Interdisciplinary teaching and learning is not a new concept or approach, however it has the potential to engage and ignite that passion in our learners. Interdisciplinary teaching and learning can be enhanced when professionals from different disciplines work together to serve a common purpose and to help students make the connections between different disciplines or subject areas. Hence a greater or deeper understanding is gained through new knowledge and its applications.
This approach can be related to the constructivist theory, in that it suggests that people create their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiences and reflection on those experiences. It goes on to suggest that when students encounter something new, they have to integrate it with previous ideas and experiences by connecting the new knowledge to something already known. Students engaging in interdisciplinary study are therefore creating their own understanding and knowledge of the world through their study choices. (Appleby 2015)
For the whole school however, we currently work in our own isolated silos, the only way we really know what’s happening across the school is through conversations with students in our whanau classes and casual conversations in the staff room. Links are identified, however, they are rarely acted upon due to pressure from NCEA and assessment. At a recent interdisciplinary collaborative meeting, a diverse group of us gathered to brainstorm and discuss, issues relating to our current tameable structure. Discussion arose around equal blocks of time per learning area and how to claw back time lost in order to cover all standards. How frustrating…. why are we over assessing, stressing students out and placing the emphasis on covering content in a one size fits all approach? Our students are prioritising assessments and picking and choosing subjects depending on deadlines. They can see the overlap and possibilities of cross curricular links, however, barriers inhibit progress and any chance of moving in a direction which would benefit our students, such as timetable, old school beliefs and teaching spaces.
One solution to this issue is cross curricular collaboration, this could be a structured approach for all students, which would require a lot of change, including buy in from staff, or we could work within our existing structure by allowing for more flexibility. In order for this to occur, a mindshift from traditional education pedagogies to a more student centred approach would be required.
But how can we move forward as a school if we have laggards that are reluctant to change? One break through was achieved at the meeting, it was decided that a collaborative approach would be trialled at yr9, groups of 5 core subject classes and teachers would come together to team plan, discuss and share ideas and knowledge. Yeah… almost a breakthrough, however success will be dependent on the efforts of the staff.
An example of a cross curricular context.
I believe that from our department (Technology) we could lead the way in a cross curricular approach. The technology curriculum allows for student centred learning with real world topics, issues and contexts. Moving the emphasis away from filling kids’ heads with facts and figures to application of knowledge, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration, the 21st century skills that our children are going to require as they venture into the real world. Teaching our learners that it’s ok to fail or get it wrong, building resilience and determination, while also emphasising initiative and creating that love of learning.
Most importantly we need to be empowering our learners to take charge of their learning, to show them how they can control their future. Such a process is a significant shift for educators and our knowledge of the processes of learning rather than our subject knowledge is what matters most. Such a focus requires a new approach to curriculum design, one that identifies cross discipline skills and is inherently flexible.
References:
ACRLog. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration.
Appleby. M., 2015 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/what-are-the-benefits-interdisciplinary-study
Hi Bek,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, thank you for taking the initiative to begin a WGHS Staff collaboration page on Facebook. What a great place to leave video or links to share with other like-minded staff members. This will surely help develop a shared vision for our school and foster a growth mind-set amongst colleagues.
Turning to your blog: Your passion for cross curricular learning is so apt. The Technology curriculum seems to lend itself well to an integrated project. Perhaps this is something that we take for granted when we think about the barriers of success raised by some of these laggards you mention. Are these pressures of time and content incomparable across learning areas? What I do know is that, leading from the front and modelling best practice has certainly piqued the interest of the early adopters and this is the first hurdle to change.
Thanks for the read!