INTERDISCIPLINARY
CONTEXTUALIZATION
JOY C. CHAVEZ
Master Teacher II
Outline of Discussion
• Introduction
• Exercise 1: Connecting Concepts
• STEM Interdisciplinary Strategies
• Interdisciplinary contextualization and 21st century education
CONTEXTUALIZATION
placing ideas, situation, events, or items in its larger
setting which is based on its true meaning
embedding the facts and theories in the cultural,
historical, ideological fabric and/or personal
experience
relating subject matter content to meaningful
situations that are relevant to students’ lives
CONTEXTUALIZATION
•Some Synonyms
• Indigenization
• Localization
• Making connections
• Finding relationships
• Making the message relate
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Localization
◦adapting the curriculum to local conditions and
relating the context of the curriculum and the
process of teaching and learning to the local
environment... (Taylor, 2004)
◦refers to the process of relating learning content
specified in the curriculum to local information
and materials in the learners’ community
(DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2015)
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Indigenization
◦a process of enhancing curriculum
competencies, education resources, and
teaching–learning processes in relation to
the context of the learners’ community
(DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2015)
The Interconnectedness of Human Knowledge
The Interconnectedness of Human Knowledge
Exercise 1
• Write down a science concept
and connect it with as many
related concepts as you can
• An incomplete example is
shown on the right
QUESTION:
Why do
Interdisciplinary
Contextualization
(in teaching and
learning)?
Interdisciplinary Strategies
Levels of Interconnectedness across Disciplines
Transdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary
Multidisciplinary
Crossdisciplinary
STEM Interdisciplinary Strategies
• Essentializing
Involves identifying core concepts that are central or
common to two or more disciplines.
• Example: the concept of linearity
STEM Interdisciplinary Strategies
• Contextualizing
• Connecting a particular discovery or theory to the history of ideas
of that time
• Relating the subject matter to meaningful and relevant situations
• Includes indigenization, localization, making connections, and finding
relationships across different areas of human knowledge
STEM Interdisciplinary Strategies
• Problem-centered
Involves enlisting the knowledge and modes of thinking in two
or more disciplines to address particular problems, develop
specific products, or propose a course of action
• Example: Pollution
Sample Concept: Evolution
What concepts or
topics in evolution
would it be possible to
apply?
• Essentializing?
• Contextualizing?
• Problem- Centering?
Sample Lesson: Evolution
• Essentializing
The concept of time-bound change in biological and
mathematical terms
• Contextualizing
Darwin’s voyage of discovery on board the HMS Beagle
Conflict between evolutionary theory and religious belief
• Problem-solving
Public perception of GMOs
Interdisciplinary Contextualization
and 21st Century Education Goals
21st Century Education Goals
21st Century Education Goals
Why interdisciplinary contextualizatio
• Math and science can draw upon the humanities for con
materials; can center their curricula on situations in the r
both historical and current
• Social sciences and humanities can apply mathematical a
concepts and methodologies to generate practical solutio
perspectives
Fashion, History, and Germ Theory
Why interdisciplinary contextualization?
• “Science, like other mythologies, attempts to retell its story in its own”
vocabularies: in numbers and formulas, in the documentation of pattern
and repetition in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology; these are
the links with which we write our scripts. But each discipline alone tells only
one fraction of the story; harnessed together they give rise to depth, and
tone, and color.” – Leonardo Frid
• “The nature of scientific discourse is no longer intelligible to the average”
person. We are talking about a world where a chemist and physicist no
longer speak the same language! What is happening to the scientific
community? How is it separating itself from the social discourse? Is that
unavoidable as a function of special expertise?”– Rob Kiely
Why interdisciplinary contextualization?
• “Inquiry-based learning starts by
posing questions, problems, or scenarios
rather than simply presenting established
facts or portraying a smooth path to
knowledge…”
• Real-world, relatable, and
relevant questions, problems, or
scenarios are often interdisciplinary and
contextualized
In teaching and learning, contextualization means…
• Incorporating or assimilating contextualized situations across the
curriculum
• Climate Change, Pollution, Overpopulation
• Connecting and linking concepts and skills within learning areas
(Science or Math) and across learning areas (Science, Math, and
other subjects)
• Constructing motion graphs from small stories
• Connecting and reinforcing topics that are supposedly separate and
unrelated
• (see previous examples)
Matching the 7E Inquiry Model to the DLL Procedure
7E DLLProcedures
ElicitandEngage A.Reviewingpreviouslessonorpresentingnewlesson
B.Establishingapurposeforthelesson
Explore C.Presentingexamples/instancesofthenewlesson
D.Discussingnewconceptsandpracticingnewskills#1
E.Discussingnewconceptsandpracticingnewskills#2
ExplainandElaborate
F.Developingmastery
G.Findingpracticalapplicationsofconceptsandskillsindailyliving
H.Makinggeneralizationsandabstractionsaboutthelesson
Evaluate I.Evaluatinglearning
Extend J.Additionalactivitiesforapplicationorremediation
