When
I look at my interdisciplinary map two things appear clear to me. The first
being that the connections are all intertwined and linked with each other in
some way or another and the second, that our school has an impressive amount of
support surrounding it. The experiences I have had through these connections have
also all made a direct impact on who I am as a teacher and a person in general and
the expertise that I bring to my teaching practice. Each of my intertwined
connections serve a different purpose while all working toward the common goal
of teaching and learning. This is by no means a new idea
and as professional educators we will need to continue to collaborate with
other people and groups who can provide access to specific kinds of expertise,
knowledge, or learning opportunities (Ministry of Education, 2012).
Andrews
(1990) defines interdisciplinary collaboration as occurring “when different
professionals, possessing unique knowledge, skills, organizational
perspectives, and personal attributes, engage in coordinated problem solving
for a common purpose” (cited in Berg-Weger &. Schneider, 1998). As a primary school teacher I feel we have a good grasp on the interdisciplinary
approach to teaching and learning as we are already teaching a number of
different areas of the curriculum on a daily basis and attempting to integrate
these as best we can while working collaboratively and supporting each other in
the process. As a community of practice our school has a wealth of experience,
knowledge and expertise which we can draw from and we regularly utilise these
aspects in collaborative planning particularly with units in inquiry learning.
This aligns with the ideas of Lipson, Valencia, Wixson, & Peters (1993)
where they suggest that the most frequent method of implementing integrated,
interdisciplinary instruction is the thematic unit, which a common theme is
developed and addressed in more than one content area (as cited in Barton and
Smith, 2000).
The connection
from my map that I have identified as my future goal is to further the use of
online social media platforms in order to help and support my professional development.
The Ross Spiral Curriculum is a prime example of how interdisciplinary connections
work effectively in education. In the video clip in the class notes this week, they state that we are now ‘in
a globalised society, everything is integrated throughout the world and you
cannot just learn about one subject by itself' (Ross Institute, 2015). This has
caused me to reflect on my current practice and to consider making changes to
integrate more of an interdisciplinary approach to my teaching and learning. Collaborating
with like-minded teaching professionals who have similar goals to mine or have expertise
in implementing an interdisciplinary curriculum in a classroom context would prove
to be beneficial to not only my own growth but that of my learners also. The prospect
of being interconnected through different forms of social media to draw on
expertise not only locally but from around the world has massive appeal to me.
Educators and partners from the wider community need…to talk and listen to each
other – across professional and/or cultural boundaries (Ministry of Education,
2012).
This goal has
been partially achieved already through the awesome networking connections I
have made through Mindlab this year. I want this to continue and grow on a
larger scale – to have that rapport with learning communities across the globe
where not only can I share and learn from the experiences and expertise of
others, so can the students in my class. Online social media platforms have the
potential to provide a wealth of resources for teaching and learning and at the
completion of the Mindlab course I want to use the ‘free time’ I have to
develop a better understanding of the dynamics of interdisciplinary approaches
to the curriculum and then implement them into my classroom. Jones (2010)
suggests that interdisciplinary techniques are not only important for a student
to learn any one single discipline or problem solve in a synthesized manner,
but it also enriches a student’s lifelong learning habits, academic skills, and
personal growth.
As I mentioned earlier, to make learning authentic for our students, we have been slowly implementing integrated learning experiences in the primary school curriculum over a period of time to some effect. I have found in the past that this works particularly well with Year 2 students as it keeps them focused and engaged. I believe with the ongoing implementation of digital technologies this will continue and make the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning commonplace.
As I mentioned earlier, to make learning authentic for our students, we have been slowly implementing integrated learning experiences in the primary school curriculum over a period of time to some effect. I have found in the past that this works particularly well with Year 2 students as it keeps them focused and engaged. I believe with the ongoing implementation of digital technologies this will continue and make the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning commonplace.
References
Barton, K.C. & Smith, L.A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary
outlines. Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unitec.ac.nz/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=2864f69d-c9d2-47ff-8635-845b5ea58aba%40sessionmgr4009
Berg-Weger, M., &.
Schneider, F. D. (1998). Interdisciplinary
collaboration in social work education. Journal
of Social Work Education, 34,
97-107.
Jones,
C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the
future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved
from: http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai
Ministry of
Education (2012). New Zealand Curriculum Update: Future Oriented Teaching and Learning. Education Gazette. Retrieved from: https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Updates/Issue-26-October-2012/Future-oriented-views-of-knowledge-and-learning
Ross
Institute. (2015, July 5). Ross Spiral Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science. [video file].
Retrieved from:
Hi Trev, I agree; to make learning authentic for our students, we have to integrate learning. These experiences need to be modeled to students. Students seeing us work collaboratively as a staff is integral to this. I think social media is an excellent platform to sustain this interaction. Being open and sharing will always be an important part of education.
ReplyDeleteHi Trevor. I really enjoyed reading your blog, particularly as it's from a primary school perspective. I believe primary schools do a much better job with interdisciplinary learning programs, as opposed to secondary schools that still tend to have a silo approach. I guess the nature of these structures impacts on this; you see your students for much of the day and therefore can easily intertwine themes/concepts/units across traditional subjects and across the day. By contrast, secondary schools are still dictated by timetabled periods and the format of NCEA means teachers are needed to be specialists in their area to ensure adequate depth and analysis is covered for senior students. I agree with your comments regarding social media and professional development; I, too, have enjoyed how we have collaborated in an online setting, particularly for the second half of our Mindlab journey and I would like a similar forum to continue! Carmen
ReplyDeleteHi Trevor
ReplyDeleteAn excellent blog on Interdisciplinary connections.
Being able to teach students across a range of subjects throughout your teaching day must be very rewarding as you are able to contextualise learning and see students making connections between the various subject content. I imagine that this model helps to promote collaboration by allowing students with an interest in a topic to share their knowledge with their peers. Having an ability to adapt to individual students learning needs by either accelerating or slowing down the pace of lessons and to inquire more deeply into areas or questions that arise in the learning journey is beneficial for learners.
By contrast in a secondary environment, with everything is taught in single subject silos – or worse, silos within silos; it is difficult to make links to other learning areas. This is frustrating for teachers and learners who often do not make connections between subjects. The situation for students is made worse with no time between lessons for reflection before they have to rush to their next 1hour lesson. Complex timetable structures mean that interdisciplinary planning is very difficult to achieve and a heavy focus on assessment detracts from the important stuff …… learning. When Sir Ken Robinson talks about a ‘Factory approach’ to education I am sure he is talking about the secondary sector – we have a long way to go to catch up to our primary school colleagues. Keep up the great work.
It has been great sharing the Mindlab journey with you Trevor. I hope that we can keep in touch and find opportunities to work together.
Rod