1. Teaching for Understanding Making the Connections - Interdisciplinary Learning
Session 5

2. Reflective Questions What is interdisciplinary learning?
What interdisciplinary learning do you deliver? Why? How?
Which connections do you tend to make?
How do these connections further pupil understanding?
How could your practice evolve to take greater advantage of connected learning?

3. Learning Intention
We are learning how to develop pupils’ ability to transfer and connect their skills and understanding

4. Success Criteria I can:
Plan and deliver interdisciplinary learning which is relevant and purposeful
Plan learning experiences which allow pupils to demonstrate transference of skills and knowledge within unfamiliar contexts
Ensure interdisciplinary learning progresses pupil understanding in a range of skills and knowledge
Recognise and take advantage of connected learning as a vehicle for the progression of Higher Order Skills

5. Baseline Evaluation
How would you rate your current understanding of connecting learning effectively for pupils?
Rate your current level 1 – 6
1 being low understanding
6 being high understanding

6. Pre-task
None

7. Format : Interdisciplinary Quiz Video Sharing of IDL practice
Exploring skills across learning
Viewing exemplar video clips
Action Plan for next steps

8. Interdisciplinary Learning Quiz
Predict & list words, phrases & ideas likely to appear in National guidance on interdisciplinary learning:
Interdisciplinary Learning & Curriculum for Excellence
Why interdisciplinary learning?
What is interdisciplinary learning?
What is effective interdisciplinary learning?

9. C f E & Interdisciplinary Learning?
“The curriculum should include space for learning beyond subject boundaries, so that children and young people can make connections between different areas of learning...Revisiting a concept or skill from a different perspective deepens understanding and can also make the curriculum more coherent and meaningful from the learner's point of view.”
Building the Curriculum 3 (p 21).
FOLLOWING QUIZ, WITH EACH OF THESE SLIDES, GIVE TIME FOR GROUPS TO PRESENT THEIR SUMMARY OF WHAT THE SLIDE SAYS – DISCUSS AND ENSURE THE FOLLOWING IS NOTED: This slide highlights IDL as one of the 4 contexts for learning along with Curriculum, Life and ethos of the school and opportunities for personal achievement. Some schools are particularly good at combining these contexts for learning using their IDL work.

10. Why Interdisciplinary Learning?
Interdisciplinary learning enables teachers and learners to make connections across learning through exploring clear and relevant links across the curriculum. It supports the use and application of what has been taught and learned in new and different ways. It provides opportunities for deepening learning, for example through answering big questions, exploring an issue, solving problems or completing a final project.
Education Scotland website
Teaching should make connections obvious to pupils and/or enable them to see these independently. Teachers providing opportunities for pupils to apply skills in different contexts and provide breadth, challenge and application as well as employing a range of active approaches to learning.

11. What is interdisciplinary learning?
There are two broad types of interdisciplinary learning which often overlap.
• Learning planned to develop awareness and understanding of the connections and differences across subject areas and disciplines. This can be through the knowledge and skill content, the ways of working, thinking and arguing or the particular perspective of a subject or discipline.
• Using learning from different subjects and disciplines to explore a theme or an issue, meet a challenge, solve a problem or complete a final project. This can be achieved by providing a context that is real and relevant, to the learners, the school and its community
Education Scotland website
TYPE 1 – overlap between subject content – differences and similarities in the ways the subjects within the C work and operate or approache the world of knowledge
TYPE 2 – applying learning from more than 1 subject to a spcific project,idea, or job. Combining relevant cross-over for a specific purpose

12. What is effective interdisciplinary learning?
can take the form of individual one-off projects or longer courses of study
is planned around clear purposes
is based upon experiences and outcomes drawn from different curriculum areas or subjects within them
ensures progression in skills and in knowledge and understanding
can provide opportunities for mixed stage learning which is interest based
Building the Curriculum 3 (p 11).
Small and large IDL projects – don’t always have to be big thematic extravaganzas. Know why you are using IDL. Apply effective planning procedures to ensure the relevance learning and integrate other aspects of effective teaching such as AfL. Be able to say how the IDL progresses pupil learning and combine it with innovative approaches which are right for your establishment and your pupils

13. Interdisciplinary Learning - Impact
Video Clip - Brian Boyd - has worked in the Faculty of Education at the University of Strathclyde for 13 years. He has been involved in Curriculum for Excellence and is co-founder of Tapestry.
Ask what BB’s main message is and give time for participants to note any points of interest for them – discuss briefly

14. What IDL have you delivered?
Sharing of previous interdisciplinary teaching & learning:
What you did
How you did it
Why you did it that way
How it impacted on pupil learning
Individual, then group sharing
Use activity sheet to record practice – think about what we’ve said in previous slides when you write your answers

15. Whole Group Task Linking skills across learning for transference:
Show video clip Mosshead Primary applying maths skills in a citizenship context - discuss
Show video clip 5.3 – Grange Academy developing skills for life by linking disciplines - discuss
What can we learn from these? Mosshead example of a way to “frame” IDL as part of effective teaching – skills for LL&W, supports skill development focus – and pupil self-efficacy and self-awareness (links to profiling and transition) Contextualisation of skills across learning to enhance pupil motivation and let them see the relevance of skills for learning to their lives – also integrating effective planning of curricular skills through IDL

16. How could your practice evolve?
Plenary discussion in small groups – share with whole group:
How could our practice evolve to take greater advantage of connected learning?
How can we develop our ability to enable pupils to transfer and connect their skills and understanding?
Share NAR flow chart, briefing paper 4 to stimulate debate on best next steps for individuals and staff

17. What do we do next?
Identify opportunities to develop interdisciplinary learning which would allow pupils to demonstrate transference or skills and understanding.
Deliver and document if possible and bring along evidence of impact.
Plan ideas for re-versioning a lesson or unit of work is another option if teaching is not possible at this time.

18. Extension Tasks Extension reading if desired:
Reading 1 - extracts from Education Scotland guidance and research summaries
Reading 2 – Jacobs, H. H., Interdisciplinary curriculum: design and implementation

19. Evaluation
How would you rate your current understanding of connecting learning effectively for pupils?
Rate this session 1 – 6 to show any impact it has had