Integrated learning - when breadth = depth

In the social sciences and humanities integrated learning has been a core element of teaching practice for at least 30 years. There are actually three forms of Integrated Learning.

1)?????The first relates to primary and high schools and relates to children being taught topics through different contexts and with different mechanisms of learning

2)?????The second is integrated learning through social connectivity – in other words gaining access to internships or apprenticeships, shadowing or mentoring opportunities as well as part-time study-whilst-working

3)?????The third is the teaching concept that we understand any single element we are studying by understanding its’ connectivity to other elements. In other words – we do not just view a subject through different media or different methods – we learn by understanding that subjects are not isolated and that having an understanding of related (or even seemingly unrelated) topics can help us understand the subject we are studying

It is in some way related to 1) above and could also be related to 2). In the former case, it is certainly easier to reinforce learning by giving students a different mechanism to learn. In this way, students may respond to media they particularly enjoy, or they may find a particular form of presentation ‘clicks with them and they suddenly ‘get it’ when explained in a new form. In the latter case, a student may find it much easier to grasp a deeper understanding of a topic being studied if they can see its’ immediate applicability, and even be given the opportunity to use the knowledge gained ‘in the real world'.

However, The third meaning – that of understanding a subject by incorporating knowledge from other subjects has particular applicability to studying

Integrative learning is a learning theory describing a movement toward integrated lessons helping students make connections across curricula. This higher education concept is a particular interest of mine, and it has particular applicability to the technology sector.

This is because if I look back on the history of the technology sector I see an industry where businesspeople, programmers, designers, marketeers, and even philosophers have all had a say in the evolution of the industry.

The Apple 2 computer launched by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple was a perfect example of design winning over orthodox technology. Steve Wozniak was able to figure out that a certain configuration of chips would enable him to configure a personal computer small enough to fit on a desk. But it was Steve Jobs who realized that a machine like that could also be aesthetically pleasing. He would later go on to launch the Apple Macintosh – a PC that used a graphical user interface for the first time in a commercial PC in a design that was outwardly unlike anything else on the marketplace.

The original spreadsheet was designed by Dan Bricklin at Visicalc – after he watched a presentation at Harvard Business School of a Professor drawing lines on a blackboard to show calculations. Bricklin realized the design could be translated into code and so calculations could be done automatically – but using the same design format. The Apple ‘I’ products (iMac, iBook, iPod, iPhone, etc.) were designed by teams that consisted of engineers, artists, industrial designers, coders, and materials scientists. The importance of interface and visual design has only become more important as these technologies have become platforms for so many apps and media competing for the limited attention of potential viewers and customers.

How is / can this be applied in the context of building learning experiences? This depends very much on the learning objective(s). In a taught classroom setting it can be tricky as the study of any one topic might require input from experts in diverse topics. For example, a class on systems design might include a coding expert, a process design expert, a security expert, and even an artist/designer and a human psychologist to explain why certain designs resonate with the human mind more effectively.

In an online learning context this could be easier and in fact providing different types of environments online is achievable if the course designer has access to the resources necessary to create such an integrated environment. For example – if you were to teach the same course online you can provide simulated sandbox environments – either real systems or ‘fake’ environments where the student makes inputs such as writing a small algorithm and the simulation can test of that code would work. You could also include different media presentations on the design of user interfaces, perhaps even asking students to undertake a task using 3 different interfaces and ask them to explore why certain interfaces work and others don’t. You could also include case studies based on real-world examples as with the Harvard style of teaching and ask the student to arrive at their own conclusions as to why there might be a spectrum of ways to solve a particular problem.

In simple terms today I must admit I watch many explainer videos on Youtube. That for me is ‘relaxing’ ??. I have so many science and history channel subscriptions that my TV is beginning to slow down! But explainer videos often bring together videos on different themes to explain a topic over the course of several weeks or even months. My personal favourites are Veritasium, VSauce, Kyle Hill, Knowing Better, Isaac Arthur, Kurzgesagt, and Great Art Explained (and Ryan George – super easy, barely an inconvenience ?? ). It actually gives e great hope for the future that with all the cat videos and Tik Tok crypto schemes there are still videos on science and history topics that attract 10 or 20 million views.

Let me know how you would which subjects you feel would be best taught using an integrated method.

As ever I would love to hear your thoughts.

All the best

Martin

Photo by DeepMind on Unsplash