Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Modern Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2024
DOI:
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The Power of Familiarity in Education
Dr. Claire-Gillian McIntosh
ABSTRACT:
Interdisciplinarity in education is becoming ever more prevalent in education systems across the globe. Combining subject specialisms can lead to a topic driven approach that supports in breaking down individual barriers to learning. The project-based classroom research in this study has identified the importance of both identity and memory in young people’s connections with education. Whilst addressing the importance of interdisciplinarity in education from a young person’s perspective, educators may limit their interaction with this type of approach as it deviates from their own subject specialisms in the classroom. What the study aims to address is the stigma around interdisciplinarity and more specifically, the importance of teaching from what is familiar, to make the unfamiliar more manageable. Utilising qualitative questionnaire’s completed by both educators and young people along with literary analysis of research in the field, identified ways in which familiarity is a powerful tool in embarking on the journey into unfamiliarity, change and a newer way of thinking. Questionnaire data identified that both educators and young people do not feel fully supported in the delivery and impact of interdisciplinary learning, with minimal resources available to deliver structured content connected with the Curriculum for Excellence framework in Scotland. Utilising familiarity in an unfamiliar way supports the delivery of interdisciplinary learning, allowing educators to harness what is familiar to them but in a new context.
keywords: Education, Identity, Interdisciplinarity, Memory, Theory