The Three Papers

Introduction to Peter Horton’s paper. “Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches to ESDGC: A Gaian view”

Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches to ESDGC: A Gaian view

The Gaia Eye game (Image)

Peter Horton mini CV and Photo

Introduction to Steve Pratchett’s paper. A non-linear pedagogical approach to ESD in Initial Teacher Training

A non-linear pedagogical approach to ESD in Initial Teacher Training

Steve Pratchett a photo and mini CV

Introduction to “Exploring Museum Spaces”

Excerpts from: Exploring Museum Spaces and their Collections as Tools for Interdisciplinary ESD HEA Small Grant ESD Interdisciplinary Project Report 2010/11 By Ian Fairweather, Debbie Flint, Adam Mannis June 2011

Introduction to Peter Horton’s paper. “Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches to ESDGC: A Gaian view”

Peter comes from a theatre studies, drama and music background of many years in FE and community settings. He sees himself as a facilitator as well as a performer. He is critical of current education in the UK and wishes to see engagement with the ideas that shape Gaia theory.

“Schools evolved their own 'timetables' and 'measurements of success', divorced from natural measurements of success, like survival and happiness, and keeping a natural healthy balance.”

He also seeks a return more experiential learning especially a re-connection with nature and a sense of place, found in most traditional tribal education.

“Children learned the skills of survival, of how to grow, harvest and cook food, recycle valuable resources and celebrate being a member of their community. They learned from their extended families and from the wider community to develop their own personal skills, be it dancing, singing, making clothes, climbing trees or hunting. They learned from communities which appreciated that theirs was a 'way of living with the rest of nature'.”

He practices and teaches permaculture, has developed the Gaia Eye game over a number of years and more recently “Gaia the Cabaret” (just completing a seven venue West country tour ending at the Cheltenham Science Fair). His interest in the non-linear “is to get beyond the purely human games which dominate educational agendas in order to develop an approach which operates within the context of a Gaian world view, dissolving the distance between the classroom and the real world.”

He views one aspect of the non-linear within pedagogy as its unpredictability.

“In this approach, rather than moving towards some declared learning objective, each individual brings themselves and their experience and can respond in their own way to the challenge of sustainability. The results of the feedback and interaction between the various responses cannot be predicted. The initial conditions whilst finite in some sense are highly unlikely to be pre-determinable. These features such as sensitivity to initial conditions, feedback loops and uncertain outcome are suggestive of a non-linear system.”

For the Gaia Eye Game: “From a pedagogical point of view, after the initial introduction to the idea and the material, this process is entirely driven by the response of the group. This non-linear approach means that any patterns identified and strategies devised are the product of that group’s particular interpretation of the material, and, as such, is ‘owned' by the group.”

Gaia the Cabaret however is “storytelling in its most participatory form, using music, song, humour and direct audience involvement. Whilst the subject matter for the Cabaret is the same as that for the Gaia Eye Game workshop, there is an important difference in the quality of the experience.” There is no knowing where an individual’s response to the experience might lead in the future.

Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches to ESDGC: A Gaian view

Peter Horton 2011 gaiascompany@free.fr

In this paper I am comparing the pedagogical approach of two specific programmes, The Gaia Eye Game, which is a one day interactive workshop, and Gaia - the Cabaret, which is an interactive performance lasting one hour. Both of these programmes are currently available as resources for students and teachers involved in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC).

Introduction

Non-linear pedagogic techniques are ancient. Children learned the skills of survival, of how to grow, harvest and cook food, recycle valuable resources and celebrate being a member of their community. They learned from their extended families and from the wider community to develop their own personal skills, be it dancing, singing, making clothes, climbing trees or hunting. They learned from communities which appreciated that theirs was a 'way of living with the rest of nature'.

In such pedagogy, the learning happened as and when the children were ready to learn. It was an organic process, and pedagogy was a normal part of the unfolding process of the people evolving with their environment, a process in which celebration, performance, music and art were also a natural part.

