Building Blocks

Introduction

In this document, we are suggesting that the specialist subject-centered curriculum needs to be balanced by an approach that gives priority to every child learning the fundamental strategies of thinking and problem-solving. We believe this necessitates an explicit thrust as a core area of the educational development of every child through the methodologies and techniques we have defined as an interdisciplinary approach.

The Nature of Interdisciplinary Thinking

The interdisciplinary nature of thinking is recognized by the inventor as well as the designer as a frame of mind. For schools to develop this frame of mind in students requires a truly interdisciplinary approach to learning that complements the traditional subject-based intradisciplinary curriculum.

Knowledge and Specialization

Certainly, there are bodies of knowledge that can be isolated to form specific subjects or disciplines. In fact, with the explosion of knowledge and information partly due to improved and new modes of communication, there are even subjects within subjects. However, the present age of specialization threatens our children’s education, and schools must heed the caution, expressed in the Victorian Government’s Green Paper, and avoid unduly early and narrow specialization into academic and practical streams.