Living transdisciplinary curriculum: Teachers’ experiences with the ınternational baccalaureate’s primary years programme

Michael J Savage; Susan M Drake

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2016) IEJEE

Living transdisciplinary curriculum: Teachers’ experiences with the ınternational baccalaureate’s primary years programme

Michael J Savage
Susan M Drake

Published August 23, 2017 | Pages: 1-20 | Views: 1893

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Abstract

An integrated curriculum that is transdisciplinary in nature seems to be a good fit for 21st Century learning. There are, however, few examples of transdisciplinary curriculum at the K to 12 level. One exception is the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) which features transdisciplinary curriculum for students from ages 3 to 12 around the world. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of 24 PYP educators to deepen understanding of what such a curriculum looks like in practice. Three main themes were identified. The first, “It’s a framework” outlines participants’ understandings of transdisciplinary teaching and learning and the freedom a transdisciplinary framework can bring. The second theme, “Get on board”, examines participants’ thoughts around what is required to successfully implement a transdisciplinary curriculum. The final theme, “Their learning journey”, discusses participants’ beliefs around the success of a transdisciplinary curriculum. In general, participants appreciated the transdisciplinarity of the program. Concerns revolved around implementation issues. Suggestions on how to implement transdisciplinary teaching and learning in other contexts are provided.

<p>An integrated curriculum that is transdisciplinary in nature seems to be a good fit for 21st Century learning. There are, however, few examples of transdisciplinary curriculum at the K to 12 level. One exception is the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) which features transdisciplinary curriculum for students from ages 3 to 12 around the world. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of 24 PYP educators to deepen understanding of what such a curriculum looks like in practice. Three main themes were identified. The first, “It’s a framework” outlines participants’ understandings of transdisciplinary teaching and learning and the freedom a transdisciplinary framework can bring. The second theme, “Get on board”, examines participants’ thoughts around what is required to successfully implement a transdisciplinary curriculum. The final theme, “Their learning journey”, discusses participants’ beliefs around the success of a transdisciplinary curriculum. In general, participants appreciated the transdisciplinarity of the program. Concerns revolved around implementation issues. Suggestions on how to implement transdisciplinary teaching and learning in other contexts are provided.</p>

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Keywords

Transdisciplinary, integrated curriculum, interdisciplinary curriculum, International Baccalaureate (IB), elementary

Affiliations

Michael J Savage

Brock University, Canada

Susan M Drake

Brock University, Canada

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Savage, M. J., & Drake, S. M. (2017). Living transdisciplinary curriculum: Teachers’ experiences with the ınternational baccalaureate’s primary years programme. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(1), 1–20. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/142