The Purpose of The Paper
The purpose of this paper is to show that interdisciplinary learning for students is paramount to their understanding of the world and society around them. As students learn different units in school they need to be able to make connections between them. They should understand that these areas of study don't exist independently of one another, but that they they overlap. As a future biology teacher, my main goal would be to enable students to understand how this science has greatly influenced mankind's understanding of life. I will also engage students to know how that science has had great impacts in other areas of society that are not normally considered with the sciences, such as social studies. An example of this
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This develops critical thinking skills that are necessary to become a successful and functioning member of society. Many professional have undergone studies in order to show that these skills develop properly and quickly. When students are exposed to multiple areas of study at once in order for them to develop a better understanding of their school work and how interconnected things are. Projects can be designed to include many different disciplines in order to have students critically consider different areas of study. However, these projects must be able to provide a wide range of perspectives and hit on a few guidelines in order for it to be truly interdisciplinary.
A Review of the Interdisciplinary Learning Literature:
The definition of being interdisciplinary is using two or more academic disciplines or fields of study. Therefore, interdisciplinary learning must mean that it is the act of learning using multiple fields or academic disciplines, even if these fields are not necessarily directly connected.(Nissani, 1997) This
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In addition, the assignment or task needs to have these disciplines ingrained in the tasks themselves and not have them exist as separate entities. The task at hand must also be challenging and have the students ask meaningful questions about themselves and or the world around them, This allows them to have deeper understanding of why they are doing the task and why it is important. The assessments of these assignments must be dynamic and allow for students to reflect on what they have done. The work being done must also have relevance outside of school so as to be more meaningful for the students. The work must allow students to use current forms of technology to once again maintain relevance for the student. Having the students be able to connect with experts will allow them to see the practical applications of what they are doing. Finally the students must be able to explore how to solve problems given to them and communicate among each other to engage further with the tasks at hand. (Galileo Educational Network, 2014) The following is an example of a series of in class tasks that accomplishes most of what is suggested to have in a successful interdisciplinary lesson. Students had to compare their proportions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man to that of an everyday adult male. This assignment involves art history through the introduction of the
Getlein, Mark. "Chapter 17-The 17th and 18th Centuries." Living with Art. 9th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2008. 384-406. Print.
The goals and operational values of the cross-curricular approach are to help the student develop self-regulating (learning-how-to-learn and metacognition) and lifelong learning skills as well as effective democratic citizenship skills (Alahiotis & Stavlioti, 2006; Stavlioti, p. 61; Koustourakis, 2007 p.133; Vars, 2007, p.7). In order to cope with the modern realities, there is a need to move from the traditional organization of curriculum into discrete subjects/discipline areas offering fragmented knowledge, to a more linked and unified approach to knowledge in a holistic way (Alahiotis & Stavlioti, 2006; Marshall, 2005, p. 229). Conferring with psychology, the child should be treated as a whole entity so this should be reflected in the way children learn (stavlioti, p. 54; Stavlioti megalo, p. 4). Studies have shown that links between the different disciplines and connections with real-life situations enhance brain synapses, so in this way learning is promoted through multiple stimuli that these connections send to neurons (stavlioti megalo, p. 5-6). “According to Piaget (1963), learning occurs when new information is attached to prior knowledge and placed in existing conceptual compartments or schemata” (as cited in Marshall, 2005, p. 229).
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall Inc. and Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1995.
Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook.
General Science is a study involving biology, chemistry, physics and environmental sciences. Students from Year 7 to Year 10 are introduced to these various disciplines to gain general knowledge about science and can later develop into deeper concepts. Science is not just fat laboratory coats, Einstein’s equations, mixing chemicals, massive space shuttles, or peeking through microscopes, but involves critical thinking, analysing data and applying understandings of the natural world to solve real problems. Science is an approach to learning what made this world and how things worked decades ago, how they work today, and how they are expected to work in forthcoming years. Some of the social justice issues hidden behind science can have major consequences.
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
“Philosophers, writers, and artists expressed disillusionment with the rational-humanist tradition of the Enlightenment. They no longer shared the Enlightenment's confidence in either reason's capabilities or human goodness.” (Perry, pg. 457) It is interesting to follow art through history and see how the general mood of society changed with various aspects of history, and how events have a strong connection to the art of the corresponding time.
Barnett, Peter. “The French Revolution in Art”. ArtId, January 7th 2009. Web. 5th May 2013.
affect on all of the arts as well as the visual arts; as artists began
...encing and affecting the art movement and its contribution in shaping how art is produced and critiqued based on the standards that it had set.
“The word interdisciplinary consists of two parts: inter and disciplinary. The prefix inter means “between, among, in the midst,” or “derived from two or more.” Disciplinary means “of or relating to a particular field of study” or specialization” (Repko, 2011, p. 7). I understand this to be a study that often consists of two or more areas that are being observed and examined. An interdisciplinary study is used to help us put together research by asking and answering questions, address certain issues by viewing a variety of views.
Thomas Grady Bunch (2009) ePortfolio... Interdisciplinary Studies: Work and Professional Study Understandings [online] available from [24 March 2014]
...o listen carefully to ensure that kids are discussing scientific ideas, not socializing. The teacher's role is to ensure that students achieve their primary goal: meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. The practices described in this article help bring this about in several ways. When instruction centers on students and focuses on hands-on experience with scientific phenomena, science class becomes an exciting place. When instruction concentrates on the investigation of current problems and issues through scientific inquiry, science class becomes a relevant and meaningful place. When instruction emphasizes the development of communication skills, science class becomes an invaluable place for preparing children to tackle the challenges of adulthood. And the education community owes it to its students to assess their academic progress fairly and accurately.
and science – can be much more engaging with virtual lessons, tutoring, and the streaming of