Conceptual Understanding and Interdisciplinary Learning

Concepts are big ideas that have relevance not only within specific disciplines, but also across subject areas. MYP students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and to examine knowledge holistically.

In interdisciplinary units (IDUs) organised annually, students demonstrate interdisciplinary understanding when they bring together concepts, methods, or forms of communication from two or more disciplines or established areas of expertise so that they can explain a phenomenon, solve a problem, create a product, or raise a new question in ways that would have been unlikely through a single discipline.

The MYP prescribes sixteen key interdisciplinary concepts along with related concepts for each discipline (see below):

Interdisciplinary Units (IDU)

In Espoo, at EIS and in the MYP, multidisciplinary (MDU) and interdisciplinary (IDU) units are a central part of learning. According to the Finnish national curriculum, integrative instruction--or MDUs and IDUs--play a vital role throughout the comprehensive school years. The curriculum states that “In order to safeguard every pupil’s possibilities of examining wholes and engaging in exploratory work that is of interest to the pupils, the education provider shall ensure that the pupil’s studies include at least one multidisciplinary learning module every school year” (National Core Curriculum for Basic Education).

At EIS, MDUs are implemented throughout the primary grades. The 7th and 8th grades take part in MYP IDUs, which meet the objectives and conditions set out by both the Finnish national core curriculum and the MYP.

The 9th grade does not have a separate IDU. Instead, all 9th grade students plan and carry out a self-directed Personal Project. This project meets the objectives and conditions set out by both the Finnish national core curriculum and the MYP. It is the compulsory 9th grade integrated learning module.