Interdisciplinary EducationReport to FacultyJanuary 7, 2013

Greg Apostle Jessica Levenberg Karine Schaefer Larry Brown Ann Liptak Paul Sheehey Tom Conrad Nicola Minchillo Sue SilverSylvie Corten Stephen Mounkhall Judy TanenMaggie Favretti Andrea O’Gorman Kami WrightNeil Ginsberg Monica Palekar Lisa YokanaJodi Giroux Chris Renino

What Students Said:

"Interdisci...what? Like, why do teachers walk so slowly through Dean Field Lot in the morning, getting in the way of my mom's Mercedes, when I am trying to get to first period on time?"

- an anonymous ninth grader.

What Students Said:

"I am against interdisciplinary education. I am against discipline in general. I am sick of getting detentions for showing up late to homeroom."

- an anonymous tenth grader.

What Students Said:

"Interdisciplinary Education? Sounds nice. Will it help me get into college?"

- an anonymous eleventh grader.

What Students Said:

"Do I still go here?"

- an anonymous twelfth grader.

The (actual) Results from the Survey

What Could The Role of The Interdisciplinary Committee Be?

Please Check page Four of the Handout.

The Notes from the Discussions

Examples of Interdisciplinary Work

Please check Page one of the Handout.

Building relationships and establishing cross-curricular links facilitates:o gaining insighto brainstorming across multiple perspectiveso learning more about our studentso establishing a community of adult learners in which

people share their curricula, knowledge, and methodology

BENEFITS FOR TEACHERS

Benefits for StudentsInterdisciplinary learning cultivates critical

thinkingReinforces and supports concepts learned in

individual disciplinesEmphasizes creativityAccommodates a wide range of learning

styles through less traditional lessons and activities

Provides a unique common experience which promotes community within the classroom.

Essayez-le et ils aimeront ça!

CHALLENGES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INITIATIVES

•TIME– When do teachers find the time to plan

together?

- Where do teachers find the time to plan together?

–How do different disciplines match up curricular calendars?

CHALLENGES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INITIATIVES

• SCHEDULING–How to accommodate teachers' schedules so that

they can be in the same room at the same time?

–How to schedule reciprocal rosters in order to allow teachers in different disciplines to integrate their curriculums?

–How to avoid the creation of "singletons" which would affect the greater school schedule?

CHALLENGES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INITIATIVES

• CONTENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY–How to stay true to one's discipline while still

being truly interdisciplinary?

–How do we define course validity and accreditation?

–What would assessment look like across disciplines?

Cautions and ConcernsIf we went to a broad rollout of new

interdisciplinary initiatives, we might get some resistance from the Scarsdale community, which might ask...

- To what extent are interdisciplinary offerings examples of teachers teaching what they want to instead of important core curriculum subjects?

- If SHS is already getting students into good colleges, why would you mess with what is working?

Cautions and Concerns

If we went to a broad rollout of new interdisciplinary initiatives, we might get some resistance from within our faculty...

- Even if the faculty is favorably disposed to the general concept of interdisciplinary work, how will any of the various kinds of implementation affect the day-to-day life of the operation of the school?

- Will interdisciplinary education become another broad concept talked about in faculty meetings that goes nowhere?

What support is needed?

Time and Space to Collaborate:

- Paired teachers could use built in time in their schedules to make sure there is overlapping free time.

- A location in the school could be set aside for members of different departments to get together to collaborate.

What Support is Needed?

Database and Blog

The two quickest and least controversial ways to encourage interdisciplinary discussion without making it a requirement seemed to be the creation of an interdisciplinary database and interdisciplinary blog.

Thanks to Jodi, these are now up and running.

Renino's Announcements

3 records added to the database or 3 posts to the blog = one hour of tech time if done before 1/16.

In Next Year's Catalogue...we will have…

New schedule in the offing to accommodate dozens of other interdisciplinary teams?

(see next slide)