Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education Goals: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Reform documents in mathematics, science, and technology increasingly call for meaningful integration of technology in K-12 classrooms. Simultaneously, schools are being held more and more accountable for increased content at lower grades by both the reform documents and the popular press. Middle school models call for more focus on the student as independent learners and less focus on specific “school-based disciplines” or classes. One approach to addressing these concerns is through interdisciplinary units. In this paper, an interdisciplinary middle school unit on weather is briefly described as a model that addresses the multiple concerns related to (1) meaningful integration of technology, (2) increased accountability, and (3) less focus on historically independent mathematics, science, and technology classes.