From Where Two or More are Gathered: Understanding an Interdisciplinary Team

Abstract

This study explores the types of professional learning teachers report when participating in an interdisciplinary team at the high school level. Most research on interdisciplinary teaming focuses on the middle school level, and it is unclear whether the benefits of teaming can be realized at the high school level. Analyzing teachers' reported experiences within this particular approach to collaboration is especially interesting because collaboration among teachers is often described as though it was a "natural" and "easy" thing to achieve, when in reality, rich and authentic collaboration can be quite difficult to foster. High-quality collaboration and teamwork are essential in all areas of life (e.g., schools, businesses, families) if outcomes are to be optimized. Focusing on interdisciplinary teaming at the high school level is of particular interest because much of the research pertains to teaming at the middle school level, and yet, high schools seem to be ideal contexts for facilitating teaming because often times students struggle with attendance, academics and dropping out during the first two years of high school and teaming offers a proactive approach to address these issues (Teaming, 2013). For this reason, the author uses social learning theory to analyze the professional learning of a newly created team of high school teachers.