In a recent Grade 1 unit, students began their studies with a week of provocative activities to help them begin to wonder about where their food comes from. As they dissected an apple, they formed questions about the plants we eat, what affects the food we eat and how we produce food. By the end of the unit, students had refined their questions to focus on one question about food that most interested them, and they then conducted research to answer their personal questions.
With the groundwork for inquiry laid in the early years, students move through numerous Units of Inquiry that evolve in sophistication as they advance through their educational career at LCIS. By the end of Grade 5, students carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project- the PYP Exhibition. Students conduct an in-depth inquiry into a real-life local or global issue that is of interest to them. Starting with their burning question, students explore many lines of inquiry across numerous disciplines and demonstrate the skills gained in their critical-thinking journey through Primary school.
English and humanities classes. All of these experiences provide greater educational value because knowledge is deepened by examining questions across different disciplines.
In the same way, our Grade 6 teachers created a multidisciplinary unit for their students that examined the global water crisis. In order to fully appreciate this complex problem, teachers provided learning experiences that combined concepts from their English, humanities and science courses. In one of their unit assessments, students had to synthesise their learning from multiple disciplines as they took on the roles of social entrepreneurs and created technological solutions to the water crisis. These were then pitched to guest judges in the style of the Dragons’ Den or Shark Tank.
Through units and culminating tasks such as these, our students draw from concepts across subject areas both to think critically and solve problems. They learn how to develop the strong analytic skills that executive coach Ellen Kumata identifies as a differentiator for successful professionals today which include the ability to test assumptions and take nothing at face value. These are the capacities most in demand within today’ s corporate world, agrees Dr Annmarie Neal, a human resources expert and currently the Chief Talent Officer at Hellman & Friedman, a leading US private equity investment firm. And if students are to succeed in the global workplace, they will need to draw on knowledge from various disciplines, various cultures and even question that very knowledge itself.
Grade 5 students during their PYP Exhibition
THINKING BEYOND DISCIPLINES Similarly, helping students understand the need to draw on multiple disciplines to solve problems is a major part of the IB Middle Years Programme( MYP), which encompasses Grades 6 to 10 at LCIS. Through the development of unique multidisciplinary units, teachers prepare students for in-depth inquiry very early on in the MYP. These units not only encourage the process of inquiry, but also engage students in breaking down the barriers between subjects to build a richer understanding of concepts.
For example, history is not taught in isolation or in chronological order. Rather, the issues that affect individuals and societies are examined in units such as Peacekeeping and Genocide. Students in the Grade 9 class came to appreciate the significance of the Holocaust in distinctive, yet interrelated, lessons delivered through both
Grade 9 students conduct Skype interview with Holocaust survivor
RAISING QUESTIONS When students get to Grade 11 at LCIS and enter the IB Diploma Programme( DP), they take Theory of Knowledge( TOK), a distinctive course in applied philosophy designed solely for IB students. Through the readings and guided discussions of TOK, our students learn how to connect multiple subjects and transcend disciplines in ways that are both imaginative and practical.
6