Interdisciplinary Connection

I currently work in a collaborative teaching team. This has been in place since the beginning of the year. This came about as three teachers were keen to work more collaboratively together, but this had to be done using the physical environment of the school, therefore we are would need use three single cell classrooms and the adjacent rooms. We have compiled research and data from other schools and presented this to other staff members and we have dreamed big about what this space might end up looking like. We hope now that the money that has been set aside for classroom development can be used effectively and efficiently so that this leads to best for all involved,including all children and teachers.  

As we continue our journey in collaborative teaching the biggest movement we have seen is the amount of communication that has been conducted around our thinking and conversations that challenge our own pedagogy. It is great to have these conversations as it challenges the way we think, implement strategies and how we can improve what we teach. Jones (2009) discusses the sharing of responsibilities as an area that can create problems when working in this manner.  When we commenced this journey at the beginning of the year we have shared values, the school values and work ethics that as a team we promote to the children, to sees this as a way of working together. Working together has not always been easy and we will continue to work on the collaboration.

In March of this year my team independently attended a Mini Conference one weekend and this provided insights in to what we needed to do as a team to address and prepare the students for 21st Century learning. It reaffirmed our dedication to making the best environment for learning for all the year 3 and year 4 students in my school. It reaffirmed the journey we had started in to collaboration. It has reaffirmed that we are moving in the right direction and on the way our pedagogy is changing, changing for the better. It has also provided some next steps that we need to address. We are missing a shared vision but we are taking small steps on our way to journey to rectify this.

Below is the interdisciplinary connections map that I have developed. This map shows that there is a lot of interaction between teachers, staff, students, whanau, outside agencies, social media, professional learning and postgraduate study.

As we develop and teach our students the necessary skills that they require for 21st century learning we need to up skill and use outside expertise so we can meet the learning needs of all children in an effective and efficient learning environment through interdisciplinary connections.

At the primary level I feel this is executed in an appropriate manner , but can go further, but as our tamariki move up in the education sector subjects are still treated in isolation. When will this change?

Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81