Week 31: Practice: Crossing Boundaries

Real Life is Interdisciplinary

There are days I wish real life came in boxes.  I could open a box of ‘my car is making a funny noise’ and then on another day open a box of ‘my cat is making a funny noise’.  But it never happens that way.  For me, my car makes a funny noise the exact same day as my cat.  My point is, no one experiences life in compartments … yet schools are still often set up that way.  Anyone used STAR or the maths PAT this year?   

Greek philosopher, Heraclitus is quoted as saying “Change is the only constant in life education”.  I don’t think Heraclitus would mind if I substitute ‘education’ for ‘life’.  As we try to keep up with the demands of the curriculum, technology, expectations of parents and administrators - especially as classrooms are becoming increasingly more diverse and challenging - it becomes glaringly clear that we can’t do everything on our own. “Collaboration means working smarter together, rather than harder alone” (Ministry of Education, n.d.).

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I came into the teaching game a little late - after I found time to get a business degree, become a mother of two inspiring kids and then move all of us halfway around the globe. That life experience superseded my classroom inexperience during my first few years and in many ways gave me insights into how to be a more innovative teacher.  I relied on what I knew, combined with what I learned about teaching pedagogy, and I made up the rest.  Somehow it worked.  In fact there are days when I wish I taught more like the person I was before I “figured out” how I was supposed to do it.  I relied on my own diverse perspectives to influence how and what I  taught.  (And for the record, I also used the curriculum...it was quite handy at times.)

As a primary school teacher I have always, to some degree, had to use an interdisciplinary approach to augment my teaching practice. It is not a new idea for teachers to recognise they “need to collaborate with other people and groups who can provide access to specific kinds of expertise, knowledge or access to learning opportunities” (Ministry of Education, 2012, n.p.).  To me, it was important to ensure I had full coverage across the curriculum.  I would regularly rely on the knowledge of others for help - getting advice from teaching colleagues and bringing in parent or community experts.

My school has implemented a concept curriculum that is interwoven through all curriculum areas.  This “interdisciplinary approach synthesizes more than one discipline and creates teams of teachers and students that enrich the overall educational experience” (Jones, 2009, p.1).  Embedded with new  technology, it changed how we planned and facilitated student learning across the school.  Now a key challenge for our school is to decide if, in fact, student learning has been thoughtfully crafted enough to have authentic ‘real world’ activities.  Do these activities truly engage...and are they responsive to needs of the learners as suggested by Barton and Smith (2000)?  Could we (and more importantly, how should we) do more?

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When analysing my interdisciplinary connections (see diagram below), it is clear that support surrounding my school is impressive. When thinking about how I can make the most improvement and change to my class learning environment, I would like to draw not only on the expertise in my own backyard, but from around the world.  “Educators and other partners from the wider community need … to talk, and to listen to each other—across professional and/or cultural boundaries”  (Ministry of Education, 2012, n.p.).   

I feel this makes Twitter an obvious, and currently under-utilized, choice for me.  It will be possible to engage with a more diverse group to inspire me to new ways of thinking.  It is a way for me to find a community of collaborators that will support and sustain my learning and it is an opportunity of global proportions if I choose to actively participate (Wesley, 2012).  Now I just have to invest my time to see and be seen in the twittersphere.

Teaching is ultimately finding the elusive sweet spot: a combination of experience (been there - tried that), research (someone else has been there and tried that) and community (let’s try that together) … not neat boxes to open...but a kaleidoscope of real life teaching and learning.

Susan’s Interdisciplinary Connections Mind Map

Larger View

References:

Barton, K. C., & Smith, L. A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54-63.1.

Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai

Retrieved from: Ministry of Education.(n.d.). TKI Website: Educational Leaders. Retrieved October 15, 2016. http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Leading-cultural-change/Promoting-collaborative-learning-cultures

Ministry of Education (2012). New Zealand Curriculum Update: Future Oriented Teaching and Learning. Education Gazette. Retrieved From:

file:///home/chronos/u-a5b30192f62c9fee6f9760517f119800de999b7a/Downloads/NZC_Update_26_ONLINE.pdf

Wesely, P. M. (2013). Investigating the community of practice of world language educators on Twitter.Journal of Teacher Education, 64(4),305–318. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/23845234/Investigating_the_Community_of_Practice_of_World_Language_Educators_on_Twitter?auto=download