Teaching for Understanding in the Disciplines—and Beyond

Abstract

Current debates around the organization of precollegiate curriculum have directed considerable criticism at the dominant role assumed by subject matter or disciplines. Criticisms have ranged from a call for interdisciplinary or theme-based curricula to an emphasis on ”ways of knowing,” or “learning styles” as organizing units that replace disciplinary knowledge.

In this article, while acknowledging the merit of some of the critique, we propose a positive view of disciplinary knowledge. We claim that, over the years, knowledgeable human beings working in specific domains have developed concepts, methods, and perspectives as means of better understanding the physical, biological, and social worlds around us. We find students’ access to these disciplinary tools to be an indispensable ingredient of quality education. Shorn of disciplines we become intellectual barbarians.

Unfortunately, genuine understanding in the disciplines has proven hard to attain. After reviewing accumulated evidence of the enduring power of the “predisciplinary” mind, we sketch an educational approach designed to engender effective understanding within and across the disciplines. We illustrate this sketch with preliminary results from a study in which teachers attempt to enhance student understanding across the disciplines. In conclusion, we examine the practical difficulties that arise in attempting to educate for understanding and indicate how some of these obstacles might be dealt with.