Connecting the Dots: Interdisciplinary Planning in Action

Childhood Education, Spring 2005 by Kieff, Judith, Bryant, James A Jr

Physical Education:

The most popular 50 minutes of the day, for many of the students was the physical education class. For that class period, the students were put through a mini-boot camp (complete with an obstacle course!) to give them an idea of what young men training to go fight in Vietnam would have gone through. The physical education teacher enjoyed getting to be a drill sergeant for a day, and the students, although hot and sweaty at the end of the period, enjoyed getting a taste of what it was like to train for war.

The work involved in making this interdisciplinary day a reality was immense, but it was a great success. The students enjoyed the day, and we teachers were elated (and exhausted!) by the students' response. Interdisciplinary lessons are a vital component to a student's education, and teachers should strive for these connections whenever possible. With testing and curricular mandates, of course, time for these kinds of lessons becomes less each passing school year. Standardization had led inexorably to increased specialization, which has only served to strengthen the vacuums occupied by our subjects. To fight this trend, teachers must carve out time to work together so that students truly understand that real knowledge is not compartmentalized.

Some Tips on Interdisciplinary Planning

* Manage Your Time: Make certain that enough planning time is set aside and available to make the plan come to life in a successful way.

* Value All Opinions: Make all criticism constructive and, if you are leading the planning, make sure that each participating faculty member knows that his or her opinions and ideas are valued. Let each teacher's imagination have a chance.

* Make the Opportunity Available to All Faculty: Our original plan did not include the physical education teacher; while this was an accidental slight, it was inconsiderate and unprofessional. He approached us and asked to be a part of the program, which became the highlight of the day for many students.

* Enjoy the Moment: Although interdisciplinary planning is a great deal of work, it can serve as a chance for teachers to recharge their batteries and give their creativity free rein-make the most of this!

Additional Resources:

A wealth of quality information is available on interdisciplinary strategies. Below is a small sampling of some of that work:

* The Magic If: Stanislavski for Children by Elizabeth Y. Kelly. This book does a magnificent job of using the Russian dramatist's work in classrooms to bring various subjects to life.

* Models of Teaching by Bruce Joyce, Marsha Weil, and Emily Calhoun. This book is very useful and offers terrific overviews of a variety of innovative teaching techniques and strategies, including interdisciplinary work.

* Ways That Work: Putting Social Studies Standards Into Practice by Tarry Lindquist. Although primarily focused on the social studies discipline, Lindquist's book has a number of powerful ideas for connecting the social studies classroom with other subjects.