The great philosopher, Aristotle, stated that the whole is something beyond just the aggregation of the parts. There is something more that we get out of the whole; than we would get if we looked at its constituent parts.
The various disciplines of science were broken up into parts historically; maybe for an ease of understanding and limits of human cognitive capacity[1], but really the true nature of science is in understanding it as a “whole”. The synergy produces a result, which would not be possible by studying independent subjects.
Research in the area uses three words to describe how the various disciplines are taught, and they seem to lie on a continuum[2]:
a) Multi-disciplinary: disciplines taught in different classrooms; it is additive and not integrative in nature;
b) Transdisciplinary: integration of subjects but to a lesser degree than interdisciplinary and
c) Interdisciplinary: the disciplines are integrated in such a way, where it is difficult to distinguish one from the other and it enables solving problems or provides functional understanding which a single discipline would not be able to do.
Before we move forward, another important area to address is: integration of which subjects or fields of study?
- Is it only Science and Technology?
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)?
- Or does it suggest integration of primarily STEM, but with strong implications for integration with social sciences, languages and arts, wherever their integration becomes vital.
A more holistic approach (STEM + other disciplines, where relevant) to making science inter-disciplinary, means science has a more humanistic approach, addressing real problems, leading to palpable implications for society. It will also make science more attractive for the female population, as research shows they are touched by the social, cultural and environmental impact of science in a deep way.
The word “interdisciplinary” carries with it certain implications[3], which makes it so sought after in the study of science and technology:
- It brings about the connection between the various subjects and real-world problems, which can be studied in a single class, unit or lesson;
- It primarily uses student-centred pedagogies, such as Inquiry-Based Learning and Experiential Learning
- It recognizes that not all knowledge can be received through an inter-disciplinary approach and basic grounding in core concepts in physics, chemistry, biology, math is essential to even implement an inter-disciplinary approach. Therefore, a combination is suggested:
Grounding in Core Concepts + Interdisciplinary Learning (which can take place in a variety of ways)
Strong Case for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
Research shows that interest in STEM and related career aspirations is formed as early as middle school and therefore, we have to strongly consider including S, T, E and M in the early learning phase of the child.
Engineering is a systematic and iterative approach to designing solutions (products, processes and systems)[4]. Design is a critical component of it. In design, repeated testing of a model occurs and refinements are incorporated based on test results. Therefore “failure”, a word which progressive educators so dislike, is welcomed to the extent that it only improves on what was made earlier. The usual constraints of: a) what material is available and b) cost are not the only factors for consideration in the real world. Apart from reliability, safety and aesthetics of the product which is designed, its ethical implications, along with possibility of job losses (social and economic factors) due to a new product introduction are important factors. Also, use of indigenous engineering knowledge could be used to leverage what has been learnt through local experiences.
Research has established the vast benefits of experiential learning in science education; which makes the case for including engineering in science education, very strong.
How is this related to what one learns in physics, chemistry or biology? Well, the goal is to use the specific subject knowledge to create possible designs (experiential learning) and with constant gathering of evidence, refine that design. This is best achieved if we[5]:
- Take a real-world problem;
- Use our knowledge in science and mathematics to generate a design (experimental model/prototype);
- Arrive at an engineering design, to address that problem;
- Test the design and arrive at certain results;
- Use our knowledge in science and mathematics to refine the design based on test results;
- We clearly see how the various disciplines interacted to arrive at a solution
Science and Technology education can become more inter-disciplinary by virtue of combining it with engineering. Engineering touches many branches of knowledge[6]:
- There is the making and manufacture of models/design (technology)
- There is the design aesthetics; architectural and industrial design (arts and humanities)
- There is the content knowledge from the natural sciences
- There is the cost and ethics aspect of engineering (Social and Political Sciences)
It is important to note here, that science shares much in common with engineering, including a) questioning; b) observing; c) experimenting and d) indulging in evidence-based arguments, to name only a few points.
The integration of engineering into the science curriculum can happen through one of the following models[7]:
- User-Centred Engineering Design Model – One example is that of “Novel Engineering[8]”, an initiative by Tufts University for middle school students, where school content is used to construct engineering designs (based on real problems);
- Design-Build-Test Model – Testing a model/prototype and arriving at proof of a principle. This is the most common method used in classrooms in the U.S., but carries with it the danger of becoming a fun activity only, if the focus is not on the science concepts that are to be grasped;
- Engineering Science Experimentation Model – Prototypes are tested, keeping 1 variable constant to see its impact on an outcome (controlled experiments). This most closely resembles what is carried out by scientists in laboratories;
- Design Optimization Model – a prototype or system is improved through alternative approaches to see which approach gives optimal performance.
How to make Science and Technology Education more Interdisciplinary?
One of the goals of science education is to allow the student to develop the ability to theoretically integrate knowledge.[9] Can this kind of ability to integrate be developed in the student’s mind by picking certain common themes, which cut across various disciplines? Examples of common themes are: a) patterns; b) cause and effect; c) scale, proportion and quantity; d) stability and change. This is the approach that NRC (2012) took, in framing its document on inter-disciplinary study of science.
