Using a Multidisciplinary Approach to Develop an Online Course (Based on the Subject "Social Studies", Grades 10-11)

The modern world poses challenges to citizens, the solution of which requires the application of knowledge from several disciplines. Such multidisciplinary thinking is formed by using a multidisciplinary approach to teaching, which is explored in this master's thesis, presented in the form of an educational and methodological development. The purpose of this work is to study the features of a multidisciplinary approach to teaching and develop an online course based on the material of the subject “Social Studies”. Objectives set to achieve the goal: to study the theoretical foundations of a multidisciplinary approach to teaching, to determine its essence and principles; consider examples of using a multidisciplinary approach in teaching domestic and foreign experience; determine the place of the academic subject “social studies” in the education system and its role in the formation of universal competencies of students; conduct pre-design research aimed at determining the product format; develop an online course based on the school subject “social studies”; test the online course; formulate conclusions and recommendations for the use of an online course in a multidisciplinary direction. This paper analyzes the use of a multidisciplinary approach in teaching using examples of domestic and foreign experience. The thesis contains an analysis of the textbook on “social studies,” which confirms the shortage of multidisciplinary assignments in the course for grades 10-11. The work highlights the criteria for multidisciplinary based on an analysis of the curricula of foreign countries in the subject “Social Studies”, on the basis of which an online course is designed on the selected four-component model of pedagogical design. As a result of the work, an online course was designed based on the material of the subject “social studies”, which, based on the results of testing, was recommended for use in school classes as part of additional practical lessons. In addition, based on the results of testing, it is confirmed that the course is multidisciplinary and helps to document the development of students’ ability to think multidisciplinary. This work, according to the testing teachers, confirms that instructional design, designed on the basis of a multidisciplinary approach to teaching according to the four-component instructional design model, does develop in students the ability to critically evaluate and interpret different points of view; analyze complex problems and find solutions to them using knowledge from different fields; communicate and collaborate to solve multidisciplinary problems; and also simplifies the preparation of teachers to conduct lessons in a multidisciplinary focus.