`Open classrooms' lead to expanded knowledge

A prominent British educator once remarked to me, “Every time you Americans discover a new bit of knowledge, you seem to create a course in it.” I sense a similar thought in Dan Walters' 11/17 Cal Matters column, where he notes: “Scarcely a year passes without new proposals to expand required coursework, either as standalone classes or woven into other required classes.” He specifically notes new interest in media analysis and financial planning. Eventually the curriculum becomes overloaded.

There are alternatives to this chunks-of-knowledge approach. One is “thematic interdisciplinary inquiry,” which includes many/all fields of knowledge. Typically it begins with a central topic — stars, food, wolves, money — for example. Then students create a network of their questions: What more do you want to know? They look for answers, usually starting with (critical examination of) internet sources, but also involving guest experts, parents, experiments, surveys, mass media, music, art, fiction and nonfiction, and so on. The final stage is sharing knowledge through reports, posters, slide shows, presentations, drama, discussion, debate and more. A topic like “wolves,” for example, quickly leads to inquiry into evolution, dogs, agricultural economics, the wild, extinction, human history, and beyond.

Some schools in Chico already practice this method, including the “open classrooms” at Hooker Oak and Wildflower (where I'm on the Board). I'd like to see much more in our schools and colleges.

Interested readers might do an exploration of their own.

Just google “Interdisciplinary Inquiry” and see where it takes you!

— Stephen Tchudi, Yankee Hill