Course-5 Understanding Disciplines and School Subjects pmd

1.2.2. Introduction
You are familiar about the concepts of subject, school subject, discipline and academic
discipline. These concepts are related and at the same time they differ in some aspects. It is
important to be aware of these differences and similarities because they have implications
for learning and teaching. Teaching depends on the understanding of the nature of the
content you are teaching and hence a teacher needs to know whether they are teaching a
school subject or academic discipline. Academic disciplines demand a different set of
behavior than those employed for teaching a subject. The teaching plan for an academic
subject is less rigid than the plan employed for teaching academic discipline. Let us take an
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example. Suppose a teacher is teaching the ‘properties of magnet’ in a discipline-based
physics class, the primary and most important method is observation. A teacher cannot
teach this topic without making the students observe the magnetic properties. On the other
hand, when a teacher is teaching ‘women studies’ (subject of study), she can start with a
discussion on the current status of women in the society, or show a video, or discuss a
paper clipping etc. Hence, in the present unit, let us understand the relationship and
differences between school subjects and academic disciplines.