By Gen Battisto, Regional Mentor Coordinator

The Partnership for 21st Century Learning identifies skills and practices needed to prepare students for success in a 21st century work environment. Foundational to 21st century learning and innovation skills is the ability to be productive in a collaborative setting and solve problems by integrating information from a broad spectrum of relevant sources and disciplines.  This has given rise to an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary learning.

PIIC mentors should provide coaches with reasons, based on credible authority, for encouraging schools to engage students in interdisciplinary education. For example, The National Council of Teachers of English has taken the position that "educational experiences are more authentic and of greater value to students when they reflect real life which is multifaceted rather than compartmentalized."

PIIC mentors need to be prepared to offer support to coaches who are engaged with teachers in planning interdisciplinary learning experiences.  Some practical considerations involve school organization. In elementary and middle schools, teachers often work in teams while that is less likely in high schools.  An essential for success in interdisciplinary learning is carefully coordinated planning with all teachers having the opportunity for equal voice. The mentor should help the coach examine options for common planning time among teachers working together on interdisciplinary units and be sure the coach uses communication structures which ensure equity in teacher input. Mentors need to be ready to offer conciliatory support if there are signs of inequity or discord in the planning process.

Academic considerations must also be addressed. In an article from Learn, INC, Heather Coffey states that students cannot benefit from interdisciplinary studies without a solid background in the various disciplines which are integrated in the study.  PIIC mentors should be sure coaches can assist teachers with an interdisciplinary plan which involves systematic development. Using suggestions from the work of Heidi Jacobs, teachers should agree on a thematic focus for which students have adequate prerequisite learning and see the connections between the related topics. Guided questionis should be mutually developed to address the scope and sequence of the unit, and then activities may be designed to fulfill the unit goals.

Once the unit plan is in place, mentors should reflect with the coach about whether teachers have addressed the design of assessments which are congruent with the nature of interdisciplinary study and will provide the desired student data.  Attention should be given to rubrics shared with students to determine whether or not their work is meeting instructional goals.  In the excitement of developing engaging activities, the alignment with content standards and curricular goals and the related assessment can be overlooked. The wisdom of the PIIC mentor can be a guiding force.

Human factors must never be overlooked. Design and systematic development of effective interdisciplinary units is difficult and challenging work. Mentors should caution coaches to see that teachers do not try to move too rapidly.  One carefully designed and effectively executed interdisciplinary project will result in more learning than several fragmented ones.