham Primary School, Sandringham VIC 3191, Australia Keywords: integration, co-design, primary education, mathematics, science Abstract Integrating mathematics and science can enrich student learning by providing relevant, meaningful, and engaging learning experiences that promote positive attitudes towards both subjects. However, despite reported benefits in relation to student learning, various barriers to integration have also been identified, including limited teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge, and the need for professional learning support with planning and implementing integrated lessons. In this article, we report on the initial phase of a larger project in which mathematics and science education researchers and primary teachers collaborated to design two sequences of integrated mathematics and science lessons. We focus on the processes considered critical for success, including how knowledge was co-constructed by the design team to develop the integrated lesson sequences. Findings are communicated as a set of guidelines to support teachers and educators interested in replicating the process to integrate mathematics and science content. Introduction The idea of bringing together different subject areas has become increasingly popular as it seems like common sense; in the real world, people’s lives are not organised into separate subjects, but are interconnected (Czerniak & Johnson, 2014). Integrated curriculum “holds promise as a way of meeting … students’ developmental needs by making the subject matter connect to real life and thus engaging them in the learning process.” (St Clair & Hough, 1992, p. 1). Interdisciplinary teaching involves teachers making connections between subject areas obvious for students to see, instead of curricula being fragmented (Sdunekv & Waitz, HYPERLINK "https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-019-0201-4" \l "ref-CR63" \o "Sdunekv, A., & Waitz, T. (2017). Algae: The green all-rounder—an interdisciplinary teaching unit for middle school students. Florence: Paper presented at the International Conference on the New Perspectives in Science Education." 2017; St. Clair & Hough, HYPERLINK "https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-019-0201-4" \l "ref-CR67" \o "St. Clair, B., & Hough, D. L. (1992). Interdisciplinary teaching: a review of the literature. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED373056 " 1992). These connections make learning more natural and foster deep conceptual understanding (Capraro & Jones, HYPERLINK "https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-019-0201-4" \l "ref-CR15" \o "Capraro, M. M., & Jones, M. (2013). Interdisciplinary STEM project-based learning. In R. M. Capraro, M. M. Capraro, & J. R. Morgan (Eds.), STEM project-based learning: An integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) approach (pp. 51–58)." 2013). Honey, Pearson, and Schweingruber (2014) argue that the “implied goals for students’ learning related to connections underlie many integrated STEM initiatives” even if not explicitly stated in the learning materials (p. 37). Yet planning for integration can be challenging for teachers, due to insufficient teacher content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, teachers’ beliefs and attitudes, school-based factors such as time for planning, curriculum constraints, and a strong focus on testing and examinations (Ríordáin, Johnston, & Walshe, 2016; Johnston, Walsh, & R

FAQs

Why is integration of mathematics and science beneficial for primary students?

It creates learning experiences that are more relevant and engaging, supporting positive attitudes toward both subjects and helping students develop deeper conceptual understanding.

What barriers prevent teachers from integrating mathematics and science lessons?

Reported barriers include limited teacher content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, time and school factors for planning, curriculum constraints, and pressure from testing and examinations.

How did the project team develop integrated mathematics and science lesson sequences?

Mathematics and science education researchers collaborated with primary teachers to co-design two integrated lesson sequences, focusing on processes critical to success, including how the design team co-constructed knowledge.

Sep 1, 2026

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