Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Strategy for teaching in the first cycle of basic education in Colombia

Abstract

Introduction. School interdisciplinarity allows the student to acquire skills to function in real life, making interdisciplinarity important to use in the classroom. Purpose. To implement and evaluate the impact of the Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Strategy (IPS) on the first-year students’ academic performance, particularly on mathematics, social studies, and natural sciences standardized tests. Method. A mixed research methodology was implemented: a quasi-experimental quantitative method with a control group and only post-test in the case of the students, and a qualitative approach for the homeroom teachers. The IPS was built considering two branches: in the morning, the contents were taught in an integrated way by transdisciplinary units, and after a break in three disciplines: mathematics, Spanish, and La Salle Lecture (Cátedra Lasallista in a Christian school). A sample of 219 students and 6 teachers from The Institución Educativa Municipal San Juan Bautista De La Salle took part in the research. Results. Significant differences between the control and the experimental groups’ performance were found. Conclusions. To summarize, the students in the control group improved their academic performance on the standardized test used as an evaluation tool in the mentioned areas, as homeroom teachers noted; this shows that the IPS is useful in the teaching-learning process.