Becoming animated when teaching physics, crafts and drama together: a multidisciplinary course for student-teachers

Abstract

This article examines a physics course for pre-service primary teachers in which physics, crafts and drama were taught together by connecting the standpoints of crafts and drama. The study was carried out by three university educators from these disciplines during an advanced optional course for student-teachers at the University of Helsinki in Finland. This article discusses the impact of the multidisciplinary teaching approach on the participants’ learning outcomes. First, the article explains the multidisciplinary teaching model, an educational energy game that the student-teachers designed as part of the course. Second, it describes the learning that emerged from the student-teachers’ learning process, including (1) learning skills, (2) new pedagogic thinking and (3) a change of attitude towards integrative teaching. Finally, the analysis shows the strength of sociocultural animation, which is traced through a path of becoming animated.

Keywords:

• Multidisciplinary teaching
• teacher education
• learning
• sociocultural animation
• educational gaming