Breaking down silos in Education
A Reaction to emerging trends in Education
Most education systems around the world are moving towards an approach of breaking down silos that exist between the subjects. Finland’s Phenomena-Based Learning is one such approach where the focus is on a phenomenon that transcends the boundaries of any single subject to move away from the traditional compartmentalization of knowledge based on individual subjects such as Mathematics, Literacy, or History. The pre-draft of the National Curriculum Framework school education of India published on the 6th of April 2023 also promotes an inter-disciplinary approach to learning to develop capacities such as scientific temper, creativity, communication, logical reasoning, and computational thinking in addition to developing a strong understanding of Indian knowledge systems and engaging with current affairs. The Times Education Commission Report published on 13th October 2022, proposed the introduction of the British Baccalaureate, a new curriculum to replace the A Levels in the UK. The proposal for British Baccalaureate is among the 12-point education plans to reform the education system in the UK. The proposals included moving towards a holistic system of education that helps students develop the skills for life-long learning, a non-silo approach to learning and a curriculum contextualized to each school which enhances the opportunities for engagement with the communities around the school.
The Bhutan Baccalaureate is a system of education developed by Druk Gyalpo’s Institute and is based on the Five Areas of Development (Social, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Cerebral). The Bhutan Baccalaureate emphasises the mindset of Cross-Pollination. Cross-Pollination is a mindset that cuts across all Five Areas of Development, enabling learners to constantly view things through a holistic lens without breaking them down into compartments. Through this process, we should be able to zoom out to see the larger picture and zoom in to see the cellular image. Cross-Pollination focuses on making connections and deriving meaning from lessons for our own lives through understanding concepts such as Aesthetics, Technology and Community. These overarching concepts transcend all Domains and Areas of Development. However, these concepts are not static but dynamic and will keep on evolving with time. We must constantly review and update them to adapt to the changing world, which is complex, uncertain yet beautiful. The mindset of Cross Pollination should help students develop Skills, Processes and Watermarks so that they can deal with the ever-evolving content.
The Times of India article ‘To fight the fear of maths, NCF looks beyond numbers’ published on the 7th of April 2023 highlights the proposals from India’s National Curriculum Framework to integrate mathematics into arts, languages and sports in order to help students learn the application of mathematical concepts rather than learning concepts alone. Mathematics is often seen as a challenging subject that requires a lot of focus and attention to master as the concepts are usually taught in isolation from their real-life applications. In the Bhutan Baccalaureate, Mathematics is a language through which we can understand the universe by interpreting patterns and the process of formation of patterns in nature. Learning Mathematics is not just about understanding the abstract science of numbers, quantity, and space, but through them developing Skills such as logical, critical, creative, and spatial thinking, and Watermarks such as rigour, resilience and leadership. These skills are crucial for students to thrive in a world that is getting complex both conceptually and technologically.
For instance, the numbers and patterns in Mathematics can be learnt through other domains. One such example of a Cross-Pollinated learning experience designed by the Life Science Domain in the Bhutan Baccalaureate is provided below:
Through this learning experience, the students develop skills such as communication, analysis and comprehension while engaging in processes such as research, collaboration, and discussions. They not only develop an understanding of birds, their habitat and migration patterns but also develop an understanding of local culture & history, as well as the lessons on living in coherence with nature. Students learn to identify migration patterns in the birds, and they can analyse the data to learn about measurements and graphs. Through this experience, students learn the requirements of mathematics curricula such as patterns, numbers, and graphs, while also understanding their real-life applications.
Cross-Pollination is guided by the philosophical underpinnings of the Bhutan Baccalaureate, to help each learner actualise their dynamic potential to become constructive, contributory citizens of a just and harmonious society. When we look at the potential of the learners, we cannot simply emphasise their growth in the understanding of Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM). In the current times, STEM has become an important part of our lives, but we cannot ignore Social, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Cerebral growth in our pursuit to develop the competencies of the students in STEM. Prof. Yuval Noah Harari highlighted the importance of a balance between helping students learn STEM and skills such as mental flexibility, dealing with failure and building relationships in the RIGSS Dialogue organised on the 4th of April 2023 by the Royal Institute of Governance and Strategic Studies of Bhutan. Academic scores cannot be the only factor that determines the success of an individual. In the Bhutan Baccalaureate, the success of a learner is seen through their growth in the Five Areas of Development. The curriculum, assessment and reporting provide opportunities for learners to identify their strengths and areas for growth to constantly raise their bar. In the Bhutan Baccalaureate curriculum, Sports and Aesthetics are given equal emphasis as any other domain, and all students in Grades 11 and 12 are required to pursue Internship Programmes and Self-Curated Areas of Study so that students are able to determine their passion and pursue them.
With many education systems moving towards a holistic approach to education to break down the existing silos in subjects, the Bhutan Baccalaureate has been implemented at The Royal Academy since 2016 and in 22 schools under the Ministry of Education of Bhutan since 2022. The need for students to develop skills and processes rather than just learning content is felt by educationists around the world, but only a select few can and are willing to push forward a transformation of their education systems. The momentum must be built so that education is seen as a journey instead of a destination. Education must help our students learn to become a part of and contribute to the creation of a just and harmonious society.