Worms and Sharks and Bears . . . Oh My!

Educational leaders today agree that the old model of the individual teacher, lecturing to their students from the front of the class, and isolating his or her teaching to a single subject, i.e. history, math, science, etc., is long outmoded. Instead, in an ideal situation, teachers from different subjects are encouraged to collaborate across disciplines with common themes, and learning in one subject is reinforced in another. This concept, known as interdisciplinary learning, can be as simple as English and history teachers in the same grade agreeing to tying literary texts in one with the historical narrative in another, or it can even be more daring - asking math students to write in a journal explaining their thinking as they solve various problems.

Unfortunately, in an educational environment that demands more and more statistical accountability through testing and the achievement of strict benchmarking standards, there is little time for interdisciplinary learning, let alone collaboration between teachers and disciplines. Outside of the elementary school teacher who, as the sole instructor in the classroom, has the freedom to illustrate for students the connections that are possible, our system of education demands specialization, and thus isolation from supportive learning and interaction. When the sole object of learning is, out of necessity, achieving high marks on an end of the year exam, there is little room for collaboration, creativity, or increased comprehension.

Fortunately, there are schools that allow themselves to step outside of this literal "box", and attempt to forge these vital links between seemingly disparate subjects. At Global School, our budding 5th and 6th grade scientists in Mrs. Jordan's class recently discovered just how much they can benefit from interdisciplinary learning.

Our story begins with the group learning how to classify the various species of animals. To illustrate the concept more clearly, and to add a little spice - if not sugar - to the process, Mrs. Jordan used gummy critters in place of real creatures. Somehow, it's easier to handle gummy worms, butterflies, sharks and bears - after all, one can always eat them if they get out of hand. To make the students think even harder, Mrs. Jordan introduced a multi-colored carrot, asking them to think of possible common denominators and characteristics between the various Kingdoms. Regardless of their subject's behavior and/or flavor, the students were still having some difficulty visualizing and understanding the principles of classification.

Enter our technology instructor, Mrs. Parikh. Because we actively cultivate a collaborative environment between teachers and grades, thereby reinforcing our commitment to not teach subjects in isolation, Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Parikh put their heads together and considered ways to increase their students' understanding. The end result was that in their next technology class, the students were asked to write their projects in paragraph form and graph them. As part of the process, they also learned how to insert a table into a document, enter information into Microsoft Excel, and convert the information into a bar graph.

In taking a rather complex topic like classification, and approaching the subject from different angles and successfully integrating the application of technology into the learning process, the teachers placed the students' understanding first, and their own territorial interests second. Better yet, the vital principles of teamwork and collaboration were illustrated first hand for all involved.

However, despite the learning of all of these vital lessons, there is a high price to pay for such interdisciplinary work. It seems that other than the bars and charts posted in their classroom, there is virtually no evidence left of the original gummy animals - and not a single witness has come forward. It is a mystery still haunting Global School to this day . . .

Goodbye Mexico, Hello Brazil!

One of the more important aspects of the Global School of Silicon Valley, is its emphasis on infusing a global perspective across the entire curriculum. Never has this interdisciplinary focus been more on display than this past week.

As all of us can remember from our own school days, physical education classes were probably not among our favorites. Whether it be the teacher who simply threw us a couple of balls and said, "go play", or the type of teacher that really believed in teaching lifelong skills; running, jumping, or throwing sometimes seemed a chore, and not often a welcome one at that.

Recognizing that students today may have the same lack of enthusiasm for actually exercising, and also wanting to help fulfill the school's mission of teaching from a global perspective, new GSSV PE teacher, Ben Maxwell has devised a unique and engaging assignment for his students. Designed to make exercise fun, while at the same time focusing their energies elsewhere other than on their actual physical efforts, GSSV students are literally racing around the world . . .

In a nutshell, "Racing Around The World" is a year-long experience, asking students to complete a set number of laps around an improvised track at the school. With each lap the equivalent of 100 miles, students compete by grade level to accumulate miles. Coach Ben has segmented the world into roughly 100 mile increments, with stops and goals for various countries around the world.

For their first stop, students accumulated thirty-two segments for a run to Cancun, Mexico. Originally planned as an exercise that might take several weeks, the students instead completed the entire first segment their first time out. In fact, the enthusiasm among the students was so high, that all grades are already on their way to the next stop: Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It is impossible for me to convey the high levels of enthusiasm and energy the students have for the project. Because the wall charts - beautifully designed by our Art teacher, Jennifer Dickson-Child - marking their progress are outside my office, I can see the joy in their somewhat tired and sweaty faces as they cannot wait to complete their run and observe their progress noted for all to see. Many of them are already mapping out their next steps and pinpointing the countries they hope to visit in the coming weeks.

By combining the need for students to exercise with a new geography lesson each week, Coach Ben has shown that both endeavors can be challenging and fun at the same time. With official Passports stamped after each country's visit, and samples of local foods promised following each segment's completion, experiencing other lands and cultures is also a highlight. Students are so excited about the project that they want to run every day, and the wall charts outside my office are a constant source of study and enjoyment for students, parents, and faculty.

Experts say that learning is often hard work. At Global School, our students are always working hard. Who knew that with a just a little more sweat, discovering the world could be so much fun as well?