For quite a few years I have integrated as many curriculum areas when I engage my students in inquiry. Interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning engages students by helping them see the connections. This term, for example, teaching the science and technology process preparing students for the school-wide science fair integrates English, Science, Technology, Mathematics and engages students in real-life problem solving for humanity.
I also teach Future Problem Solving. This is an international programme that engages students in a problem in the future sand they have to work collaboratively to solve it, by coming up with an action plan. Future Problem Solving can also be integrated.
The notes I took on the video provided in our class task area: teaching through an interdisciplinary model creates a holistic empathetic horizon, rather than students learning myopically, they gain an understanding of the world, through collaboration cross pollination takes place, connections happen through cultural experiences. Students become engineers and technologists, there is a shared language. For me this is exciting and learning becomes exciting for the students, they are driven by their own interest.
There is one area I would like my interdisciplinary connection to improve. My students have the opportunity to attend a number of specialist areas within our school. These specialist areas are dance and drama, hard materials, food technology, visual arts and digitech. My team collaboratively plan together each term, we have an umbrella topic that has come from the students. When my team collaboratively plan we would very much like to include the specialist team, to engage them in the inquiry, it would be great if the students could use this time to incorporate what they are learning in class and apply this to something they could make or create within the specialist areas rather than learning something that is totally separate or myopically. Their specialist class visit I believe would be more meaningful to their learning and they would have the opportunity to make further connections.
This would mean that the specialist team would need to join my team when we collaboratively plan for the terms theme. The students would have the opportunity to use the specialist space to inquire further into their inquiry.
The model above highlights for an interdisciplinary connection to be successful, common goals need to be identified and communication is at the forefront of the successful model. Everyone needs to be on the same page.
The most cited conditions or success in interdisciplinary approaches cohere with these trends. 'Success stories in the interdisciplinary/integrated literature cite the following conditions as necessary for the adoption of new curricular models to occur; continued participation in and ownership of the curricular design; the flexibility to explore different models and make adjustments when needed; consistent and continual time for planning and discussion; access to resources, resource groups, feedback and training'.
ACRLog. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration
American Association of Colleges of Nursing.(2016). Interdisciplinary Education and Practice. Retrieved fromhttp://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/interdisciplinary-education-and-practice
Berg-Weger, M., &. Schneider, F. D. (1998). Interdisciplinary collaboration in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 34, 97-107.
Hardré, P. L., Ling, C., Shehab, R. L., Nanny, M. A., Nollert, M. U., Refai, H., ... & Wollega, E. D. (2013). Teachers in an Interdisciplinary Learning Community Engaging, Integrating, and Strengthening K-12 Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(5), 409-425.
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