Activity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map

Activity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map

In my classroom every Friday my students have a day where they are able to learn about what they want to learn about. This is taken from Google's 20% time. I call this Adventure Learning. The students pick what they want to learn about and complete a research/project-based project. I have taken the same approach to our Inquiry topic this term. Our overarching them or idea is War and Conflict. I let the students choose what they wanted to learn about which had to be linked. I had students researching and discussing tactics, codes, spies and how weaponry over time has changed.  By giving students the choice they are developing a wide variety of skills that make them a 21st Century Learner. These skills include 

• Critical Thinking
• Creativity 
• Collaboration 
• Communication Skills
• Problem Solving
• Self-regulation 
• Self-management

From completing the Adventure learning process I have witnessed a high level of students engagement and motivation. Even to the point where students are sending me emails on the weekend with things that they want me to print out on a 3D Printer. Adventure Learning has strong links to Reading, Writing, Maths, Inquiry and Technology. This is my interdisciplinary connections map.  

Two potential connections that I could work on is connecting ICT with Writing and ICT with Reading. These are two areas which there is some connection but not enough. In Writing my students use chromebooks to collaboratively work on pieces of writing. When students get the opportunity to work with their pairs on completing tasks they are engage and motivated.  When students have to use the chromebooks just to publish they are not. I need to find a way so that the students have a mixture. I have seen high quality writing from students who have traditionally not been the best writers because they don't have to worry about getting the surface features correct. They write and the computer fixes this for them. I need to work on developing this connection between ICT and Writing. 

The same goes for Reading. Students are more engaged when they have to complete tasks on the chromebooks. It is important to remember that students in the 21st Century have been brought up with internet. The students use this as a tool when they get home and are highly engaged when on the chromebooks. The challenge for me is to find engaging tasks that the students can do during Reading that develop the essential skills of what it means to be a good reader. 

The advantages of having an interdisciplinary connections

According to Lacoe Edu (2014) an interdisciplinary approach gives an authentic, real-world outlook on learning. It provides students with the opportunities to unwrap and discover new knowledge.  Students have an overarching theme or topic which they have to examine through the a multitude of disciplines. They develop core 21st Century Learning skills and look at complex, real-life experiences. They have use no single discipline to solve one problem and they unpack each topic or theme through the lenses of multiple disciplines. This increases engagement. David Wiley in TEDx Talks (2001) states that "passion is critical". By giving the students a choice of theme or topic and the opportunity to develop their understanding through a range of disciplines, as an educator or facilitator, you are able to generate the passion for learning.

References

Lacoe Edu (2014) Interdisciplinary Learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA564RIlhME

TEDx Talks (2001). TEDxBYU - David Wiley - An Interdisciplinary Path to Innovation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytjMDongp4