Interdisciplinary collaborative teaching sounds like a mouthful, but it is actually a very straightforward concept. Co-teaching is when Le Sallay teachers partner together to develop mini-courses or assignments that tie together different areas of knowledge. This way students get to dig deeper, discover new perspectives and learn to connect seemingly isolated facts into a bigger picture.

A perfect example is the 'Art and Literature in Spanish-speaking countries' developed by languages teacher Olga Baley and history teacher Jelena Jarić-Geleva. The project aimed to explore the evolution of the Spanish language by learning about the history, literature and art of Spain and Latin America.

In the first part of the course, the students learned about the origins of the Spanish state and the ways the nation's identity was influenced by a number of cultures. To better understand the Latin roots of the Spanish language the class read Virgil's Eneida.

The next part focused on the development of the modern Spanish language and covered the Arabic influence, the Reconquista, the unification of Spain and the first voyage of Columbus. Students read an introduction to Antonio de Nebrija's Grammar from 1492. To their immense surprise, they were able to understand almost all of it, unfamiliar spelling and lettering aside.

In the final part of the project, the group traversed the ocean to delve into magic realism and learn about the emergence of this unique style and its influence on the arts. The students read excerpts from Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Markes and discussed the ways in which historical events and realities were reflected and deconstructed by the means of language.

This co-teaching project is the latest in the series of co-teaching initiatives at Le Sallay. Learn more about the previous projects at our Co-teaching page.