Interdisciplinary Skills for Today's Jobs: A Workshop Activity

Summary
Today's jobs are increasingly interdisciplinary. A recent workshop activity emphasizes the kind of skills that a modern curriculum should address, in order to prepare students for their future.

 Tim Gauntley, 2012 

Crescent School Presentation
Recently, I had the honour of presenting a workshop to the Conference of Independent Schools Librarians Network (Greater Toronto Area) at Crescent School in Toronto. In preparing for the session, I had identified topics on which I speak (as reflected in this blog); the convening committee then chose a few to blend for the morning. For the record, my current workshops address such topics as:

1. library advocacy/leadership
2. challenges in school librarianship
3. excellence in curriculum design
4. the learning commons: ancient and modern
5. effective technology for learning and teaching
6. guided inquiry across the curriculum
7. interdisciplinary studies and habits of mind
8. poetry across the curriculum
9. the tao of school librarianship

Interdsicplinarity
This blog has previously discussed No. 7 interdisciplinary habits of mind. At Crescent School, I asked the participants to consider these habits as skills necessary to prepare students for future jobs, jobs that are often described in employment classifieds and job descriptions as interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary.

The slide above was one of our activities which you might like to try with your staff or students. You can do each of the steps individually or with a partner or group.

1. Identify what each of the coloured icons suggests as a skill for life or the workplace. For instance, the first icon might represent the ability to ask questions, seek new solutions, or reflect on the causes or effects of a situation or event.
2. Choose an occupation that interests you from the list at the left and briefly describe what kinds of activities that occupation entails.
3. Match the skills from the right with the occupations on the left and explain the reasons for your matching.

Findings
Key words like collaboration, questioning, vision, communication, creativity, and connection may arise from this exercise. This is the easy part.

However, the real test is subsequently to challenge your group or class to find examples from their teaching and learning which are developing these skills. The group gathered at Crescent School were an exemplary team of interdisciplinary seekers and doers, eager to analyze their practice. Teacher-librarians, in particular, have a singular opportunity to connect disparate curriculum themes, topics, and approaches in the partnering work they do with all teachers and disciplines.

It will be interesting to see if the Independent Schools Librarians Network can harness the power of social networking and integrated curriculum to offer exemplary interdisciplinary leadership to their schools.

Note: This slide is adapted from my work in Making Connections: A Guide to Interdisciplinary Studies, Toronto District School Board, 2007 which is available by emailing curriculumdocs@tdsb.on.ca.

This bi-weekly blog appears usually on a Monday. 

All content is for free and public use. As the author, Tim Gauntley retains full intellectual property rights to the content. 

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