1

Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

Interdisciplinary Studies

Samantha Mattfield

Regent University

In Partial Fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience E-Portfolio, Spring 2020

 2
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
Introduction

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach

will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not

stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” (James 3:1-2,

ESV)

This profession I have chosen is not one without challenges. As a teacher, I know I will

face hardships along the way and may be criticized for my actions. However, the most I can is

stay the course and strive to the best of my ability to be the most effective teacher for the

students. An important method of teaching students is to connect multiple subjects in order to

reinforce learning. This is referred to as interdisciplinary studies and is extremely effective for

children. The article Development of an Interdisciplinary Program in an Elementary Setting: A

Case Study of Integrating Curriculum Topics with the Arts by DeRosa talks about the importance

of interdisciplinary studies and how it impacts children and their learning. DeRosa writes, “The

interdisciplinary approach supports different learning styles, and types because integrative

activities help to present information in multiple contexts.” (DeRosa, 1998, pg. 18) This is just

one of the many reasons why educators should use this approach when teaching students. Not

only does it help students with different learning styles, it reinforces the content children are

learning by exposing them to the subject again and again.

Rationale

The first artifact I chose for interdisciplinary studies is a lesson plan I developed while I

was in my second Practicum. I selected this artifact because it was a perfect example of

combining two different subject matters into one lesson. In this activity, the students read

different paragraphs about fossils and rocks. After they did that, they circled the main idea and
 3
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
wrote it down in the appropriate box. This was done with the teacher and was a wonderful

example of combining science and comprehension of non-fictional texts. Looking back on this

lesson, I realize teachers do not implement interdisciplinary studies often in their classroom.

During my student teaching, I have not seen a single subject combined with another for a lesson.

That is a real shame because this tactic is a great way to reinforce learning. A certain study at

Farr Elementary called “Interdisciplinary Curriculum Mapping with Big Ideas: It's Elementary!”

by Mosier and Wagner discusses the importance of using interdisciplinary studies when

teaching. They explain, “The K-5 curriculum mapping project at Farr Elementary is our way of

putting into action what we know works-an interdisciplinary approach to teaching content. This,

coupled with strong leadership, quality resources, access to technology, and teacher involvement

has proven to be a model process for our work.” (Mosier & Wagner, 2006, pg. 4)

The second artifact I chose is an example of the sheet I had the students work on with me

for the lesson mentioned earlier. This was a great activity because the students had to find the

main idea in each of the paragraphs on rocks and fossils. Then after reading all of them, they had

to summarize the paragraphs and find the main idea that applied to all of them. I really liked this

activity because it was such an interesting way to connect science and comprehensive reading. I

think that the lesson and activity went well and it is certainly something I would like to try with

students again because I believe combining subjects like I did into one lesson is a great way to

ensure students understand what is being taught and allows for more interesting subjects to be

explored.

Reflection

After looking over these artifacts, I understand better now why teachers need to use

interdisciplinary studies. I think it is foolish to think we can keep subjects separated from each
 4
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
other. The world does not work like that so why should school? Many teachers have realized that

and understand that many subjects can be combined into lessons that teach multiple contents at

once. Nugent in A Qualitative Case Study on Elementary Educators' Experiences with

Interdisciplinary Instructional Strategies states, “Educators tend to use visual, verbal, and

literary strategies when delivering interdisciplinary instruction and the most common secondary

subjects of science, social studies, art, and technology can be easily integrated with core subject

areas.” (Nugent, 2018, pg. 113) While I still have a lot to learn, I think these two artifacts are a

good example of my demonstration of interdisciplinary studies and how they can be used in the

classroom. I will certainly look for ways to integrate more subjects together to instill a love of

learning in my students and to better ensure that they understand all the subjects. It may not be

easy, and it may take some practice, but it is most definitely a skill I want to keep working on as

I think it will benefit my future students in the long run. Children learn in unique and different

ways and I believe it is imperative as educators to understand all the different methods of

teaching out there so that we may do our jobs better. This is something every teacher should

realize, and I cannot wait to see how I will use interdisciplinary studies in the classroom as I

continue to study the method more and implement it with my future students.
 5
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
References

DeRosa, L. J. (1998). Development of an interdisciplinary program in an elementary setting: A

case study of integrating curriculum topics with the arts (Order No. 9841863). Available

from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304429541). Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/304429541?accountid=13479

Mosier, L., & Wagner, K. (2006). Interdisciplinary curriculum mapping with big ideas: It's

elementary! Social Studies Review, 45(2), 7-11. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/199560808?accountid=13479

Nugent, A. (2018). A qualitative case study on elementary educators' experiences with

interdisciplinary instructional strategies (Order No. 10746607). Available from ProQuest

Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2021198479). Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/2021198479?accountid=13479