Making Connections
A few weeks ago I discussed the curriculum innovations being implemented in Finland and their experiences with cross-curricular learning in the context of wider educational trends. It highlighted the importance of providing students opportunities to apply their learning to real-world contexts. This post develops that discussion by exploring how I can utilise my interdisciplinary connections in my classroom.
I have many opportunities to form and develop interdisciplinary connections, illustrated in the mind map below:
Interdisciplinary connections benefit me as a teacher. I am exposed to differing approaches to teaching and learning. Rather than hiding away with other English teachers, discussions with teachers across disciplines gives me opportunities to consider differing perspectives. Building these relationships establishes a stronger base from which to develop cross-curricular units of work and can address the perennial student question "what is the point of studying this?".
Although I teach at a secondary school, it is possible to be interdisciplinary. At Hobsonville Point Secondary School two teachers will co-teach a topic which covers strands of both the Social Studies and English curriculums, for example. As a new HOD, I see that this is an area for my department to develop. I have shared the junior PE and Social Studies course outlines with fellow English teachers with the expectation that if we see that our classes are focusing on a particular topic in one subject, we might be able to incorporate that into our own subject area so students see how ideas are connected across subject lines.
However, this is a long way from joint planning, and I would like to explore ways we could co-teach topics at junior level. Our school has a different timetable on Fridays to enable senior students to learn skills and knowledge not traditionally assessed in our curriculum areas. One course, for example, is trout biology, while another group discusses aspects of philosophy.
I see this as the "breeding ground" for teachers from different teaching areas to work together on a common topic. One possibility I would like to explore is working with a Social Studies teacher on a topic about environmental awareness. This fits within the ARCLog (2015) conceptual model for interdisciplinary collaboration because we have the workplace conditions, common goals, and attitudes (if my co-teacher has similar values and desired outcomes) needed to bring it together.
There are benefits to adopting this approach to teaching, as discussed in Mathison & Freeman (1997). Teachers become less isolationist, and more in tune with the reality of the everyday world. As an English teacher I use texts (eg films) with an environmental to engage students with environmental awareness; as part of that students might write essays discussing the implications of pollution, for example. If this unit was co-taught with a Social Studies teacher, then their awareness of the impact of the management of resources, cultural interactions and the impact of the past on their lives will be more fully developed. Students benefit from the expertise of multiple teachers and are encouraged to appreciate an issue as a real-world problem, rather than tucked within one classroom.
One challenge could be with assessment (Mathison & Freeman, 1997) but this could be addressed by focusing on assessment of learning, rather than the "learning for assessment" model which dominates high schools. Likewise, careful planning will overcome any "potpourri" teaching (Mathison & Freeman, 1997, p. 18), providing students and teachers with focus and structure. From my observations of co-teaching at primary school, a strong relationship between the teachers is important.
Of course, being interdisciplinary isn't just about co-teaching, but it is a way for teachers to break down the silos of their teachers and start responding to real world problems in a meaningful way.
ACRLog. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration
Mathison,S.. & Freeman, M.(1997). The logic of interdisciplinary studies. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf
I have many opportunities to form and develop interdisciplinary connections, illustrated in the mind map below:
Although I teach at a secondary school, it is possible to be interdisciplinary. At Hobsonville Point Secondary School two teachers will co-teach a topic which covers strands of both the Social Studies and English curriculums, for example. As a new HOD, I see that this is an area for my department to develop. I have shared the junior PE and Social Studies course outlines with fellow English teachers with the expectation that if we see that our classes are focusing on a particular topic in one subject, we might be able to incorporate that into our own subject area so students see how ideas are connected across subject lines.
However, this is a long way from joint planning, and I would like to explore ways we could co-teach topics at junior level. Our school has a different timetable on Fridays to enable senior students to learn skills and knowledge not traditionally assessed in our curriculum areas. One course, for example, is trout biology, while another group discusses aspects of philosophy.
I see this as the "breeding ground" for teachers from different teaching areas to work together on a common topic. One possibility I would like to explore is working with a Social Studies teacher on a topic about environmental awareness. This fits within the ARCLog (2015) conceptual model for interdisciplinary collaboration because we have the workplace conditions, common goals, and attitudes (if my co-teacher has similar values and desired outcomes) needed to bring it together.
There are benefits to adopting this approach to teaching, as discussed in Mathison & Freeman (1997). Teachers become less isolationist, and more in tune with the reality of the everyday world. As an English teacher I use texts (eg films) with an environmental to engage students with environmental awareness; as part of that students might write essays discussing the implications of pollution, for example. If this unit was co-taught with a Social Studies teacher, then their awareness of the impact of the management of resources, cultural interactions and the impact of the past on their lives will be more fully developed. Students benefit from the expertise of multiple teachers and are encouraged to appreciate an issue as a real-world problem, rather than tucked within one classroom.
One challenge could be with assessment (Mathison & Freeman, 1997) but this could be addressed by focusing on assessment of learning, rather than the "learning for assessment" model which dominates high schools. Likewise, careful planning will overcome any "potpourri" teaching (Mathison & Freeman, 1997, p. 18), providing students and teachers with focus and structure. From my observations of co-teaching at primary school, a strong relationship between the teachers is important.
Of course, being interdisciplinary isn't just about co-teaching, but it is a way for teachers to break down the silos of their teachers and start responding to real world problems in a meaningful way.
References
ACRLog. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration
Mathison,S.. & Freeman, M.(1997). The logic of interdisciplinary studies. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf
Comments
Post a Comment