St Joseph’s Interdisciplinary Domain encompasses four distinct strands within the curriculum:
- Thinking and Reasoning Processes
- Communication
- Design, Creativity and Technology
- Information and Communications Technology
The very nature of these strands leads to their use across all subject areas within the curriculum and incorporates all year levels.
Thinking and Reasoning Processes
Student confusion for the most part originates through a lack of understanding of context and purpose. This confusion then results in students not being able to ask clear and relevant questions, which then leads to poor information gathering and consequently incorrect and irrelevant conclusions to be drawn. In an effort to help our students improve their thinking skills, St Josephs has adopted an internationally recognised thinking skills model which is to be practised throughout all areas of the curriculum. The model makes strong connections between the standards of thinking such as clarity, accuracy and relevance and the elements of thinking, such as purpose, questions, information and conclusions, to name a few.
Communication
Specialised vocabulary in each learning area is a key focal point of instruction as is the clear and accurate meaning conveyed by this vocabulary. This includes terms specific to the learning context, for example, the names of chemical elements, the physical features in the landscape, or joinery techniques used in woodwork or processes used in food preparation.
At St Joseph's our students are encouraged to use a variety of strategies for comprehending and interpreting texts, and for presenting ideas and information. These strategies include; support comprehension such as making connections with prior knowledge, using headings and subheadings, or reading graphical information, note taking, using data charts to record information, using concept maps, and making timelines.
Design, Creativity and Technology (DCT)
At St Joseph's, design and its application include the areas of investigation and research, planning and production, and the evaluation of both the final product and the production processes as they relate to a real setting.
Design is a vital yet fundamental step in transforming ideas into creative, practical and commercial realities by recognising the value of products and systems. It involves experiential, practical and applied knowledge as well as theoretical understanding. It requires our students to be autonomous and creative problem-solvers, as individuals and as members of a team. Our students combine an understanding of design, functionality, aesthetics, social, cultural, economic and environmental issues, and industrial practices with practical skills. As they do so, they reflect on and evaluate past and present design and technology, its uses and effects.
This area also focuses on development of your son’s skills in managing and manipulating materials and resources using a range of tools, equipment and machines to make functional products or systems. These materials include food, wood, plastics, and components such as wheels and axles, pulleys and belts, gears, switches, lights, motors, connecting wires, batteries and microcontrollers and printed circuit boards.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Our Junior and Middle school students are no longer offered formalised ICT classes. Instead they engage ICT in activities across all subject areas within the curriculum for building their knowledge and understanding. The ICT equipment within the College is regarded a “toolbox” used to help scaffold knowledge construction rather than learn from.
In particular our students engage in a range of ICT activities when they:
- strive for the understanding of concepts, relationships and processes
- formulate and organise ideas
- analyse problems
- acquire information from online sources
- create solutions to problems in a range of contexts presented in all areas of learning
- design and create effective information products such as websites, brochures, reports
- engage in collaborative projects
- share their research findings
- publish their own reasoned views on various topics and issues
Through the integration of these 4 distinct strands within the curriculum, we strive to foster and extend the learning capacity of all St Joseph’s students.