Standard 1.6

The interdisciplinary-based curriculum includes a focus on real world applications.

At St. Louis School, students in PK through 8th grade frequently make interdisciplinary connections through learning experiences. Students practice problem-solving and critical thinking across curricular disciplines, to reflect situations found in the world outside of school.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is currently redesigning much of its mandated curriculum in order to better meet the needs of 21st century learners. Teachers at SLS build upon this curriculum in order to promote interdisciplinary learning. In addition to meeting curriculum standards, St. Louis teachers also provide opportunities for their students to develop skills in the 4 C’s. Students are encouraged to practice creativity and divergent thinking when presented with open-ended prompts and questions, and to practice critical thinking when they reflect on their work. They demonstrate collaboration and communication as they work with peers to come up with solutions. Teachers are also encouraged to collaborate with other content area teachers so that they can provide well-integrated and relevant instruction. To aid in collaboration, teachers are mandated to update online curriculum maps using Rubicon Atlas.

Teachers could further benefit from an easily accessible planning resource that would enable them to quickly see what concepts their students are learning in other classes, so that they can determine if there are any possibilities for meaningful integration.

Critical Thinking and Collaboration

Interview with WMAR-2 News Baltimore

Specifically from 3:10 to 4:45 for commentary regarding interdisciplinary teaching and encouraging students' creativity and critical thinking.