Integrating Knowledge "operationalizes"
what thoughtful educators have long believed about good instruction: It has
a clear aim. It starts simply and moves steadily through ever-higher levels
of complexity. It anchors unfamiliar ideas in first-hand experience. It
requires learners to engage in a full range of thought processes and play an
active role in their own intellectual growth. It never underestimates
ability and potential. It encourages small group and family dialog to
clarify difficult ideas. It acknowledges variations in learning styles. Its
emphasis on concepts and principles rather than on transient facts makes it
appropriate no matter social or cultural diversity. And that same emphasis
keeps it relevant in the face of rapid social change.
But the power of Integrating Knowledge
does not stem primarily from its utilization of "best practices" like those
above. What sets Integrating Knowledge
apart, and what makes it possible for students who use it to move to new
levels of intellectual functioning, is its respect for the holistic nature
of knowledge.
In the real world—the world we are trying to help the young
understand—everything connects to everything. Consider:
We want a
pair of socks. Those available have been knitted in a Third World country.
Power to run the knitting machines is supplied by burning fossil fuels.
Burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. Climate change alters
weather patterns. Altered weather patterns trigger environmental
catastrophes. Environmental catastrophes destroy infrastructure. Money
spent on infrastructure is not available for health care. Declines in the
quality of health care effect mortality rates. Mortality is a matter of
life and death. Buying socks, then, is a matter of life and death.
Making sense
of this cause-effect sequence simply is not possible when the tools brought
to the task are mere school subjects. They are too limited in scope; their
boundaries too artificial and arbitrary. To grasp reality, students must
have in place a conceptual framework which takes into account the whole of
it and organizes that whole in an intellectually manageable way.
This is what Integrating Knowledge helps
the student do.
If you have been participating in
the pilot program, you may continue your involvement and feedback.
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