It's NOT just a matter of Semantics

In the last years, my school has worked hard to embody the principles of the IB Middle Years Programme not only on paper, but in spirit too.   So far we have done a good job at implementing objectives, embracing a concept-based approach to teaching and planning units using the backward design. This is definitely a great start. However, the one area, which we still seem to stumble upon is the MYP's holy grail,  interdisciplinary learning. No matter how hard we work to solidify our single disciplines, we are still lacking interdisciplinary links.  It could be argued that for these to take place one needs time. Plenty of it. However, I believe that there's more to it. 

As I searched for more information about this topic on the IB's Online Curriculum Centre, I ran into an interesting article called “Curriculum integration in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme: Literature review.” One of this document's main goals is to define the terms that are used interchangeably, incorrectly. While the terms multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary might sound similar, they are actually different. This metaphor epitomizes the distinct features of these terms:

“To explain the differences and relationship between the terms and their application to teaching and learning, Choi and Pak (2006) stated that “multidisciplinarity is like a salad bowl, interdisciplinarity is like a melting pot, and transdisciplinarity is like a cake, in which the ingredients are no longer distinguishable, and the final product is of a different kind from the initial ingredients”” (3)

Transdisciplinary learning is indeed a very interesting integration model since it is hinting at the breaking down of disciplinary barriers for a more organic approach to teaching centered around the concepts and the real world concepts. This is also the curriculum integration model, which is currently being used at the Roosevelt Innovation Academy. The IA was established as to offer students an alternative to IB Diploma  (Check this link for more information). 

In this post, however, I will be looking closely at the charactertistics of interdisciplinary learning and   discuss the misconceptions and constraints that hinder its implementation.

First and foremost one needs to clearly understand what isn't interdisciplinary. Currently, in the lower grades where MYP is being taught,  we have managed to make connections that are mostly multidisciplinary. “Multidisciplinarity is unique from the other two terms because it draws on comprehension and information from many disciplines, yet it stays within its discipline’s boundaries” (3)

There are indeed conceptual links happening across subjects and this once again speaks volumes of the strides made in the implementation of the MYP. For instance students, in Humanities, study infectious diseases. Indeed they learn terms and concepts that are of a scientific nature. As they tackle this unit, students are able to make some connections between disciplines; however, it would be erroneous to coin this as interdisciplinary because these connections are not deep enough. 

The document, MYP: From Principles to Practice states that: 

 "...students demonstrate interdisciplinary understanding of a particular topic when they can bring together concepts, methods, or forms of communication from two or more disciplines or established areas of expertise to explain a phenomenon, solve a problem, create a product, or raise a new question in ways that would have been unlikely through single disciplinary means"  (67).

This quote tells us a lot about the textured nature of interdisciplinary learning. Its implementation has to be well thought-out; the deep connections between the disciplines involved play a central role in interdisciplinary planning. Hence, it is clear that final product relies on the interdependence on the different disciplines combined.    

The years in this profession have truly shaped my approach on learning. Kids respond best to real world problems. If they know that their work has purpose they will be much more likely to want to tackle it in a proactive and engaged manner. However, the more I try to create units that are project-based and address a real audience, the more I'm faced with the limitations of single disciplines because as one tries to address a real world problem he/she must inevitably tackle it from different disciplinary angles. For instance, the Humanities department is looking into creating a hands-on unit were students explore the different causes of water scarcity in Lima and create a solutiona that can range from the evaluation of privatization of water to the construction of a model water filter. For this real world problems to be addressed and tackled, we must bring in Science and Design Technology, but we are faced with constraints. 

If there is one thing that I learned during my masters course is this: When reflecting upon the learning that is happening your classroom you always must factor two systems: The classroom system and the overall school system. I believe that the latter is currently impeding true interdisciplinary learning. 

The MYP has the right framework for interdisciplinary learning, but we are not capitalizing from this programme as we should because of the logistical constraints that we set. There are way too many teachers teaching in a grade level and this alone discourages interdisciplinary planning.  Moreover, the schedule is way too rigid to make any meaningful adjustments to facilitate its implementation.  I believe that we have to rethink the the schedule's role and reshape it to better meet the needs of 21st century learning. Must we continue to categorize students according to age and separate them in different disciplines?   

As much as I applaud the MYP for its forward thinking, we must continue to innovate education. Currently, my students are way too overwhelmed with too many assessments all happening simultaneously. By revamping the schedule to facilitate interdisciplinary learning, we would be hitting two birds with one stone.  Students would be able to address a problem using the different disciplines as toolkits AND would also have more time to delve into their assessments. We would be giving up the quantity, but we would be certainly gaining in quality. 

www.tedwardwines.com 

On Saturday, I attended a wine and cheese tasting session at a wine exposition organized by a local supermarket chain. Having been rightfully called a wine philistine in the past, I knew that this session would be beneficial yet I didn't expect it to be so inspiring. I've always abhorred dessert wines. The smell of sweet wine alone makes me cringe.  As I sniffed the Alcyone from Uruguay my reaction was no different. However, when we dipped the dried apricot into the honey, tasted it and then took a sip of the wine, something marvelous happened. Corey Topf described it best: "Each individual flavour made all of them come to life."  

It is clear that when one combines the right ingredients the result will be extraordinary.  

Works Cited 

Daley, Kimberley, Dr. Curriculum integration in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme: Literature review. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization, 2012. Online Curriculum Centre. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/general/g_0_iboxx_amo_1209_1b_e.pdf>.

MYP: From principles into practice. Cardiff, Wales: International Baccalaureate Organization, 2008. Digital file.