JULY 20219The current education system focuses on a summative assessment style, which means evaluating the level of the student after a chapter, or after a course, or after a semesterstudents can explore. But leaving a student to learn on his own is as unrealistic as asking a child to find his way out of a forest with a 1000 different paths. Access to such a vast multidimensional bank of knowledge is critical, but it needs to be curated by experts. The subjects should be across disciplines and also across various mediums. Learning from a book alone is again a uni-dimensional learning. Audio, video, written, and experiential learning and content combined together in a narrative form would help give a global education. Another critical aspect is the experience of learning. It should be connected. The barriers or strict boundaries of subjects which alienate one from another are a hindrance to interdisciplinary learning. According to NEP 2020, STEM subjects should be connected to humanities and art in this new system across various topics and ideas. Once the thinking process is connected to different disciplines, the thoughts discover new areas of exploration. The same topic is understood from a different perspective and sparks new creative exploration. This interconnectedness is key to the "inter" in interdisciplinary learning, and this is what sets it apart from "multidisciplinary" learning.Lastly, the assessment of the learner has to change dramatically. The current education system focuses on a summative assessment style, which means evaluating the level of the student after a chapter, or after a course, or after a semester. A more productive assessment is one that evaluates the commitment of a student to his mission. Of course this is contrary to the current idea of grading students on their marks and percentages in an exam, and might even be impossible to implement on a large scale in the education system in India at the current stage. For students who do choose interdisciplinary learning however, this is probably the only way we can create a holistic assessment of their learning. The end project created by a student across multiple disciplines cannot be graded in a marks-focussed system. It is the commitment to the mission, it is the methodology and the processes that the student followed which must be evaluated, and not the end project. These changes are probably going to take a long time to be implemented. These are however the right way forward for an interdisciplinary learning. As of today, not many digital platforms, leave alone schools and education establishments, can claim to have the wherewithal to provide such a calibre of education to a vast population. Some startups and edtech firms have however made inroads into this field, and these are the ones that will show the way forward.How can it be implemented in a digital or physical context?· It is context agnostic to the extent · Facilitators / mentors are very important· Understanding of liberal art· Someone with a narrow understanding will not be able to merge disciplines together· Content· Should be multidimensional· Subjects· Forms - Video audio writtenStudent learning should be connected. · Should help a person flow through the different disciplines / · It should inspire · Across multiple thought processAssessment:· Should not be summative· Dialled around commitment of an individual to a MISSION · In that zone of inspiration which this interdisciplinary education system should lead to. How to assess commitment:· Process· Adherence to his own interest.
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