"Middle Level Teachers’ Perceptions of Interdisciplinary Teaching" by Susan R. Parker
 

Graduate Research Papers

Availability

Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Abstract

This study explored the perceptions of Iowa middle school teachers who were members of interdisciplinary teaching teams regarding interdisciplinary teaching and the materials used. Twenty-four teachers at five different middle level schools in four different school districts were interviewed. They were asked about their current practices with interdisciplinary teaching, which were found to vary widely, but with most teams writing their own materials for interdisciplinary use. They were also asked about factors which facilitated their use of interdisciplinary teaching, barriers to their use of interdisciplinary teaching, and benefits they associated with interdisciplinary teaching. Time was the most often mentioned facilitating factor and barrier, especially time to plan with their interdisciplinary team. The interviewees were also asked about the support they received in their schools to practice interdisciplinary teaching. The findings suggest that while interdisciplinary teaching in middle level schools is generally supported when teachers express the desire to try it, the overall organizational structure and scheduling of middle schools may need to be changed for interdisciplinary teaching to work on a more consistent basis.

Year of Submission

2002

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Science Education Program

Comments

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Date Original

2002

Object Description

1 PDF (i, 61 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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