Introduction
Creative approaches to teaching and learning have proven effective in developing lifelong skills, cross-cutting in many disciplines, and thus enabling the learners to develop and create things out of the knowledge rightly acquired and understood. The paper is mainly based on the webbed model approach, which carries the fertile theme of integrated subject matter. Its circular approach through innovation has been widely covered throughout the paper. Creativity in teaching and learning has been generally agreed to include a process that engages the learner in: questioning and challenging their understanding; making connections among disciplines and seeing how they relate; exploring ideas and keeping options open and critical analyses of idea s.(Teachingtimes.com, 2017) Further, the characteristics of most effective teaching as revealed by the survey conducted by Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)in over 44 schools include: guided teaching as opposed to over-directing pupils; emphasis on problem-solving and communication skills; the development of good questioning skills; growth of partnerships among others(Creativitycultureeducation.org, 2017).
Teaching and learning across core subjects is known as cross-curricular instruction (Fogarty, 2009). (Westwood, 2006) The goal of this kind of instruction remains one: to prompt students to use multiple skills for learning multiple objectives. There are different approaches in cross-curricular instruction, and all have their advantages and disadvantages (Savage, 2011 ). They are: interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and fusion methods. Fusion prompts students to apply knowledge and skills acquired from one subject to various subjects, such as Mathematics or Science, in a manner showing understanding of the concept. The multi-disciplinary approach focuses on teaching one topic through different subjects. For example, a Mathematics teacher may collaborate with a Geography teacher to teach angles from both perspectives. Interdisciplinary teaching enables the teacher to plan a project for one subject while at the same time identifying a set of skills required from a different subject altogether.
The focus of this paper is on the Multi-disciplinary approach to cross-curricular instruction. It will analyse what such an approach entails and the impact it has on the learners.
Multi-disciplinary approach to cross-curricular instruction
A multi-disciplinary approach to learning correlates two or more disciplines with an underlying topic, issue, or concept. The beginning point is the identification of the particular theme, issue, or topic of focus, and asking what subjects or disciplines deal with it. Single-subject approach to learning enables the students to focus deeply on a given issue or topic and, as such, gain n wide understanding (Savage, Rowley and Cooper, 2009). Supporters of this approach have insisted that disciplines do create a sense of order about the complex nature of the world, and as such, students are provided with specific, specialised knowledge needed to solve discipline-based problems (Hatch, 1998). The webbed approach is one that fully utilises this norm(Fogarty, 2009). However, proponents of the multi-disciplinary approach argue that knowledge in the real world is holistic and therefore a curriculum that divides knowledge into various disciplines is a little too traditional (Hatch, 1998).
It has also been argued that the ability to relate whatever knowledge has been gained in a particular subject with other areas of learning proves to be a daunting task for many learners (Hatch, 1998). On the other hand, multi-disciplinary instruction links different subjects to the topic, issue, or concept and allows the student to understand the topic from different perspectives. Teachers, therefore, sequence their content to match the content of other subjects in the relevant classes.
Meeting required standards through a multidisciplinary curriculum.
In implementing a multidisciplinary approach to cross-curricular instruction, it is important that the standards set in the curriculum for each subject are still met. This eventually ensures that the standards being met are in keeping with the government-outlined standards. The following are some of the standards that multidisciplinary instruction must meet to achieve the goal of developing more effective learners (Fogarty, 2009).
The first standard is keeping the approach taken by the teacher relevant to the needs of the students. Efforts should be made to meet the needs of the students. The approach should be relevant in the context of learning (Hargreaves, 2001). The effective way of achieving this standard has been agreed as dealing with student-generated questions and setting a local context for learning. In this kind of learning, students are producers rather than consumers of knowledge; student questions are the centre of the curriculum; teachers incorporate as many subjects as possible into the inquiry, and the students solve real problems. All the questions raised by the students are linked with, for example, events and places in history, literature, or whichever other subject the topic or issue relates tos.
Maintaining rigor in academic activities is another standard. It is a standards-based multidisciplinary approach to learning. It ensures that academic programmes are not substandard in content but reflective of intellectually challenging activities. In the late 80s and 90s, the integrated approach was under fire for apparently being superficial (Case, 1994). This approach allows the teachers to be creative and sensitive to student needs, even while they remain committed to the content.
In observing these standards, teachers must ensure that every pupil is on board. This particularly applies because a classroom is ever diverse and all the pupils are different. The ‘at-risk’ students have been observed to do well in this approach (Fiske, 1999). They have a better understanding of the content, and they reflect it across other related subjects or disciplines of inquiry (Drake and Burns, 2004).
International organisations on curriculum development
The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCE) advocates for an all-inclusive creative and cultural curriculum (Bhavnani, 2017). NACCCE provides guidance that addresses five major themes: creative potential, freedom and control, cultural understanding, systematic approach, and the challenge for education (All our futures, 2001). The International Bureau of Education (IBE), under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), deals with curriculum matters. They have provided some guidelines on a multidisciplinary curriculum. They include: the students should have a range of curriculum experiences across the individual disciplines. This will help them have a better position in understanding different issues from different disciplinary perspectives. It is almost impossible to achieve substantial knowledge impartation where the students have no previous background information on various disciplines. Teachers should be keen on implementing the curriculum according to the students' needs and be quick to amend the curriculum whenever the needs change. This ensures that the curriculum stays relevant to the students' needs at all times.
