With the onset of the recent pandemic, it's often pointed out that students suffered from isolation,
lack of social interaction with their peers. For many teachers, however,
this has been the norm for most of their career. Picture in your mind entering a schooling building
as an educator. You walk to your room, you open your door for your students. Within those four
walls of your classroom, you immerse yourself in their learning. You watch them and you guide them
as they collaborate and interact with their peers over activities that you created that cover your
designated curriculum. When the students leave, you head back to your office to plan the next
activities. You might, if you share an office, have a bit of social contact with your peers,
but for many educators the lessons shared with their students are created in isolation
apart from their peers with little or no connection between disciplines. Teaching tends to
be isolating unless a concerted effort is made by the educator to reach out and interact. Sometimes
it can be isolation that is self-inflicted, but it's still isolation. Educators are often alone
in an educational landscape much like an island in a vast ocean. There are many causes behind
the oceans that isolate. It can be an "I do it best" attitude, an unwillingness to collaborate,
time constraints, or failure to understand ways that interdisciplinary lessons can be created.
But why should educators change this mindset? Why reach out and consider collaboration? As
an AP Environmental teacher, I often think about biodiversity. Scientists know that the strength
or health of an ecosystem is this diversity: the variety of species present and the interactions
between them are woven together, each often unique and different from the other, and when combined
together they ensure the overall health of an ecosystem. That same process can be applied to
educators creating lessons. The more unique voices an educator is able to weave into the lesson, the
more diverse and complex the lesson will become, and the more students will benefit. Where will an
educator get these threads? By reaching out to other educators as allies to create activities.
Well all this is good in theory, but how does an educator choose a partner to work with?
Here's where we can apply another science term: mutualism. This is when organisms work together
for the benefit of both. I started to think about this because one of my students, Matt, at the
beginning of the year when students were allowed to choose their lab partner, Matt quickly sat down
next to his friend. This friend just happened to be the valedictorian of our senior class.
Matt put everything in perspective about choosing a partner when he looked up at me and said "Who's
the smart one now?" Matt really had the right idea about choosing a partner. How do you find this
person? Listen to your students. Ask what they are doing in other classes. You will find connections
to what you're doing in your classroom. Then, be brave and ask someone to collaborate. So put your
ego aside and open up to the fact that you need someone who will challenge you, make you better.
That means, yes, your partner may be smarter than you in some areas. That's awesome! Next,
find a commonality within your subject area. Focus on mutualism. Both of you will benefit in
the relationship with the creation of an amazing lesson. Then think of the phrase "you complete
me." Find someone who has skills you might not have. Like maybe they're really good at bringing
humor into lessons. Maybe they're really good at thinking outside the box. You need someone who
is enthusiastic about their subject area while honest and forthright in their criticism. These
very characteristics are found in people you will work best with. While you may be uncomfortable at
times, they will challenge you and push you to a higher level. This thought process was put
into action when I had the privilege of meeting a fellow TED Educator Jen Hesseltine. As we chatted,
we discovered commonalities about our views in education and how to reach students. Her
subject social studies, mine science. We found a shared passion for breaking down barriers
and together created Global Speed Chat, an online platform for students to share work
from across the world. How did this happen? We brainstormed ideas, we talked endlessly,
and filled each other's voids. Jen is a computer wizard and i'm an idea person. It works. Likewise,
after spotting a gigantic plywood circle being used as a vinyl record prop in the school musical,
an idea germinated to create a giant protractor. Why a giant protractor? To model the angle of sun,
of course! Who better to do that than the planetarium director / stage crew advisor
of our building? The end product was an experience that was unique, interesting
and hands-on and hilarious. Why? He brought his knowledge of astronomy, his creativity,
knowledge about spotlights, a different perspective of how to reach students,
and silliness. We had a lot of fun. What did I bring? Enthusiasm for a gigantic classroom prop,
content knowledge of what was needed to be covered in the curriculum,
and perseverance. I had a driving need to have access to a giant protractor and a fun
lab for my students. The end product was far better than I could have ever created myself.
Using the same thought process, I teamed up with our school's technology integrator.
The partnership created a blackout poetry lesson, now a favorite lesson that my students enjoy. Yes,
blackout poetry in a science classroom. The technology integrator, who was once my former
student Caitlyn, now continues to challenge me to think outside of the typical everyday
of my environmental science classroom to come up with lessons that combine different content
areas. This could not have been accomplished by myself in the classroom all alone. The strength
of a rope is bolstered by the amount of its strands. This thought process can be applied to
a lesson creation in the classroom. A lesson put together by a group of individuals with diverse
academic backgrounds will be much more creative and complex than a lesson created in isolation.
I'm asking for educators not to be afraid to challenge themselves. Can you really combine
English and Science, Global Studies and Math, Music and a second language? Yes! Every educator
that participates sees things from their own perspective. Each educator has their own strengths
and weaknesses, but each strand added is unique to itself and together they create a stronger whole,
and the end result is a lesson that will reach more students, offer more creativity and cover
more topics. So reach out to your peers, diversify your curriculum by adding interdisciplinary
lessons, and close those gaps that exist between disciplines within your school walls.
Much like in nature, when diversity is maintained in the ecosystem, the ecosystem
will be more balanced and resilient. The same will happen with your interdisciplinary lessons
you create. The change will be felt by you, your peers, and most importantly, your students.