Practical research on constructing a framework for interdisciplinary lessons through collaboration between teachers

Cross-curricular education is gaining traction in Japan and beyond as it supports the development of a well-rounded education. It involves integrating multiple subjects in a way that encourages students to forge links between different disciplines. Teacher training, however, doesn't tend to include how to incorporate cross-curricular classes or the communication process needed for the development of these types of classes. Dr Takuya Nihashi, Faculty of Liberal Arts at Osaka Shoin Women’s University, is conducting interconnected research studies with the goal of addressing this. He wants to improve teacher training so that teachers are able to develop cross-curricular classes. Communication between teachers with different specialities is a key part of creating cross-curricular learning. Therefore, Nihashi explored the process of planning interdisciplinary lessons through collaboration between teachers. He interviewed teachers interested in cross-curricular classes and with awareness of the challenges to understand how teachers create their lesson plans, with emphasis on the discussions that occur between teachers. Nihashi analysed these interviews using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA), which identified four key themes in the planning process: 'this person can do it', which rates to how teachers decide who to collaborate with; 'this can work as a lesson', which concerns how teachers explore the connections between subjects; 'belief in a good lesson', which relates to teachers' motivation to create a good lesson; and 'lesson planning discussions', relating to the practical conversations involved in bringing lesson plans to life.