"multidisciplinary versus interdisciplinary"

The first part of this blog will compare multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary and this can be accomplished by using an analogy. This was pulled from my BIS 301 class and is the jigsaw puzzle analogy. In a multidisiplinary effort group members bring puzzle pieces that relate to the part of the puzzle they are responsible for. The members assume they know what the finished product will look like but the person putting together the puzzle finds the pieces don't fit well.In some cases we may have to many pieces or even not enough pieces to the puzzle but what we do know is the puzzle is not a perfect fit. However, in the interdisiplinary effort team members would all know exactly what the finished puzzle would look like. Team members still bring their own puzzle pieces that relate to their responsibility but it is the groups effort to make all the pieces fit. This ensures the puzzle is finished correctly and a perfect fit.I work with Principal Holmes at Navajo Elementary school and I have seen both models in work at the school. The first example I will give is a great example of interdisciplinary model at work. During the open house at the school some parents observed a double gate at the front of the school grounds was not closing properly. Teachers and staff would enter through these gates andthe gate was to close behind the teacher entering but it was on a delay and the gate remained open to long after teachers would enter the school grounds. The concerned parents talked to the PTO and the concern was taken to the principal and on one of the days I was working at the school the following meeting took place. Mr. Holmes asked me to go with him and we went out to the gates and we were joimed by the concerned parents, a teacher who uses the gate to enter school grounds, the head of maintenance, a rep from Scottsdale Unified School District and the contractor who installed the gate. This group of individuals all had puzzle pieces and worked together to put these puzzle pieces together and solve the problem. The gate was to be refitted and close more quickly but still allow teachers and staff to enter the school grounds from this entry area. This was a great collaboration of all parties involved and I recognized the interdisciplinary effort immediately. The other example I can share is very multidisciplinaryand if handled like the above example would have saved alot of time and effort by all involved.One of the kindergarten teachers had to go to training and she was responsible for a whole class that did not speak english as their primary language. I observed all the interactions and this was very multidisciplinary. First the teacher who had to go to the training brought her pieces to the puzzle and then a second teacher and assistant brought their pieces to the puzzle and the solution Principal Holmes agreed to was that the other Kindergarten teachers would cover the class with assistants who spoke spanish. The puzzle was not a perfect fit but was a good solution to a pressing issue. Into day 2 of this given solution kids were upset and parents who also did not speak english as a first language came in to complain about the change and asked where was the teacher their kids had started with and why didn't anybody tell them or the kids and it was a little bit of a mess. parents and students were allnotified and a substitute was hire who was bi-lingual and the situation settled down. If we would of had represntation from the parents and caught the concerns before the puzzle was completed this may all would of been avoided. The initial decision was a good decision but based on a multidisciplinary efforts and turned out to be not a perfect fit. Overall, I witnesss great communication between teachers, staff and PTO members and it is a pleasure to be at the school.