Week 31 - My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

Looking at the map above I am surprised at the number of interdisciplinary connections I have made through my professional practice.  I find it quite overwhelming thinking about all the connections that I have as a teacher, to help make my students learning experience the best that it can be.  My school has the biggest number of branches or connections on the map and many of these are crucial to the everyday running of the school.  As my school is so new it has a small staff and I work extremely closely with my colleagues, but specifically, two teachers that I share an Innovate Learning Environment (ILE) with.  These two teachers are amazingly talented and are both interdisciplinary themselves!  One is a trained RTLB and an Incredible Years facilitator and the other speaks Te Reo fluently.   Being able to “tap” into their knowledge and skills while planning is invaluable. 

We are an International Baccalaureate or IB School and we are guided by “concepts” when planning an inquiry for our students.  "IB programmes feature structured inquiry both into established bodies of knowledge and into complex problems” (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2013, p.4).  All of our curriculum areas are tailored to incorporate the “concept” or theme and this allows students the opportunity transfer their knowledge.  It makes our planning and teaching easier during the inquiry and the provocation is exciting for the students.  However, the inquiry is not student led nor is problem based, which does not lend itself to being authentic inquiry learning.  Barton & Smith (2000, p.54-55) claim that “one of the most serious shortcomings in such units is that they often do not truly focus on a theme, but instead revolve around what might be called instructional motifs.”   At this stage I am unsure as to whether it is possible to change the structured inquiry prescribed by International Baccalaureate Organization.  

There are two interdisciplinary connections that I currently have a connection with; Waste Wise Auckland and Enviro Schools, that have the potential to take a more prominent part of our planning, teaching and learning.  My new school is semi-rural and wants to be an Enviro School.  After being involved with this in my previous positions it has the potential to be a wonderfully positive experience for all involved.  The aim of Enviro Schools is “to foster a generation of people who instinctively think and act sustainably” (Enviro Schools, 2016).  The Waste Wise Schools Program assists schools in reducing their waste – another step toward sustainability.  Together with these two agencies, planning across the school would be collaborative and there would be a central aim or goal embed throughout the “concepts” or themes are being taught.

On a more complex level being an Enviro School relies heavily on not only the students and teachers, but family, whanau, community involvement and the local iwi. This opens the door for building strong relationships and the Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration (2015) outlines three of facets that work together to enhance collaborative and interdisciplinary connections: “(1) workplace conditions; (2) qualities/attitudes; and (3) common goals.”  To be successful this would have to be embraced by all connections and strengthened through sharing knowledge, reflecting and creating a vision together for the future, and of course be in the best interests for our learners.   

References

ACRLog.  (2015).  A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration.  Retrieved from http://acrlong.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration.

Barton, K. C., & Smith, L. A.  (2000).  Themes or motifs?  Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines.  The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54-63. 1.

Enviro Schools.  (2016).  Tá Tátou Kaupapa – About Enviro Schools.  Retrieved from http://www.enviroschools.org.nz/about-enviroschools

International Baccalaureate Organization.  (2013).  What is an IB Education?  Geneva, Switzerland; International Baccalaureate Organization.