The multi-disciplinary units should be shared across all the departments involved to enable parity in teaching and general learning by the students. Students should be involved in planning, developing, and revising the curriculum. Such involvement of students allows them to embrace the process and, as a result, enjoy their learning.
Teacher strategies in implementing a multidisciplinary approach
Teachers must stop departmentalising their teaching areas and begin to teach and deliver knowledge in the context of other knowledge. This is only possible upon effective collaboration amongst the teachers (Eliason and Jenkins, n.d.).In aligned Collaboration, a teacher ensures that he or she is moving in the same direction as the fellow teachers. For example, the Social Studies department and the English department may agree and plan so that topics of study in history are taught concurrently with literary eras. In this manner, students can make relevant connections between the two subjects and form a proper foundation and understanding of the same.
Cooperative Collaboration concerns teachers synchronising the pace and the how of delivering related lessons for maximum effectiveness. For example, a science teacher and a mathematics teacher may agree on how to teach the topic of motion and agree on whether to do it jointly or separately. Once a mathematical teacher teaches a particular formula, the science teacher will teach the same formula in that topic and explain the correlation between the two subjects. This fosters a good understanding of the concept amongst the students.
Conceptual Collaboration is a phase of collaboration that involves the understanding of the concepts at a deeper level. It therefore necessitates a thorough grasp of the issue by the teachers concerned. Since it is difficult to master more than one subject area thoroughly, it is highly recommended that teachers teach a particular area or theme as a team. Such an approach provides the students with an opportunity to ask questions cutting across the two or so subjects involved, and the result is a deeper understanding of the area by the students.
Multi-disciplinary approach to teaching children
This approach to teaching and learning has been researched comprehensively, and like any other teaching methodology, it has its own advantages and disadvantages (Davies et al., 2009).
It entails team teaching, life-long learning, and encouraging critical thinking, among others. Team teaching strategy entails having several instructors in a given topic or concept has great advantages for the students since they are able to grasp the different perspectives of the same concept all at a go (Davies et al., 2009). The students are further able to easily correlate one subject area with the other through team teaching. On the other hand, a disadvantage of this aspect is that the students may miss out on the essence of single-subject teaching, which goes deeper into the concept.
Life-long learning helps learners get involved in problem-solving and communication skills while experiencing multi-disciplinary teaching. While lifelong learning habits are enriched, the overall personal growth of the learner is achieved. It is an integration of methodology and pedagogy, and this makes the learner more effective even in their future career.
Critical thinking skills enable learners are able to acquire critical thinking skills that they can easily apply to other contexts. This establishes the learner’s confidence and thus boosts the ability to easily connect different things and believe in the correctness of their findings. Cooperation and collaboration amongst staff an effective ways of fostering learning. When the teachers come together to formulate effective work plans, a ground for proper and frequent curriculum review is established. This ensures that the learner is at all times getting the best the curriculum can offer, based on life realities. Further, the task of curriculum development is made easier when there is a collaborative effort amongst teachers across the board. It is therefore clear that the implementation of a multi-disciplinary method of learning has both positive and negative implications.
A few factors should be put into consideration when the implementation process of the cross-curricular approach of multi-disciplinary teaching is being undertaken. It should demand that pupils pull relevant knowledge from a range of subjects and relate it to everyday life activities. An objective and open-minded approach to controversial issues, with a view to isolating the evidence, attention being given to quality and quantity. Participatory and experiential teaching should be used. The teacher should deal explicitly with issues raised through student questions to enable fundamental exploration of relevant ideas and interests.
Phases of implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning
The first phase is engaging in action research. It has been suggested that it is vital for a school to conduct action research so as to learn more about how to implement the proposed curriculum. Many schools have implemented this approach, and borrowing a few tips is encouraged (ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1989). It is suggested that this should be done within a year before the implementation.
The next phase is developing a proposal, in view of having a systematic way of teaching and learning, is of utmost importance. Thus, developing a proposal in light of the needs of the students and highlighting a proper way of addressing them is an effective way of promoting learning.
The third phase is the implementation and monitoring of the pilot unit, which should also be encouraged and practiced. Here, the school introduces the pilot curriculum and monitors its implementation over a period of about one year.
The fourth phase is Staff adoption of the program, which constitutes adoption of the curriculum on the basis of the findings established in phase three of the process (Heidi, 1991).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary that moving forward, schools adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning fo,r the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages associated with it. The development of the learners’ ability to solve problems, to communicate effectively, to think critically, and to relate what is learned to daily real life is of paramount importance. As earlier explained in the paper, creativity in teaching and learning has been generally agreed to include a process that engages the learner. Thus, it becomes fundamental that any method employed must lead to questioning and challenging the understanding of the learner. They must seem to be making connections among disciplines and seeing how they relate; exploring ideas and keeping options open, and conducting critical analyses of ideas.
References
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