For the most part, students in schools and universities focus on singular, specific subject areas (math, history, chemistry… etc), but rarely do they connect multiple disciplines together in their learning experiences. Interdisciplinary learning practices have shown to have multiple educational benefits including: fostering advance cognitive abilities, developing critical thinking skills and awareness for ethical concerns (Friesen et al. 2015). That is why we are witnessing more and more schools and post secondary institutions developing and implementing interdisciplinary programs and courses. Furthermore, teachers are now starting to bring in relevant cross-curricular content into their classrooms. The world today demands a well-rounded individual who can pose questions and solve problems across the disciplines, and we believe that in order to better prepare students beyond their schooling years, interdisciplinary approaches needs to be a primary focus.
The 20th century conceptualization of interdisciplinary education is still very much alive in today’s’ schools. “Developing the “whole” person” (Klein 2005) remains a significant aspect for any educator/school board, but throughout history this feat has been increasingly more difficult due to technological advances and in part due to the “knowledge explosion” (Klein 2005). As more discoveries emerge, disciplines tend to get more specialized and therefore create division among colleagues which will naturally impede sharing of ideas and collaboration. Interdisciplinary programs today attempts to breakdown these barriers seen between (and even within) disciplines so that subject specific knowledge can be shared and applied to relevant application across a wide range of specializations.
In our opinion, interdisciplinary learning provides students with opportunities to fully engage in the material at the same time exploring real world applications of the subject matter otherwise ignored. It is widely agreed that in order for interdisciplinary learning to be successful, a “mix” of two subjects are required. Teachers should not simply undertake both math and science activities and call it interdisciplinary, but rather blend those two subjects with proper communication and transitions much like the example given by (Strober 2009) during her speech. That means educators has to make an effort to acquire knowledge from multiple disciplines so that they can tie in relevant content when they arise as well as being able to provide appropriate feedback across all the disciplines they are teaching. That being said, we feel both prospective and current educators needs to be properly trained/re-trained for planning and implementing interdisciplinary approaches as more and more research on effective uses and new pedagogical strategies emerge.
Knowledge is constantly changing and so is education today, moving from a disciplinary form of teaching to an interdisciplinary approach. Interdisciplinary instruction is necessary because it “fosters advances in cognitive ability” and it establishes an environment that allows for inquiry and exploration, promoting students to think critically and creatively (Carleton College, 2010). Students learn how to approach a problem through multiple perspectives, and we feel that one of the first steps for advancing interdisciplinary learning is through the willingness to collaborate with others. Again, interdisciplinarity reminds us to collaborate with our peers and share our knowledge with one another to create and problem solve. In order for interdisciplinary designs to be successful, it begins with how we, as teachers, perceive the world and establish connections.
References
Carleton College (2010). Why teach with an interdisciplinary approach?. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/econ/interdisciplinary/why.html
Friesen, S. et al. (2015). Focus on inquiry: Chapter 2 - The place of interdisciplinary. Retrieved from http://inquiry.galileo.org/ch2/interdisciplinary/
Strober, M. (2009). Interdisciplinarity: The four-wheeled drive approach to complex problems. [Video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0QlFBuZxk
Thomson Klein, J. (2005). Integrative learning and interdisciplinary studies. Peer Review, 7(4), 8- 10. Retrieved from http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/ilp/uploads/KleinInterdisciplinary_Studies.pdf
The 20th century conceptualization of interdisciplinary education is still very much alive in today’s’ schools. “Developing the “whole” person” (Klein 2005) remains a significant aspect for any educator/school board, but throughout history this feat has been increasingly more difficult due to technological advances and in part due to the “knowledge explosion” (Klein 2005). As more discoveries emerge, disciplines tend to get more specialized and therefore create division among colleagues which will naturally impede sharing of ideas and collaboration. Interdisciplinary programs today attempts to breakdown these barriers seen between (and even within) disciplines so that subject specific knowledge can be shared and applied to relevant application across a wide range of specializations.
In our opinion, interdisciplinary learning provides students with opportunities to fully engage in the material at the same time exploring real world applications of the subject matter otherwise ignored. It is widely agreed that in order for interdisciplinary learning to be successful, a “mix” of two subjects are required. Teachers should not simply undertake both math and science activities and call it interdisciplinary, but rather blend those two subjects with proper communication and transitions much like the example given by (Strober 2009) during her speech. That means educators has to make an effort to acquire knowledge from multiple disciplines so that they can tie in relevant content when they arise as well as being able to provide appropriate feedback across all the disciplines they are teaching. That being said, we feel both prospective and current educators needs to be properly trained/re-trained for planning and implementing interdisciplinary approaches as more and more research on effective uses and new pedagogical strategies emerge.
Knowledge is constantly changing and so is education today, moving from a disciplinary form of teaching to an interdisciplinary approach. Interdisciplinary instruction is necessary because it “fosters advances in cognitive ability” and it establishes an environment that allows for inquiry and exploration, promoting students to think critically and creatively (Carleton College, 2010). Students learn how to approach a problem through multiple perspectives, and we feel that one of the first steps for advancing interdisciplinary learning is through the willingness to collaborate with others. Again, interdisciplinarity reminds us to collaborate with our peers and share our knowledge with one another to create and problem solve. In order for interdisciplinary designs to be successful, it begins with how we, as teachers, perceive the world and establish connections.
References
Carleton College (2010). Why teach with an interdisciplinary approach?. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/econ/interdisciplinary/why.html
Friesen, S. et al. (2015). Focus on inquiry: Chapter 2 - The place of interdisciplinary. Retrieved from http://inquiry.galileo.org/ch2/interdisciplinary/
Strober, M. (2009). Interdisciplinarity: The four-wheeled drive approach to complex problems. [Video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0QlFBuZxk
Thomson Klein, J. (2005). Integrative learning and interdisciplinary studies. Peer Review, 7(4), 8- 10. Retrieved from http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/ilp/uploads/KleinInterdisciplinary_Studies.pdf