Pupils ‘should think like da Vinci’ say experts
Teaching schoolchildren to think like Leonardo Da Vinci could help them to tackle the climate crisis, researchers have suggested.
Educationalists from Cambridge University and Edinburgh University say children would benefit from science and the arts being taught together instead of in subject silos.
They say this could be done around themes such as climate change or food security.
The model draws inspiration from Renaissance polymaths like Da Vinci, who worked across disciplinary boundaries in pursuit of deeper knowledge.
An academic paper, published in the journal Curriculum Perspectives, cites a case study at an Aberdeen primary school, where children showed a deeper understanding of food security and environmental protection issues after learning to grow food in their school grounds.
Pam Burnard, professor of arts, creativities and education at the University of Cambridge, said: "If we look at the amazing designs that Da Vinci produced, it's clear he was combining different disciplines to advance knowledge and solve problems. We need to encourage children to think in a similar way because tomorrow's adults will have to problem-solve differently due to the existential crises they will face: especially those of climate, sustainability, and the precarity of life on Earth."
Dr Laura Colucci-gray, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Education and Sport, said: "The nature of these problems calls for a radically different approach to knowledge.”