Interdisciplinary teaching and learning teams are the basic building blocks of effective learning communities. This training positions interdisciplinary teams of teachers to provide continuity of instruction across grade levels and classrooms for increased student achievement.

As participants draft an interdisciplinary unit, they agree on the most important interdisciplinary concepts for students to master and match them to key standards in each discipline. They also develop essential questions, design authentic assessments, and plan engaging activities.

In programs that are both rigorous and coherent, teacher teams help students succeed by building explicit connections among SLC classes and between students’ learning and experience. Teams clarify the standards-based proficiencies they want students to develop and organize thematic instruction around helping students meet them.

Participant teams work together to draft an interdisciplinary unit following these steps:

• Define key student proficiencies (what graduates will know and be able to do by the end of their studies) that fit with student needs, school mission and vision, and themes
• Define learning goals for the unit
• Choose an interdisciplinary topic that supports development of student proficiencies and is meaningful in each discipline
• Examine methods of formative and summative assessment and determine adequate evidence of learning
• Plan learning experiences in each subject
• Explore different methods of collaborating on instruction that work with varied schedules and groupings
• Get feedback from peers on improving the unit
• Develop an action plan for implementation

Outcomes:

• Draft interdisciplinary unit
• Action plan to teach the unit in their classrooms

Contact

Katie Luers @ 800.547.6339, ext 689 or use the contact link below to submit a request electronically.