Integrated Curriculum

In my current workplace, a British international school, we follow the U.K. National Curriculum and our students do GCSEs and A Levels. The specifications for these exams are rigorous and don't leave room for the scope and time that Project Based Learning really requires.
The development of the Plant Project to run outside of class time, and tying in as many of the specification points as possible, has been the only way to get all of my biology teaching colleagues on board. I have managed to convince them of the benefits of having the students do the self-regulated learning and reflection required of PBL.

I am positive that a lot will go wrong this first time around - I am planning a 2 year project :-/ - and I am sure there will be a lot of students who don't see the value in the project, but I am hopeful that we will see some improved interest in thinking about biology outside of lessons from our students. With the support of the biology teachers, and plenty of enthusiasm, we will change the culture and attitude toward schooling that many of our students have i.e. "we want to sit and listen to you talk."

To fully ingrain PBL and self-regulated learning into a classroom requires a culture of such teaching philosophies throughout the whole school, and be supported by the parents. Without the support from the leadership, and the students knowing what is expected in one class is actually expected in all, it will be difficult to get all of the students motivated to behave in a manner that suits PBL.
In an effort to extend the project to make it more interesting to the varied students that take biology, I have approached the Art and Business Studies teachers to seek their input into how the students might apply their biology to those subjects. Many of the Art students tend to prioritize their drawing over the other subjects as it takes so much of their time (and I do complain a bit to the Head of Art over our breakfast chit-chats), so I figured, why not get the students to inspire their artistry with the biology they encounter. Have you ever looked down a microscope at stuff...any stuff? Protein is just cool! Biology is cool! Plant xylem tissue looks like a vacuum cleaner hose - I wonder which came first? ;-P

The plant project could have the Art students developing their ideas from their plants. Creating their own paint from plant dyes. Creating their own brushes.
The Head of Business Studies has already expressed interest in having his students prepare the financial elements of the culminating activity. Since the plant project is about developing food or fuel, there are economic interests that can be applied.
Since part of the project will require a public address or video, I intend to get the Media Studies teachers involved. I recently viewed some of their students' work at a showing this year and I hope they will be able to use the plant project as a vehicle to showcase their talents.
Chemistry is a natural fit with plants and I am sure the Head of Chemistry will want to use the project for context in her teaching - plant fruit ripening is one area I can think of immediately that could be investigated.
The Textiles teacher may want to get involved if the use of plant products is part of the specification she teaches; in bio, we investigate the tensile strength of plant fibres, hopefully we can find a link.

If indeed I can get input from a wide range of teachers, in a small areas, and the project is a success for all of us, perhaps we can more formally organise and plan the integration for next year or the year after. The more success we have and the more interest we get, the more likely the culture of the school and the attitudes to strictly instructivist teaching strategies will change.