Why?

The world is transforming. It is transforming at a rapid rate in both terms of the planet itself, technological development and human interactions in both of these areas and how human interaction impacts back on both of these factors.

Growing into a thriving member of society requires us to consider learning in some very different ways than in the past. To thrive, not just survive, means a necessity to consider modern-day society and how to make the most of ourselves in it. We need to understand and have a strong sense of ourselves and we need to understand and be able to interact with others. We also need to understand the world on which we live and how to sustain it into the future. 

Valerie Hamon in her address “What is Education For,” names four things she thinks we should consider if we want to learn to thrive.  

"1. Planetary and global issues, 

2. Society issues, 

3. Intrapersonal understanding and

4.  Interpersonal skills.” 

Transdisciplinary learning is the exploration of a relevant concept, issue or problem that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new knowledge and deeper understanding to real life experiences.

We need to transform the focus to school being a reflection of the world. In the world things are not packaged into neat little packages of “subjects” Everything is interrelated. The impact of the way we use technology affects the way we use the planet, and the same is true in reverse. In their own way these things in turn affect how we interact with each other. We need to ensure the things we focus on learning about are what our young people need to ensure that they can thrive in their future. Stuffing them full of information that was deemed important for young people to know at some stage in the past needs to stop. Claxton in What’s the Point of school claims "Just as a subject has become absorbing and interesting it is locked away until the next lesson and the mind is switched to a new wavelength for the next subject. This continual interruption makes the work boring and the pupil lose interest. In tomorrow's school the work will be continued until it is finished." 

They need to learn about our current world, using technology that is current and learning about how they can impact to make the world an effective place for both themselves and others. The reliance on a curriculum formed in the past, to meet needs that are now way past needs to change rapidly. We need to reflect today and tomorrow's world in and learning we do. Scheninger in UnCommon Learning says “We are often our own worst enemies as we work hard to control what students can do in school or classrooms. School for most students is the polar opposite of the real world.” 

Today's world does not separate things into neat little chunks of subjects. The wicked problems we face require transdisciplinary knowledge understandings and actions. The separation of learners into year groups based on age and the harnessing of learners into closed classrooms with one adult in power creates a totally artificial environment and culture for learning and we need to rethink this if schooling is to survive as part of the learning process into the future.

Perkins in Future Wise talks a lot about how we need to repackage learning in schools. He highlights three questions to ask as we re assess each part of the current required curriculum as in his terms to determine whether it is “Life worthy  learning.”

Does it offer insight? Does it inform action? Does it inspire ethics?

"Here are some of the 'subjects' that teachers could form the basis of a curriculum that would prepare young people to thrive I such a complicated and uncertain world: human rights, statistics and probability, empathy, managing risk, negotiation/mediation, ecology, how to think, epistemology, collaboration, literacy, global awareness, imagination, ethics, healthy scepticism, body awareness, neuroscience, resilience, creativity, willpower, giving and taking, feedback, relaxation." What's the Point of School Guy Claxton

from Ministry of Education Integrated Learning project Google Site