Concept of Subject Approach, Interdisciplinary Approach and Multidisciplinary Approach

The Subject Approach:

 This approach is also known as the traditional disciplinary approach as each subject is separately taught by the teacher in the area of the particular subject in question. For instance, language was traditionally taught as a subject with different compartments of reading, grammar, writing, and literature as separate components of the language skills. The use of a single academic discipline to teach is what is referred to as subject approach. For example, language was taught as a separate subject from other subjects. English was taught as being different from, Environmental Science, Mathematics, History and so on. In this way, each subject has a well defined boundary from which there is no connection to the other. Disciplines here then, focus more on the content rather than the process.

 The Interdisciplinary Approach: 

As the name suggests, it is an approach of using two subjects in teaching a topic, concept or theme. In this case, the English language teacher may explore similar concepts in both Setswana and English to teach a topic, theme or concept to bring out the interrelationships between the two languages. Examples of other subjects in this category are Biology and Zoology taught in combination as Biology, and Biology and Chemistry taught as Biochemistry to illustrate the relationship between the two disciplines. 

The Multidisciplinary approach

 Multidisciplinary denotes the teaching of concepts across more than two subjects or disciplines. The instruction may be organized on fundamental issues common to the three academic disciplines instead of teaching the students in a disjointed and unconnected manner. Examples of the multidisciplinary approach can be illustrated by Integrated Social Studies (Geography, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology), and Integrated Science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) as reflected in the junior secondary curriculum in Botswana. The use of the multidisciplinary approach in instruction can equally be referred to as the integrated approach. Integration, in this sense means using relevant ideas from many other disciplines to, ‘do justice’ to the topic or problem at hand. Aina (1979) says of integration: Integration can be used within and across disciplines. Language, for instance, can be taught in itself (within) to integrate the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking, as well as across to integrate concepts, themes and ideas from the different subject spectrums. This is an approach favoured by several authors based on the premise that practical experiences of life suggest that solutions to problems of living are not found in the study of separate school subjects (Aina, 1979).

multidisciplinary approach permits the teacher to combine a variety of methods, techniques and technological devices. In fact, it is believed that multidisciplinary teaching gets the whole school, teachers, parents and community involved. This is because it facilitates team and collaborative activities. Teachers share classroom activities, worksheets and resources with each other to facilitate their students’ learning. The parents also get involved as they work collaboratively with teachers to address students’ learning needs and issues. Students also learn collaboratively as they do group or pair projects and presentations. In fact, everyone benefits as the students see their curriculum come alive to address issues in the classrooms, across subject areas, in the school as a whole, as well as in the community. It is assumed that the greater the level of integration desired, the higher the level of collaboration required in multidisciplinary instruction