What exactly is Intradisciplinary Teaching? How about Integrated Curriculum? Any guesses?
If you can't answer this question, don't worry, before I began my journey at Teacher's College, I'm unsure if I would be able to answer those questions myself. However, after doing some research thanks to the awesome resources provided by my great instructor Zoe Branigan-Pipe (@zbpipe), I believe I can provide some information! Please keep in mind that while I am not by any means claiming to be an expect in this subject area, I do believe that I offer some good insights and opinions! Also, please note that for the duration of these posts, I am referencing the Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies, History and Geography Grades 1-8, which can be accessed here.
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| The Ontario Curriculum (2013). |
I'm going to go ahead and get right into the conversation. Zoe provided us with these great resources, which are listed below in sequence:
- Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum: Chapter 1
- Common Sense: An Overview of Integrated Studies
- 21st Century Learning Design: Overview
- 21 CLD Learning Rubrics
- TL Intro - Short
All of these resources are fantastic, I personally recommend visiting the first one on the list before others as it not only gives a great background to the Intradisciplinary Approach to teaching, but the format itself is very user friendly and visually appealing. As you can tell from above, I believe that there are some great benefits to an intradisciplinary approach to teaching. The Intradisciplinary Approach is when teachers "...Integrate the subdisciplines within a subject area" (Drake and Burns: Page 3). Through this approach, teachers can teach cross-curricularily and integrate multiple subjects into one program. Through my own personal experience, I have found that when teaching Grade 8 Language, there were many times when Visual Arts, Technology, History/Human Rights and Science/Psychology would be integrated without the students explicitly realizing it and thinking how daunting these subject areas can be to them. It was a beautiful thing because many of my students have subject anxiety (for example, anxiety knowing they had to go to Math or Science class when the Language period was over); however, with the integration of such subjects into a class they already enjoy, I personally found that it allowed the students to work together cooperatively, engage with the material, be able to self-regulate, problem solve, and effectively communicate with myself and each other.
Additionally, the required video also demonstrates how effective Intradisciplinary Approaches can be when students are actively participating in field research to problem solve and work collaboratively. As stated by Ken Robinson, "These divisions between disciplines...are artificially enforced" (2.10). I agree with this standpoint because the division between subject disciplines are enforced by the school and the school board, and I have found from personal experience as a student and a TC that disciplines naturally cross over each other, and this makes for the most interesting, engaging class time possible. Therefore, while these are only a few benefits to an Integrated Curriculum, I truly believe that the subjects we teach have the naturally ability to cross over and into each other, and instead of trying to separate them, we have to learn how to effectively integrate them together, at the appropriate times, into our classrooms.
I hope that you learned something from my very brief insight into the importance and benefit of the Intradisciplinary Approach to teaching. I am a huge advocate for meeting the needs of every single student in our classrooms, and I believe that this is a great strategy for doing so. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below!
References
Drake, Susan M., and Burns, Rebecca C. (2016). Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum: Chapter 1. Website. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What-Is-Integrated-Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx
Edutopia (2008, September 9). Common Sense: An Overview of Integrated Studies. Website. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/integrated-studies-overview-video
iCafe LCISD (2013, April 15). 21st Century Learning Design: Overview. YouTube Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFlwkl7wzQI
ITL Research (2012). 21 CLD Learning Rubrics. PDF Document. Retrieved from http://www.itlresearch.com/images/stories/reports/21cld%20learning%20activity%20rubrics%202012.pdf
Microsoft (2013, April 4). ITL Intro - Short. YouTube Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ANC5jBZOg
Ontario. (2013). The Ontario Curriculum: Social Studies, History and Geography. Grades 1-8. (6th Ed). Toronto: Ontario, Ministry of Education. https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/sshg18curr2013.pdf
