CROSS-DISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM DIALOGUE: BLENDED LEARNING IN EVIDENCE-BASED SECONDARY PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

This presentation reflects on a pedagogical innovation implemented in a Master of Teaching and Learning programme for pre-service secondary education (2016). Collaboration and thinking about cross-disciplinary approaches to pedagogy was activated in an Evidence-Based Inquiry paper. Teacher and researcher motivations and methodology were shaped by a critical pedagogy stance. This involved making visible ways pre-service teachers identify and articulate curriculum discourses, contexts, and disciplinary insights. Participants researched articles about classroom-based pedagogy in relation to their disciplinary/curriculum specialisms (English, mathematics, social sciences, technology, languages, physics, biology). Each participant presented a face-to-face seminar about a selected article’s curriculum purpose, evidence-based findings, and author motivations. This involved practical and interactive applications. As a follow-up to his/her seminar, each presenter generated questions to lead an online discussion with their peers, and to synthesise their discussion’s ideas. I propose collaborative approaches to cross-disciplinary pedagogies present opportunities in teacher education for rethinking curriculum purpose and engagement.