Interdisciplinary Connections

It’s no secret; I adore learning. Learning is ALL about making connections, so this post is my favourite by far.

The Oxford Dictionary defines interdisciplinary as “relating to more than one branch of knowledge”. For someone who lives to learn, and to help others learn, the connections or branches are potentially limitless.

Mind-mapping tools didn’t quite cut it for me when building this map. My connections are related to me, but also separate to each other, each one inextricably linked by its’ value to my professional world.

The lightning rods represent both current and potential dynamic connections to a wider community. Each one permeates other connective groups in different ways (which may not themselves be connected) and all are connected to my practice. There are always potential connections arising due to my background in biotechnology and my connections in the wider education community.

Interdisciplinary learning has been seen as vital for a coherent curriculum since the 1920s. We are currently advocating for change into the 21st Century and beyond by attempting to address the mistakes made in the post-industrial age, when disciplines were created by breaking contexts into more “manageable” units. The challenge with integrating disciplines by using thematic, project-based & real-life contexts, is in trying to make these meaningful for all students. In a perfect world, this is an ideal vehicle to teach and learn 21st Century skills. However, with a large & diverse cohort, how do you take into account individual AND group culture/values, in order to make this meaningful? (Moore, 1974)

As ThomasMcDonaghGroup (2011) explain, interdisciplinary learning helps students to see the world (and their own learning) holistically rather than myopically (not their natural state!). This is essential for a world that’s increasingly connected in an unconnected way (i.e. not by physical connections). Integral to this is creating better connections between “silos” that are so indicative of 20th Century secondary schools.

Our school has had several attempts at trialling this. The most recent trial has focused on changing the year 9 & 10 curriculum to have an interdisciplinary focus, based on a pre-determined theme. Limiting factors such as class times, common assessment & teacher confidence meant that this had varying degrees of success. It was also challenging to engage the students. One of the major roadblocks is preparing our students for learning - how do you make this meaningful and real enough for every student to WANT to be involved?

Another issue with trialling new systems is the need for an overall vision, or lack thereof. Interdisciplinary collaboration happens when different professionals with different perspectives engage in co-ordinated problem solving for a common purpose (Andrews, 1990, cited in Berg-Weger &. Schneider, 1998). For me, “purpose” is the key word; what is the intended outcome? If you don’t know what you’re aiming for, how do you know when you get there?

There are so many important factors for fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Time and timing is vital; communication; utilising space; vision & purpose; culture & values (of teachers as well as students). This is as it should be. Real life problems are complex; authentic contexts have greater value when the curriculum reflect real life (Ross Institute, 2015). Interestingly, it is the faculty-based interdisciplinary connections which require work so that this can all be effective. All are essentially untapped resources in their wealth of professional connections. Because traditional secondary schools operate in separate “silos”, we are often unaware of potential cross-curricular opportunities, but opportunities regarding individual skills & connections. There are many teachers who have a similar pattern of professional connections to me. In order to foster true interdisciplinary learning (and with this, development of critical skills for the future), we need to be able to utilise not only our own connections, but others as well - bring expertise together from our personal communities in order to create a true “community of learning”.

References

Berg-Weger, M., &. Schneider, F. D. (1998). Interdisciplinary collaboration in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 34, 97-107.

Moore, M. P. (1974). The Logic of Interdisciplinary Studies. The Journal of Development Studies, 11(1), 98–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220387408421516

Ross Institute. (2015). Ross Spiral Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science - YouTube. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZhkB0FJik

ThomasMcDonaghGroup. (2011). Interdisciplinarity and Innovation Education - YouTube. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdNzftkIpA