Interdisciplinary Instruction

Presentation 1
Theory and Rationale

Dr. Karlyn Wood ©

Professor Emeritus
School of Education
State University of New York
College at Old Westbury

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Four Characteristics of the
Interdisciplinary Approach

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 CHARACTERISTICS OF
INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTRUCTION
1 – STUDIES ARE TOPIC, THEME, OR PROBLEM-CENTERED.

2 – STUDENT DIVERSITY IS EASILY ACCOMMODATED.

3. TWO OR MORE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES AND WAYS OF KNOWING

ARE USED TO RESEARCH THE TOPIC, THEME, OR PROBLEM.

History Music
Art Mathematics
Literacy Science
Drama Dance
Technology Civics/Citizenship
Geography Other Areas Related
Economics to the Unit Topic

4 – EQUAL EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO THE LEARNING

PROCESSES AND MASTERY OF CONTENT.
An
AnInterdisciplinary
InterdisciplinaryApproach
ApproachtotoEducation
Education
 Instead of focusing on a specific subject or
1
discipline, interdisciplinary instruction begins
STUDIES ARE TOPIC, THEME,
with the selection of a topic, theme, or real
OR PROBLEM-CENTERED.
life problem in an academic discipline.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 State education department curriculum
guides help teachers select topics, themes,
and problems to teach at each grade level.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Typical Topics

Families
Friends
Our School Neighborhood
World Communities

The Amazon River Basin

Rainforests
Ancient Greece
Mediterranean Lands

The Civil War

The American Revolution
The Great Depression

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 The interdisciplinary approach provides
opportunities for students to learn in ways
2
that are best
STUDENT for them.
DIVERSITY These
IS EASILY include a
ACCOMMODATED
variety of learning and reporting options.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Students are involved in:

•Making decisions about what should be

studied about a topic and. . .

•Suggesting the questions for their

research.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 3
TWO OR MORE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES AND WAYS
Academic Disciplines.
OF KNOWING ARE USED TO RESEARCH THE
TOPIC, THEME, OR PROBLEM.

anthropology
civics
economics mathematics
geography performing arts
history political science
language arts psychology
& literature sociology
technology
visual arts
(and others)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Ways of Knowing

•direct and indirect observation

•analysis of resources and problems
•study, creation, and analysis of maps
•exploration of materials
•scientific experimentation •raising questions
•historical inquiry •study of original documents
•surveys •analysis of relationships among
people and government
•discovery learning
•reflection
•case studies
(and others)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Other Areas That May
Be Included in a Unit
career education
consumerism
current events
ecology
global issues
health issues
the future
human rights issues
multicultural issues
substance abuse
values clarification

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Projects & Activities

constructions
demonstrations
dioramas murals
puppet shows presentations
field trips oral and written reports
internet searches research
web crawls creative writing
panel discussions skills lessons
multimedia programs
(and others)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 4
EQUAL EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO
THE LEARNING PROCESSES AND
Learning Processes
MASTERY OF CONTENT.

•the scientific method

•research processes
•brainstorming
•cooperative learning
•role playing
•study groups
and others

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Summary
Interdisciplinary Instruction:

• Is topic-centered.
• Uses any disciplines and ways of knowing
that inform the questions of a study.
• Accommodates student diversity by
providing for the differentiation of student
investigating and reporting techniques.
• Emphasizes mastery of the learning
processes as well as the content to be
learned.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education
 Support for the Interdisciplinary Approach

Learning theories and constructs supporting the

interdisciplinary approach include those of a
number of recognized specialists.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Piaget described the thinking of
Theory:
young children as centered.

In a young child’s mind, isolated concepts

and information tend to remain unrelated
to their previous fund of knowledge.

Interdisciplinary studies help young

students to note relationships between
their previous knowledge and the concepts
in topics and problems they study.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Theory: Vygotsky
and Piaget both emphasized
the importance of students’ social interaction
in learning.

Interdisciplinary instruction provides

many opportunities for students to work
together cooperatively.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Theory: Sternbergsuggested that because
students learn in a variety of ways, teachers
need to differentiate their instruction.

Interdisciplinary studies provide for the

differentiation of instruction and student
reporting options.

Today, this is of particular importance for

inclusion.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Theory: Howard Gardner recommends that
students need opportunities to learn and to
show what they have learned using their
multiple intelligences.
The interdisciplinary method offers students
opportunities to make use of their individual
learning abilities.
linguistic interpersonal
logical-mathematical intrapersonal
spatial bodily-kinesthetic
musical naturalist
existential

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Human brain research indicates that the brain
processes information more efficiently when
presented with holistic, interdisciplinary
studies.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Students often have difficulty
Skills:
learning skills taught and practiced in
isolation.
Many academic skills can be taught and
practiced in the meaningful context of
an interdisciplinary study.
reading for information
the research process oral reports
writing reports panel discussions
computation charts and graphs
designing art and other projects
(and others)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Sources: A
single source, such as use of
only one textbook, is inadequate for a
comprehensive study.

Interdisciplinary studies require

students to use multiple sources.

books
the internet
newspapers
magazines
interviews
field trips
videos
video presentations
(and others)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Summary of the Rationale for Using
an Interdisciplinary Approach
Interdisciplinary instruction and constructivist
methods:
• Make it possible for young students—whose
thinking tends to be centered—to process information
more accurately and effectively.
• Foster social opportunities for students to
interact with one another and to work
together cooperatively.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 • Provide a meaningful context for teaching
and practicing academic skills.
• Make use of multiple sources of information.
• Respond to core curriculum standards by
stimulating critical thinking, questioning, and
the search for supportive evidence.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 • Provide for the differentiation of instruction.
• Offer opportunities for students to work in all
multiple intelligence areas.
• Include holistic studies for more efficient
processing in the human brain.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Interdisciplinary instruction involves several
special requirements of teachers.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Interdisciplinary teachers need to have:

•A compatible, constructivist, philosophy.

•Knowledge of child development and learning

theory.

•A good fund of general knowledge.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 •Good classroom management skills.

•Skills in planning lessons as well as

interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
units.

•The ability to work collaboratively

with other teachers and specialists.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education

 Wood, K. E. (2015).Interdisciplinary
Instruction: Unit and Lesson Planning
Interdisciplinary
Strategies Instruction
K-8 Presentation
(5th ed.). Lake Grove,
1
IL: Waveland Press.
Theory and Rationale
https://www.wavelandpress.com

Dr. Karlyn Wood ©

Professor Emeritus
School of Education
State University of New York
College at Old Westbury

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Education