Week 31: Activity 7 - My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

My Interdisciplinary Connections Map

Benefits and Challenges of an Interdisciplinary Environment

One of the guiding principles of the New Zealand Curriculum is coherence whereby students are offered “a broad education that makes links within and across learning areas (Ministry of Education, 2007 p9).  My interdisciplinary connection map above shows the many different aspects that need to be considered when working in a truly integrated curriculum.  

Curriculum integration (interdisciplinary connection) remains one of the most confused topics in education today. Many teachers and researchers use the term to mean different things, some of which have nothing to do with curriculum integration. This confusion surrounding the term has undoubtedly hindered consistent professional development and research in this area (Fraser, Aitken, Whyte, 2013).

There is confusion over the terms thematic units and curriculum integration.  As long as we remember that curriculum integration:

• is about the students negotiating the curriculum with the teacher
• can be as small as students suggesting some of the activities within a study or project, or as complete as students taking an actual role in co-planning and exploring a study
• is issues driven rather than topic driven  
• is when the teacher provides scaffolding for the learning rather than directing it
• involves the teacher knowing the learners well enough so that they can gauge when to intervene and when to hold back
• provides more opportunity for student agency
• values prior knowledge and starts from there
• only draws on the learning areas related to the central issue of the inquiry rather than trying to cover the whole curriculum

There are some challenges to implementing an integrated curriculum:

• Not being able to be completely planned - the students spend time negotiating or co-planning, teachers cannot therefore collect activities over time
• Teachers need to know when to step back instead of ‘rescue’ or intervene
• Requires a shift in the traditional role of the teacher in that they share the decision making with students (not something all teachers are used to)
• Can feel demanding and daunting for some
• Does the teacher have enough knowledge about curriculum integration in the first place?

And the benefits to an integrated curriculum?

• More student agency as the students negotiate the curriculum and co-plan content and activities.  They have more say, and therefore their commitment and engagement is enhanced and there is greater ownership of learning
• Relationships are strengthened and power dynamics are challenged (Beane, 1997)
• Collaborative skills are enhanced for the students AND the teacher
• Through integrative learning, students become better prepared for life through examining social issues of personal significance (Beane, 1997)

In the book Connecting Curriculum - Linking Learning (2013), Deborah Fraser believes that ‘the benefits of curriculum integration and the learning experiences it provides far outweigh the challenges and concerns related to its implementation.  This book is very relevant as relates to our own NZ Curriculum.  Indeed, it appears that this is the opinion of more than one academic.  

Jones (2009) comments that students and teachers will advance in critical thinking, communication, creativity, pedagogy, and essential academia with the use of interdisciplinary techniques.  

As for the potential connections from my map that are my near (future) goals?  The first one is part of an interdisciplinary environment, ie. knowing when to intervene and when to hold back.  There are occasions when I have been guilty of this at maths time so I need to ensure I am not robbing them of the opportunity to achieve success by stepping in unnecessarily.  I must adopt a ‘spray and walk away’ approach, giving the learners just enough information rather than too much and allowing them to solve problems themselves.  

Giving my students more agency is something I have been working on this term and is an ongoing goal for my team.  The students have more ownership of their learning this term, and are enjoying having more of a say in the type of activities, or the topic of study than in Term 1.  I have plans to increase the student agency in incremental steps with scaffolding for my learners to ensure they are ready, and I am actually looking forward to it.

Jackie

Reference List

Beane, J. A. (1997) Curriculum integration: Designing the core of democratic education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Fraser, D., Aitken, V., & Whyte, B. (2013). Connecting curriculum, linking learning. New Zealand: NZCER Press.

Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI, 7(26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.