This document discusses the growing need for interdisciplinary curriculum. It defines key terms like discipline, interdisciplinary, and types of disciplinary approaches. The document outlines challenges in interdisciplinary content selection like lacking focus or creating tensions between subjects. Effective interdisciplinary programs integrate both discipline-based and interdisciplinary experiences using a carefully designed scope and sequence. There is a growing need for interdisciplinary curriculum to help students develop a broad understanding, address real-world problems, and keep learning relevant with new developments. Benefits include improved higher-order thinking skills and providing a more unified, motivating learning experience for students.

1. UNDERSTANDING
DISCIPLINES
AND
SUBJECTS
COURSE -5
ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED BY:
A. MAHASREE MEENAJAA
(F17B044 ) I B.Ed
GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF EDUCATION FOR WOMEN
COIMBATORE-01

2. TOPIC
GROWING NEEDS
OF
INTER-DISCIPLINARY
CURRICULUM

3. OUTLINE
• BASIC TERMINOLOGIES
• TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY
• INTER-DISPLINARY CURRICULUM
• TWO PROBLEMS IN CONTENT SELECTION
• INTER-DISPLINARY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
• GROWING NEEDS OF INTER-DISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM
• BENEFITS OF INTER-DISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

4. DISCIPLINE FIELD
A specific body of teachable knowledge with its own background of
education, training, procedures, methods, and content areas.
PIAGET (1972)
INTERDISCIPLINARY
A knowledge view and curriculum approach that consciously applies
methodology and language from more than one discipline to examine a
central theme, issue, problem, topic, or experience.
H.H. JACOBS (1989)

6. TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY
1. Intradisciplinary: working within a single discipline.
2. Crossdisciplinary: viewing one discipline from the perspective of
another.
3. Multidisciplinary: people from different disciplines working
together, each drawing on their disciplinary knowledge with no
direct attempt to integrate .
4. Interdisciplinary: integrating knowledge and methods from
different disciplines, using a real synthesis of approaches.
5. Transdisciplinary: creating a unity of intellectual frameworks
beyond the disciplinary perspectives.

7. Pictorial Representation

8. INTER-DISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM
An inter-disciplinary curriculum combines several school subjects into one
active plan or is organized to divide subject-matter lines, bringing together
various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association.
It focuses on broad areas of study since that is
how children meet subjects in the real
world-combined in one activity.

9. Two problems in content selection of a curriculum
 The Potpourri Problem:
Many units become a sampling of knowledge from each discipline. If the subject is
Ancient Egypt, there will be a bit of history about Ancient Egypt, a bit of literature,
a bit of the arts, and so forth.
Hirsch and Bloom (1987) have criticized this approach for its lack of focus. Unlike
the disciplines ,there is no general structure in interdisciplinary work.
 The Polarity Problem:
Traditionally, interdisciplinarity and the discipline fields have been seen as an
either/or polarity, which has promoted a range of conflicts.
Not only does the curriculum design suffer from a lack of clarity, but real tensions
can emerge among teachers.
Some feel highly territorial about their subjects and are threatened as new views of
their subject are promoted.

10. To avoid these two problems, effective interdisciplinary programs must
meet TWO CRITERIA;
 They must have carefully conceived design features: a scope and
sequence, a cognitive taxonomy to encourage thinking skills, behavioral
indicators of attitudinal change, and a solid evaluation scheme.
 They must use both discipline-field-based and
interdisciplinary experiences for students in
the curriculum.

11. INTER-DISPLINARY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
i. Formulate a goal statement which indicated the principle or concept
to be understood at the completion of the lesson.
ii. Select the primary content base which will serve as the catalyst for
the instruction.
iii. Identify events, discoveries, and writings within other disciplines that
relate to the primary content base in a meaningful way.
iv. Determine the key points of intersection between the disciplines.
v. Formulate instructional objectives
vi. Identify the necessary prerequisite knowledge that students must
posses in each discipline area.
vii. Formulate instructional strategies which will compel students to use
their knowledge.

12. GROWING NEEDS OF INTER DISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM
• For a more inter-disciplinary approach in education is not a recent
development, and has been advanced through a variety of
arguments. Thereby to fulfill needs of the current situation and to
prepare learner’s more adequately to shape and choose a future.
• Each “discipline” look at the world from a particular view point , for a
particular purpose. This makes students difficult to see the world as
whole.
• Hence there is need to develop broad understanding to operate
successfully as a
As a person
As a citizen
As a productive worker

13. • One of the important reason for looking into inter-disciplinary
curriculum is that our present disciplines are older ways( tradition of
EUROPE) of describing knowledge.
Therefore developments of this new century are to be included.
Eg: Space science, nano-technology , satellite monitoring etc
• Need for emphasis on current situation which addresses different types
of topic like environmental education, education and work, eductaion
and world peace.
• Enhancing the links between the subjects like history , literature,
science, social science , mathematics and geography.

14. • Students are increasingly in need of courses which relate to problems of daily
living.
• Problem solving of this kind needs interdisciplinary approach as well as
consideration of moral and ethical issues.
PROBLEMS
OF DAILY
LIVING
POPULATION
EDUCATION
DRUG
EDUCATION
SEX
EDUCATION
INTERPERSONAL
EDUCATION

15. • The teachers should be active curriculum designers and determine the
nature and degree of integration and the scope and sequence of study.
• The teacher's decisions will most directly affect students in the day-to-
day running of the classroom. The teacher should be empowered to
work as a designer, to shape and to edit the curriculum according to the
students' needs.
• Curriculum making is a creative solution to a problem,
hence,interdisciplinary curriculum should only be used when the
problem reflects the need to overcome fragmentation, relevance, and
the growth of knowledge.

17. • Students should have a range of curriculum experiences that reflects
both a discipline-field and an interdisciplinary orientation as discussed
earlier. students cannot fully benefit from interdisciplinary studies until
they acquire a solid grounding in the various disciplines that
interdisciplinarity attempts to bridge (Jacobs and Borland 1986).
• Interdisciplinarity in social medicine and sociology of health emerged as
an epistemological goal.
• To enhance critical thinking ability and metacognitive skills, and an
understanding of the relations among perspectives derived from
different disciplines.
• The challenges of the modern world require integrative problem solving
and, at a more comprehensive level, holistic thought and
transdisciplinary schema promote unity of knowledge.

19. Benefits Of Inter-disciplinary Curriculum
Improves higher order thinking skills
Gives the learner a more unified sense of process and content
Improves the learner’s mastery of content
Teaches the student to adopt multiple points of view on issues
Gives them ownership of their own studies
Improves their motivation to learn
Provide an opportunity for a more relevant, less fragmented and
stimulating experience for students.
Keeps teacher and learner updated.
-Ellis and Fouts (2001)

20. REFERENCE
• TNTEU Course material
• Understanding and disciplines and subject (book) by
 Dr.S. Suma
 J. Remi Hepsibha
 Dr. G. Periannan
• Research papers on education
• https://www.scribd.com/document/330080042/INTHEOPEN
• http://www.arj.no/2012/03/12/disciplinarities-2/
• https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a356/a7d8086b5d85e7804b7d25d4215
20562309d.pdf
• http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/61189156/chapters/The-
Growing-Need-for-Interdisciplinary-Curriculum-Content.aspx