Cross-subject studies and cross-industry analyses can produce substantial insight and innovation, especially in this unparalleled era of complex contexts and highly specialized fields.
There is so much knowledge and so many precision tools available. Repurposing developments, melding concepts, and using the tactics employed in another sector is strategic creativity that develops awareness, ingenuity, and appreciation for a wider variety of specialties. The versatile format of homeschool can easily incorporate training in these skill sets.
Taking things apart, breaking them down to better understand the individual components and factors is a fundamental method in learning. Humans naturally do this without being instructed to do so. Watch a two year old with something new if you want confirmation. The dividing of studies into individual subjects is a logical process along these lines. It allows for focused examination and mastery. There are, however, many advantages to integrating different disciplines.
Projects or courses that integrate two or more typically separated subjects are interdisciplinary. The term interdisciplinary is generally used in relation to education, however the skills built by interdisciplinary studies are highly sought after in the professional arena. Vastly different studies and/or jobs can have surprisingly similar aspects. Complex problems often have a tangle of factors involving multiple fields. Learning to recognize the possible resources in other realms of study or industry creates a strategic mindset that seems genius, yet is attainable for all.
Interdisciplinary studies are extremely useful in facilitating:
Meaningful Application - infusing greater personal meaning into separate disciplines
Holistic Approach - analyzing and managing components in complex problem solving
Innovation - repurposing and melding ideas, tools and approaches developed in other fields
Meaningful Application
Studying one subject through the lens of another interest can suddenly make a formerly boring subject very relevant and meaningful. Chemistry may seem like a flood of symbols and endless lists of traits and processes to memorize until it is used in detective and legal work (forensics) or art and anatomy (cosmetology). Valuing knowledge or process once thought to be worthless is a transformation of perspective, which immediately transforms that person’s effectiveness and efficiency. The new-found spark of curiosity or hope of furthering a cause can fuel relentless research and experimentation.
Holistic Approach
One project or situation may be interpreted quite differently through separate disciplines. The geologist, the biologist and the engineer all see different factors and possible solutions. Rather than addressing it in mere portions that apply to a given discipline, a holistic approach using the variety of knowledge, schools of thought and foci of diverse disciplines can bring a more accurate panoramic view with greater understanding of all the moving pieces.
When integrating disciplines in education, maintaining distinct perspectives start-to-finish, like playing different roles, can expand the possibilities and solutions, because each discipline has a distinct angle and set of tools. Exploring a situation purely as an economist before switching hats to an agricultural engineer or a community health advisor brings far more to the table.
If followed to completion - analyzing data, contriving questions and suppositions, utilizing the battery of formulas, processes and theories each is equipped with to find root or systemic problems - then the quantity and quality of solutions developed can be exponentially greater. In this simulation of a panel of experts working well together, complementary tactics may emerge, and the strategies to cross-manage interests and responsibilities will be more balanced.
Complex problem solving with holistic consideration is a much needed skill in society, in careers and in life.
Innovation
Diversity is a powerful resource. Each discipline or industry has evolved differently due to the varied subject matter, objectives, critical elements and circumstances in development. Even the personality types or cultures naturally drawn to a field have a significant impact on the evolution and character of that field. A recurring dilemma in one field may be disruptive, whereas in another sector a similar problem has disastrous effects, necessitating highly refined systems for dealing with it. Any highly refined solution, clever creativity or smooth efficiency can be a resource for others to learn from. It is a sliver of mastery, and those slivers of mastery are all around.
Harnessing that wide resource is most easily initiated by studying the success stories of innovators finding and repurposing developments in other fields that bear unexpected similarities. Here is a link to an article with several stellar examples:
To cultivate innovation by interdisciplinary means in a step by step process:
Define the problem or objective as precisely as possible
Brainstorm where else the problem or objective might exist
Investigate the solutions or developments in other fields
Process your findings
Look for patterns, basic principles and reasons one is more effective than another
Make a collage, rearrange things, invert or reverse things
Ask others what they see
Revisit the original problem or objective
Pool the concepts that can be repurposed, combined or improved to suit it
Pursue the most practical and viable options
Most of these points are paraphrased from a handy article:
Adding interdisciplinary studies to your homeschool curriculum elevates the caliber of training for young minds, acquainting them with navigating the rich complexities of the world. Interdisciplinary studies broaden perspectives about the diverse ways to use individual disciplines, as well as the diverse opportunities to learn from others in any context. The more we can all learn from one another, and from the repurposing or melding of concepts, tools and approaches, the richer the world becomes.
Please share your interdisciplinary study projects in the comments below or email me directly at thehomeschoolangle@gmail.com
-S. E. Bocker
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