TRANSDISCIPLINARITY: SCIENCE AND DRAMA EDUCATION DEVELOPING TEACHERS FOR THE FUTURE 

Jo Raphael and Peta J. White

Abstract

The following chapter describes what can happen when teacher educators collaborate: a drama pedagogue and a science/sustainability educator. Working together to combine science and drama produced a learning experience for their students that enabled them to experience the ethical dimensions of controversial issues while also learning the science embedded in them. This is considered a transdisciplinary practice as the learning resulted from the combination of both science and drama to produce a space for learning beyond either and both disciplines. Jo and Peta, colleagues and teacher educators applied self-study methodology to explore their practice and resulting student learnings. These teaching and learning practices, by transcending disciplinary boundaries, engaged students and enabled learning and insights difficult to achieve through monodisciplinary approaches. The process can be characterised by the metaphor of symbiosis (commensalism or mutualism). These transdisciplinary pedagogies that embed science understandings through drama strategies are advantageous for pre-service teachers. When these future teachers can experience these practices in a setting where collaboration is modelled and valued, they report a positive influence on their future practices.

Key Words

Science education, Drama education, Interdisciplinarity, The future of work, Sustainability