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Interdisciplinary Collaboration

As a primary school teacher, I have found this to be the hardest post to write. My thinking hasn't travelled down the narrow, subject or task specific path in years. I am not specialist enough to have the luxury of ever thinking that I know enough about one, single discipline to do it paramount justice. I found it interesting, that in all my readings on the area of Interdisciplinary Collaboration, all the discussions and examples used revolved around High School and University teaching.

As a primary school teacher, I believe my strength is my belief that I am not a specialist. From this belief grows an ideal in my practice, that I need to look outward and find other avenues, other possibilities, other support mechanisms. Not being a specialist and all that entails, frees me up to make connections and create new pathways.

I make connections when I teach. Time is short, and the task complex. Therefore, primary teachers perhaps integrate, crossover, and make connections between disciplines on a daily basis. For example, I don't teach reading in isolation. I teach how to read better within the context of many other disciplines. That's because I'm not a specialist.

I make connections in the collaborative pedagogy I use within my room. I am not always the master in control, "the sage on the stage." I show and teach students when they need it. I lead and guide them when that pedagogy is more appropriate. I sit back and become one of the students when one of my pupils engages with the class and teaches their peers something they are the experts in i.e. with filming, with coding. And I step out of the conversation and allow a student to show a peer their way of solving a particular problem. This is the “integrated pedagogy” that Jones 2010 says is highly sought after, in action. I’m free to teach like this because I'm not a specialist.

I make connections with many people who help shape my teaching choices. My colleagues in the staffroom from all areas of the school are a huge influence in what happens within my room. So are the outside agencies like RTLB, the professional development trainers and facilitators who work within our school, and my fellow Community Of Learning (COL) colleagues. I make connections with communities from across the world like Global Read Aloud, each connection an expert in some field or other.


Interdisciplinary collaboration covers a myriad of fields and areas, and is difficult to portray in a simplified diagrammatic picture. I know that in mine, many aspects of my collaborative endeavours are not clearly elucidated. My diagram is not supposed to be an accurate overview of all interdisciplinary collaboration I am part of, but rather, it is a reflexion, a contemplation, a consideration of what areas it touches on in my teaching life.

Bibliography

Jones, C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach-advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI, 7(1), 26.

Comments

  1. Anonymous4 November 2017 at 19:18

    Great post, and amazing diagram to display the complexity of this whole concept! I like how you bring up the fact that you think not being specialised is your strength as a teacher. I have been moving towards that mindset myself this year, not just in teaching but in life. The usual mindset of needing to be the expert in one particular area, and be exceptionally skilled in a very specific way definitely does not fit with being an effective teacher. For our kids I also would love for them to leave the class not just feeling like they are an expert purely in maths, or an expert in inferring when reading, but instead with an interest in learning across multiple areas, and a passion for continually finding new challenges and areas for growth (perhaps a bit of both would be ideal!).

    Anyway, rambling aside I think your post helped clarify this concept of interdisciplinary collaboration for myself so thanks for that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Philiprip6 November 2017 at 00:01

      I'm so pleased you got something out of it, Lizzy. I guess that although we both feel we aren't 'specialised' in any particular area, we should never sell ourselves short and feel inadequate when making comparisons with colleagues who are. Our speciality is knowing children, and a pedagogy that makes the necessary connections to make learning happen. Cheers, Lizzy.

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