The Problem with IDUs

Good teachers know that good teaching is inter-disciplinary. They know that in the world outside of school, people to not act in silos and they know that the most memorable curriculum is relatable, grounded in authentic experiences and applications, and therefor is also interdisciplinary. So why do schools struggle with interdisciplinary units?

The main hurdles I see are:

1. Timing.
   1. It's hard to find collaborating time with colleagues from other departments
   2. Teachers worry IDUs will eat into the time they have to teach their units / assess their subject's strands twice in a year
   3. The timetable often has students split in all different directions, so it can be hard to find teachers who teach the same students, (for example, students might rotate through the arts, be split for languages, choose two out of three sciences etc) 
2. Teacher Fear
   1. Teachers are sometimes afraid to share their practice with other teachers, particularly teachers of other subjects
   2. Teachers fear they do not know enough about the other subject they might partner with
   3. Teachers are nervous to do an interdisciplinary units, as they are masters of their own subject, and have never taught a formal IDU before
   4. Teachers are afraid their IDU ideas are no good!

Hopefully this blog post will give you some ideas to take away these struggles.
Here are some top tips:

1. Ask for collaborative planning time dedicated for the development of interdisciplinary units
2. You can run the IDU in a variety of ways, for example, you could do team teaching and run the unit 100% together, or you could teach in your normal classes, with your normal time table, both your normal subjects, then towards the end of the unit, do a combined IDU
3. Off time-table IDUs! Do an IDU which runs over a few days! You could even have the whole school doing this, or have students choosing which IDU they do, (including students from different grade levels). You could even have a common theme between all IDUs, anything from the UN's Global Goals for Sustainable Development, through to a shared Key Concept!
4.  Utilise the Art subject split - for example, if you are doing an IDU with Individuals and Society, and Art, have students choose their art side based on their current rotation - for example, 1/3rd could be approaching to the IDU through visual arts, another 1/3 through music and another 1/3 through drama!
5. Do an IDU with different languages and language levels- for example, an IDU with Design and Language Acquisition, where students are working on different languages, and at different phases. 
6.  Look at each of your current units - you should be able to see easy interdisciplinary links. 
7. Make sure you statement of inquiries are strong! These should be broad statements, using your concepts, and not linked to any particular subject. You should be able to look at the statement of inquiry and see how it could be addressed in any subject. Ideally you should be able to look at the statement of inquiry, and not guess what subject is using it too. ​This statement is a transferable idea supported by factual content (Should be written in the present tense and contain at least two concepts).
8. Look at your selected Key Concepts. How could these be explored in other subjects?
9. Flash Forward Podcast - Every time I listen to an episode of this my mind is full of ideas for interdisciplinary units! It covers science, history, ethics, design, society technology, religion, culture...so much! Basically it is imagining a future where X happens. It could be anything from bio-tattoos, to a world plastic ban, to wars over water shortages! Most episodes start with a little cheesy dramatisation, but then they have interesting interviews with academics and all sorts .I love these episodes as they really make me think! Sometimes the titles/descriptions sound dry/boring, but every episode I have listened to is so thought-provoking.

Some examples of IDUs I have been involved with:

1. Math and Design - A robotics unit where we looked at the importance of accuracy in our code, and then students wrote an essay, containing their code too, about accuracy and robotics, and the benefits or problems robotics might cause to society in the future. Students also looked at the implications of human error/manipulation to lead to robots causing us big problems! This was in a small school, with one teacher per subject, so we had a lot of classes together!
2. Individuals and Societies and Design -  American civil rights 50 years ago and now. This was the year before the next chapter, when design was still 'Technology'.  Here we looked largely at how technology had changed how was take part in the political process, with a large focus on social media and protest. in I & S they mostly explored civil rights 50 years ago, and in Design we looked at civil rights now. We talked about slactivism, online petitions, police body cams, lie ins V die ins and more. We also had students debate if technology has made us more or less involved with the political protest. Students made a website sharing their thoughts, as well as protest banners. This was in a small school with one teacher per subject, but we didn't teach together - we just collaborated together and had the shared summative assessment.
3. All subjects (I & S and ?). Human migration. In my last school we piloted a human migration IDU. One day students would rotate through the different subjects, and have a short master class. I worked with the math teacher and we created a digital break out (escape room) telling the story of human migration, through a Google Form, where they could not progress to the next page without getting a cryptic, mathematical question write. Other activities included looking at non-translatable words (lang and lit), using physicality to show the human journey (theatre), book art to show the human migration (visual art), creating board games (design) and more. For the second day, students chose a subject they wanted to work with. They spent the day creating pieces, and in the afternoon, we had 'The Museum of Human Migration') with all their products, as well as performances, in our auditorium.
4. Music and Design - Emotions! In design we look at how and why designer use stock footage. We also explore how companies use emotions for branding, and we focus on  Coca Cola using happiness. Students then create a video using only stock footage to show one emotion. In music they compose an accompanying  soundtrack. (Read about unit here) We staggered how we did this unit, with design going first, so that when music started they already had they silent videos!
5. I & S, Theatre and Language and Literature (including mother tongue) - Civil and Human Rights. This was an off-time table three day IDU. Day one we took students to the civil and human rights centre. Day two they rotated through different workshops. Int he afternoon of day two and day three they created their performance and then third day afternoon they performed! We were inspired by Pecha Kuchas, so students had to create a slideshow to perform in front of. They had ten slides, each showing for 15 seconds. Read the unit over view here. Day one here, day two here and day three here (including student performances and assessment)
6. Language & Literature and Design  - Human impact on the environment. Students look at different ways humans impact the environment negatively. They debated the difference between propaganda and persuasion, then discussed creatives roles in promoting global issues. A lot of front loading happened in design, so Language and Literature only had to spend a few weeks on their part of the unit. In design we made a model to raise awareness of human impact on the environment. In their language classes they wrote accompanying Op Ed pieces. We exhibited their work in the library. Read more about it here.
7. Math and Design - Geometry. We did a unit about how using 3D modelling can help students show their understanding of geometry. Students used a lot of minecraft for this! We also debated the accuracy of models, and if the images on the screen were really 3D or not! Students made videos to share their understanding.
8. Design, Individual and Society and Language and Literature - Gothic London! We did a great unit all about the gothic in London! This included a walking tour of Highgate Cemetery! Students made gothic apps, which included interactive maps of London, a stop motion animation, a gothic choose your own adventure story and more! This was a heavy unit with a lot of content, but so much fun! This was done with Grade 6s!

Lastly...to give you some inspiration... I've put togethera spreadsheet with ideas for every subject combination (two subjects only). This will be an amazing spreadsheet if more people comment and share ideas! The more I add the better it will be. Also you might look at some of the ideas and think they are awful and that some are good - and that is totally fine.Link here.