In the U.S, the Next Generation Science Standards and National Research Council (2012) Framework documents, chalk out how teaching the various disciplines of science can be combined with an interdisciplinary study. The document identifies certain “crosscutting concepts” as they had value across the sciences and engineering[10]. The concepts include:
- Patterns
- Cause and Effect
- Scale, proportion and quantity
- Systems and system models
- Energy and matter
- Structure and function
- Stability and Change
Taking one such example, Patterns occur everywhere. Example being the seasonal cycles or planetary motion. This cross-cutting concept is easily applicable to all the disciplines. The next step is to see how such identification of patterns can be useful in our study. Such identification helps in grouping or classification and also an analysis of why there is similarity or difference. Patterns can be represented mathematically or graphically. Using common themes (such as Patterns) to cut across disciplines, aids in the whole scientific process. We see that each of the common themes above; helps in one or all of the steps in the scientific process. In the example below, we depict only one “possible way” the scientific process can be approached:
Step 1 – Make an observation
Step 2 – See emerging patterns (in whichever field of study – Biology, Physics, Chemistry)
Step 3 – Log those observations/patterns through a mathematical equation or graphically – RECORDING PHASE
Step 4 – Arrive at a hypothesis
Step 5 – Test hypothesis through (possible) experimental model/design (engineering)
Step 6 – Notice patterns in problems during testing phase. Do some problems typically occur in the model, with one variable held constant. What happens when different variables are held constant? What patterns emerge? – TESTING PHASE
Step 7 – Note results and refine model or hypothesis through subject knowledge reasoning (Biology, Physics, Chemistry)
Therefore, this is one of the ways in which science can become interdisciplinary.
Such inter-disciplinary study is combined and introduced in the context of teaching “core concepts” in each of the disciplines, in the Next Generation Science Standards[11]. The students are then able to clearly connect how the cross-cutting concepts are related to the disciplinary core ideas. The aim of the curriculum should in this scenario be:
- Identify core disciplinary topics independently for biology, physics and chemistry
- See which cross-cutting concepts can be included in each of the disciplinary topics. For example: on the topic of “Forces and Interactions”, the curriculum defines what core concepts/laws need to be understood + Cross-cutting concepts relevant to this unit (eg – cause and effect; stability and change)[12]
Project-Based Learning
One other way in which Science and Technology education can be inter-disciplinary, in a school environment, is through project-based learning. The unit on “Energy” was effectively taught to middle school students, using an inter-disciplinary approach and designed by the School of Engineering Education (Purdue University). Students were required to build an energy-efficient home in a community and interacted with a homebuilder for the purpose. Additionally, Energy 3D, a simulation-based engineering tool for designing green buildings was used for this project (it is a free software – energy.concord.org/energy3d/). This learning was augmented through references to the relevant science and mathematics chapters and was useful in designing solutions for a local homebuilder.[13]
One Possible Approach
Can the school select such topics (which exist within the existing curriculum) which have a vast potential to cut across various individual sciences and engineering? Can this become an independent class, scheduled X number of times in a week, taught by the science and math subject teachers by rotation (who make back and forth references to their own and other core subject classes)? Such a class would be focused heavily on “science by doing activities”, with minimal instruction. Let us take an example:
The physical and natural world we live is complex; an interplay of diverse forces. When we break down these diverse forces for greater understanding – we get simplified units. Imagine the large amazon tropical rainforest; with all its diversity; with wide-scale human activity in some parts. Within that forest lies an intricate web of ecology which you and I can break down into many small units. In that vast rainforest we can:
- Study a single species of tree frogs;
- discover that there are indigenous tribes who live there; a sizeable number of which live isolated;
- be informed that the region is critical for the health of the entire planet; as the vast forest coverage helps stabilize global climate;
- make a graphical representation of diminishing forest coverage over the last 50 years;
- draw out a map which shows that the forest spreads into an area which covers 8 countries!
We have stated completely disparate facts here; BUT they are all inter-related. One minute example: The political decisions in Brazil, could affect what is done about deforestation; and what happens to global climate change; bio-diversity in the rainforests and survival of indigenous tribes.
Inter-disciplinary learning becomes that much more robust, when we learn all the various disciplines in a more or less equal measure or intensity; not keeping any one as “central”. When we use math and technology only as a tool or enabler; it becomes only that. What have we learnt in the realm of mathematics exclusively in the process? Nothing. What topics in science allow this level of inter-disciplinary learning is also a pertinent question?
From the above discussion, it becomes apparent that teacher familiarity in all branches of science is a significant contributor in making science and technology education interdisciplinary. When we follow a scientific process, we can easily see that different disciplines contribute to that process. By explicitly highlighting the role of mathematics, engineering and the sciences in the scientific process; the teacher automatically makes the learning inter-disciplinary. It is a question of re-orienting how subject knowledge is presented. Having said that, inclusion of engineering, curriculum support and project-based learning can together make science and technology education truly inter-disciplinary.
[1] H.S.You; Why Teach Science with an Interdisciplinary Approach: History, Trends and Conceptual Frameworks;
2017
[2] G.H.Roehrig et al; Beyond the Basics: a detailed conceptual framework of integrated STEM; 2021 and Liu &
Wang, Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 2019
[3] G.H.Roehrig et al; Beyond the Basics: a detailed conceptual framework of integrated STEM
[4] National Research Council, 2012
[5] Ibid – footnote 4
[6] Dixon, 1966 cited in S. Purzer & J.P.Q-Cifuentes, Integrating Engineering in K-12 science education: Spelling
out the Pedagogical, Epistemological and Methodological arguments, 2019
[7] S. Purzer & J.P.Q-Cifuentes, Integrating Engineering in K-12 science education: Spelling out the Pedagogical,
Epistemological and Methodological arguments, 2019
[8] novelengineering.org
[9] K.P.Mohanan, Integration in Science Education: Trans-disciplinary Inquiry and Conceptual Infrastructures,
HBCSE paper
[10] NRC, 2012
[11] Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), 2013
[12] NGSS, 2013
[13] M.Goldstein, B.Loy, S.Purzer, Designing a Sustainable Neighbourhood: An Interdisciplinary Project-Based
Energy and Engineering Unit in the Seventh-Grade Classroom
