Role of environmental interaction in interdisciplinary thinking: from knowledge resources perspectives

Figures & data

Table 1. Overview of the lesson design from pre-to post-outdoor learning trail.

BIG Question: Why does civilization begin at the mouth of a river?
Phase	Desired Learning Outcomes	Lesson Activities
Pre-trail (in class)	Students should be able to: Develop group pre-trail inquiry and/ or hypothesis relating to the BIG question. Draw connections to similar inquiries and hypotheses at the class level. Provide constructive feedback on inquiries and hypotheses presented by other groups.	List three famous rivers in the world, their common features and functionalities. Develop one group pre-trail inquiry/ hypothesis relating to the BIG Q on river and civilization in the web-based platform.
Trail (Singapore River - showing only the learning station Clarke Quay)	Structured Learning Activities in the Learning Trail Transfer skills and concepts acquired in the classroom to the outdoor learning environment in the undertaking of performative task types. Apply the integrated conceptual understanding of the three different subject areas in the knowledge generative and synthesis task types.	Performative tasks Measure the river water conditions Determine the location for ideal water conditions Knowledge generative & synthesis tasks Explain why location has ideal water conditions Discuss the importance of water quality
	Unstructured Learning Activities in the Learning TrailStudents pursue their own pre-trail inquiry leveraging on the physical affordances of the technological tools and the learning environment. They are free to move around in the vicinity of the river site.	Students in small groups pursue their own line of inquiry in this unstructured learning activity (30 min.), to investigate the pre-trail inquiry (i.e., the research questions they developed) and the hypothesis (each pair in the small group of four to five shares an iPad and data-logger).
Post-trail (in class)	Identify new ideas/concepts developed (during the unstructured learning activity) relating to the BIG question. Synthesize and evaluate findings (pre-trail inquiry and trail tasks) in response to the BIG question.	Class session where students share their collated findings and new concepts developed in response to the BIG question. Students attempt a rise above to the BIG question in the knowledge forum, identify new knowledge and concepts and advance their ideas at the class level.

Figure 1. Web-based platform provided all trail activities and customized Google map of trail site.

Figure 2. Students used GPS coordinates to locate the next learning station at the trail site.

Table 2. Coding categories of knowledge resource dimension (adapted from Fischer & Mandl, 2005).

	Content Dimension
Categories of Knowledge Resources	Descriptor and Sample Statements from Group Discourse
Contextual Resources (CR)	Statement and question statement that explicitly refer to the case information, i.e., pre-trail activities, the BIG Question, as well as the trail activities and situational resources arising from interaction with the trail site. e.g., “Are we supposed to go up with this curve…there’s a lot of commercial buildings.”
New Conceptual Resources (NCR)	Statement and question statement that refer to theoretical concept(s) of the three subjects (i.e., History, Geography & Biology) in the given learning materials.e.g., “Now the dissolved oxygen…do what… other than promote marine life?….”
Prior Knowledge Resources (PKR)	Statement and question statement that make explicit reference to theoretical concept (s) of the three subjects, not included in the given learning materials but from previous experiences. e.g., “Student Y: Why did the clean river campaign happen - before or later? Student T: You know the 1980s right? ”.
Relations between Contextual Resources & New Conceptual Resources (CR & NCR)	Statement and question statement that link theoretical concept(s) within the given learning materials to the contextual resources.e.g., “no the trading port wasn’t removed. It was replaced, it was replaced to make way for tourist attractions and others.”
Relations between Contextual Resources & Prior Knowledge Resources (CR & PKR)	Statement and question statement that link theoretical concept(s) not in the given learning materials, but from prior knowledge to the contextual resources.e.g., “This is the south of Singapore. There are a lot of awesome things happening at the same time also.”

Table 3. Coding categories for integration of interdisciplinary concepts.

Categories of Interdisciplinary Concepts	Descriptor and Sample Statements from Group Discourse
Concepts from a single subject	Statement and question statement that contain theoretical concept(s) from only one subject area (e.g., geography) where students make connection between the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.e.g., “Take a picture of the boat and all the food, etc., around here to show how busy the place is.”
Concepts from integration of two subjects	Statement and question statement that contain theoretical concept(s) from two subject areas (e.g., history and geography) where students make connection between historical events and physical geography of people and their living environments.e.g., “I know what…1960s, 1970s, Singapore was still a very new country … so they would rather spend that time building up residencies and industrial areas, businesses rather than focusing on arts and culture and entertainment.”
Concepts from integration of three subjects	Statement and question statement that contain theoretical concept(s) from three subject areas (e.g., history, geography and biology) where students connect historical events to the study of places (physical & human geography), as well as environmental biology on human activities in a particular area.e.g., “Clarke quay fell silent. So he decided to make it into a commercial residential and entertainment precinct. So they cleared the river because it was very polluted at that time”.

