The success of Maine's future requires a new approach to education
to fully prepare students for college, career, and citizenship.
Current research and practice confirm that a whole student approach to education develops and prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow by addressing their comprehensive needs through a shared responsibility of students, families, schools, and communities.
(Click here for a printable version of this chart.)
The tenets that the Interdisciplinary Instruction team will focus on include
Engaged, Supported, Challenged, and Prepared.
Innovative instructional methods and resources, coupled with an interdisciplinary instruction philosophy and extended learning opportunities offered by the Department, will support increased engagement among students and educators in the learning process.
By working collaboratively with educators and education leaders across Maine, the Department will actively work to focus on student-centered instruction resulting with students who feel supported throughout the learning process.
Providing students at all levels with opportunities to engage in learning that piques their interests, using real-world scenarios to frame problem- and project-based learning, is a targeted way of increasing the challenge and rigor of learning.
Focusing on "real-world" skill development gives students a sense of accomplishment and connections of learning, helping them to realize their role as citizens in their communities, large and small.
The Whole Student approach to teaching and learning develops students who are ready for life beyond school. The Department believes this to be an important and timely shift in how we support students to become skilled in navigating their world as effective, engaged and happy citizens. These supports will take many of the common forms that educators have grown accustomed to - professional learning sessions, collections of valuable resources - but may take on new forms as well.