As part of the Enhanced PYP, the following analogies and definitions are presented in the "Learning and Teaching" document:

It is important to note that a major purpose of transdisciplinary learning is to understand the world around us, and that learning should be contextualised in and applied to real-life, far beyond the traditional notion of "school". Further quotes from "Learning and Teaching" include: "It has relevance across the subjects and transcends the confines of the subjects to connect to the real world." and “transdisciplinarity is... distinct from multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity because of its goal, the understanding of the present world." (Nicolescu). It is interesting that this approach is exclusive to the PYP. Much of what children do naturally is transdisciplinary as they play, build, invent, create, question, design and explore to make sense of the people, places, things and events in their lives.

I do, however, think that the reference to disciplines being no longer distinguishable, might suggest that they have no value in their own right. There is much to be said about the depth and breadth of thinking within each subject area. It's essential to identify and plan for strategies, processes, concepts, skills, knowledge and ways of thinking that are inherent to each discipline. Doing so supports students in their inquiries to understand human commonalities, ideas, issues and opportunities in their world (many of which are in the descriptions of the six transdisciplinary themes). They are not taught "just in case" they are useful; they are taught as needed, "just in time", to facilitate conceptual learning with rigour.

Here are other analogies that illustrate transdisciplinary learning that result in something completely different, but with the chance to see the individual parts and explore their role and contribution to the whole. The analogy of colours was prompted by the thinking of Susan Miller Ames.

The importance of disciplines in a transdisciplinary approach is further explained in "Learning and Teaching" including:

Students will be best served by adopting the habits and methods of a disciplinary thinker within the broader transdisciplinary themes.

They locate and work with subject-specific knowledge and skills in relation to the themes. They compare and contrast the subjects’ respective methods, tools and approaches to generate theories that support their conceptual understandings of the transdisciplinary themes.

It is important to acknowledge that “the disciplines of knowledge are not the enemy. Instead, they are a useful and necessary ally”.

Transdisciplinarity cannot happen without disciplinarity.

They develop, for example, understandings of the methodologies associated with thinking like a scientist, a historian or an artist.

Examples of Transdisciplinary Units

Many transdisciplinary units are the units of inquiry outlined in a school's PoI (Programme of Inquiry). There may also be powerful connections between elements of disciplines outside the PoI. Clodagh Ryan (a colleague) and I developed the acronym TOP for these units (Transdisciplinary Outside Programme of inquiry). For a unit to be transdisciplinary, relevant and authentic connections need to be made between at least two disciplines. A multi-disciplinary (cross-curricular) unit on bears, for example, is simply thematic and lacks a conceptual focus. Collaboration, and sufficient time and structures to collaborate well, are essential to develop strong transdisciplinary connections and consider what "needs" to be taught rather than an exhaustive and unnecessary list of what "could" be taught. This way, there is time and space for students to be curious about and investigate the big ideas most relevant to them. A unit might be led by a single-subject or homeroom teaching team. Connections between transdisciplinary units are also possible and encouraged.

Here are some examples of transdisciplinary units referred to by a conceptual focus. The transdisiplinary theme, central idea, lines of inquiry, grade level and interests of the students would all affect the scope of the inquiry and determine which ideas are most relevant. There are many more ways to think about each conceptual focus, but those given are to illustrate how elements from different disciplines might unite to deepen understanding about a significant idea in the world around us.

Click on each title to expand the collapsed text and notice what other possibilities come to your mind.

So, are you in more or less of a mix than you were before reading this post? Like any inquiry, a learning journey brings moments of such clarity, confusion, surprise, doubt and new avenues to explore. Reflecting on my own experiences, understanding and uncertainties, and forcing myself to re-read the documentation we have at our fingertips has reminded me of the importance of the real-world in transdisciplinary learning and helped me to consider analogies that, for me, better represent an important foundation of the PYP, and remind me that transdisciplinarity is built on the premise of disciplinarity.

Perhaps these reflection questions might be useful to consider:

Which ideas and practices have been validated from reading this post?

What new ideas or thoughts do you have?

What surprised you?

What tensions and challenges do you have related to transdisciplinary learning? How might you go about resolving them?