Three minds are better than one : collaborative teaching in an interdisciplinary science course

Abstract

"A recent article published by the Royal Society of Canada states that "solving many of the world’s complex and pressing problems demands thinking and working across long-standing, but in some ways restrictive, academic boundaries" (Cooke et al., 2020). Nodoubt educators need to model an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, but there is no denying the difficulty of designing such courses that work over the long term. Imagine, then, when the minds of three science teachers join forces to create an interdisciplinary course. The results are striking, not only because they present a model that has proven itself over the years—and that respects both teacher autonomy and the spirit of collaborative teaching—but also because they highlight the challenges of such a pedagogical venture. In this article, a brief review of the liter ature on collaborative teaching is followed by an account of the context for the development of an interdisciplinary science course and its role within the Criminology option of the Social Sciences pro gram at Champlain Saint Lambert College. A review of student comments and recommendations to support the implementation of such a course completes this account of a lasting collaborative experience."-- AQPC