Figure 3. Frequency of knowledge resource types used in group discourse.

Note: CR = Contextual Resources, NCR = New Conceptual Resources, CR & NCR = Relations between Contextual Resources and New Conceptual Resources, PKR = Prior Knowledge Resources, CR & PKR = Relations between Contextual Resources & Prior Knowledge Resources.

Table

Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type
Student C	No. The trading port was not removed; it was just replaced.	CR
Student I	Oh, this is the inner bank.	CR
Student G	It was removed because they wanted to replace it.	CR
Student I	Now, it’s a tourist attraction.	CR

Table

Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type
Student T	…why it didn’t happen then, is because that the Singapore has plans for tourist attraction.	NCR
Student E	No, because he wanted it to be a flourishing commercial and entertainment.	CR
Student Y	See, it was all part of the plan to turn the river into more of commerce and trade center.	CR & NCR
Student E	but they wanted to ship the historical things here.	CR & NCR

Table

Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type
Student E	The google map. On the surrounding. The surrounding here has a lot of museums right? So it shows that it is a tourism area. So naturally naturally you have to clean it because tourists will come here.	PKR
Student T	That’s the thing. This is the south of Singapore. There are a lot of awesome things happening like at the same time also.	CR & PKR

Table

Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type
Student C	No, no, the trading port wasn’t removed. It was replaced … it was replaced to make way for tourist attractions and others.	CR & NCR
Student G	There’s more pollution around the sedimentation…this area because of the…	NCR
Student K	I thought there’s more pollution on the other side.	CR & NCR
Student G	There should be more here because there’s a lot of … boats.	CR & NCR
Student C	There are more tourists around here, so //the boat has to ferry more.

Table

Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type
Student EStudent G	Oh because Pasir Panjang had new modern facilities. So they decided to relocate the cargo services.Near my house, near the west.	PKR
Student TStudent EStudent T	Then what happened to the port here?And also, they renovate the place. So that … so that there will Better tenantbecause it’s a very modern thing.	PKR
Student E	Because at that time, there were a lot of street hawkers, so then, they decided to have people who are good at art … more expensive tenants. So they decided to conserve it and organize the place. Get it?	CR & PKR
Student Y	The basic is that they are trying to raise the price of the land?	CR & PKR

Figure 4. Frequency of interdisciplinary statements in group discourse.

Note: Geog = Geography, Bio = Biology, Hist = History, Single Subj = Single Subject.

Figure 5. Interdisciplinary thinking in the different types of knowledge resources.

Note: CR = Contextual Resources, NCR = New Conceptual Resources, CR & NCR = Relations between Contextual Resources and New Conceptual Resources, PKR = Prior Knowledge Resources, CR & PKR = Relations between Contextual Resources & Prior Knowledge Resources, Single Subj = Single Subject refers to History or Geography or Biology, Geog = Geography, Bio = Biology, Hist = History.

Table 4. Group B discusses possible reasons for the clean river campaign.

Segment No	Student	Statement	Knowledge Resource Type	Interdisciplinary Thinking
1	Student EStudent YStudent TStudent G	Singapore river, Singapore river.Do you see the place?Correct right, Gavin? Lower pHMore acidic.	CR	Geography & Biology
2	Student TStudent EStudent TStudent EStudent T	More acidic. Now dissolved oxygen. The dissolved oxygen…dissolved oxygen does what?Huh?Other than promote marine life.Dissolved oxygen…Yea.	NCR	Geography & Biology
3	Student EStudent EStudent G	Plants also?Wait, plants make dissolved oxygen.No, the aquatic plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.	NCR	Geography & Biology
4	Student EStudent T	I think when its aquatic and, aquatic life is there, //marine life is there, then you can.It will promote fishing all that. In the past times … say that…	NCR	History, Geography & Biology
5	Student EStudent TStudent GStudent TStudent YStudent T	I think it shows… it shows //how clean the howclean the country is.Is it illegal to fish here?It’s illegalIt’s illegal, right? Exactly. Then say last time…In the past?Yea in the past. Other than that, // do we need to do any river, river water testing here?	CR & NCR	History, Geography & Biology

Note: CR = Contextual Resources, NCR = New Conceptual Resources, CR & NCR = Relations between Contextual Resources and New Conceptual Resources, PKR = Prior Knowledge Resources, CR & PKR = Relations between Contextual Resources & Prior Knowledge Resources.

Fischer, F., & Mandl, H. (2005). Knowledge convergence in computer-supported collaborative learning: The role of external representation tools. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 14(3), 405–441.

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