But as humans became 'separate from nature', so education became separate from the fabric of everyday life. It became something which happened in schools, outside the circle of the family. Schools evolved their own 'timetables' and 'measurements of success', divorced from natural measurements of success, like survival and happiness, and keeping a natural healthy balance.

The distance between humans and nature (Webster & Johnson 2008) is encapsulated in the distance between the classroom and the real world of nature and Gaian processes and systems. So the challenge for teachers who are involved with ESDGC and who are interested in using non-linear pedagogic techniques, is to get beyond the purely human games which dominate educational agendas in order to develop an approach which operates within the context of a Gaian world view, dissolving the distance between the classroom and the real world. With such an approach, sustainability issues will be seen as a natural part of everyday life, not just another subject in an overcrowded curriculum. Bon voyage!

The Role of Interactive Workshops and Performance in ESDGC

Fundamental to both The Gaia Eye Game, and Gaia - the Cabaret is the science of Gaia Theory, which provides a wholly new reconnection with how the planetary system works and the age-old views of where we as a species fit in. By encouraging the use of a Gaian vocabulary, these programmes aim to enable ordinary people to discover, in a practical and entertaining way, what they might do in their own lives and their own communities to address the challenges we face as a species, and so move closer to developing strategies for sustainability and celebrating a Gaian-sensitive way of living.

The Gaia Eye Game - an interactive workshop

The place of humanity within the planetary system is explored through the Cosmic Calendar, a scaled-down history of the Universe, devised by Carl Sagan12. Participants are then introduced to the contrasting Human Centred (in red) and Gaian Centred (in green) world views by examining 16 pairs of comparative concepts, organised into 4 sets of 4 pairs. (see The Gaia Eye diagram)

The 4 sets are labelled:

Symbiosis;

The Organism and its Environment Evolve Together;

Systems Exist within Systems;

Wisdom of the Biosphere.

Examples of the comparative pairs of concepts

Human Centred Gaian Centred

The individual above all families, groups, communities

force things to happen let things emerge and evolve

obsessed by objects sensitive to systems

better than all the rest natural humility

These concepts are supported and extended by quotations from James Lovelock, the originator of Gaia Theory, and his long time collaborator, the microbiologist Lynn Margulis.

Participants explore these concepts in pairs and then come together to share reactions. Four groups are then formed, each of which is given one of the sets of comparative concepts and the relevant quotations. The groups read these quotes and, if necessary, they can demand more information. Each group then prepares a statement, which may take any form they choose; e.g. a report, performance, visual presentation, etc. to report back to the whole group on their journey through the concepts so far. The next step is to identify what patterns and pathways start to emerge from the whole group, in response to these two contrasting world views. Participants in each workshop

1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2qezQzfgIY accessed 3 March 20112 http://visav.phys.uvic.ca/~babul/AstroCourses/P303/BB-slide.htm accessed 3

March 2011

will produce a unique response. Participants are then encouraged to develop strategies for future action based on the patterns that have emerged.

From a pedagogical point of view, after the initial introduction to the idea and the material, this process is entirely driven by the response of the group. This non-linear approach means that any patterns identified and strategies devised are the product of that group’s particular interpretation of the material, and, as such, is ‘owned' by the group.

Gaia - the Cabaret - an interactive performance

The cabaret is an acoustic event which is best performed in small, intimate venues and which lasts about an hour. It is a collection of songs and sketches which focus on various aspects of the science of Gaia Theory. There is a direct relationship between the performer and the audience, and the audience is encouraged to participate in such activities as a spontaneous, self-organising chorus, a demonstration of human talents in the Human Circus, and providing the sound effects for the Voice of Bacteria.

From a pedagogical point of view, this is storytelling in its most participatory form, using music, song, humour and direct audience involvement. Whilst the subject matter for the Cabaret is the same as that for the Gaia Eye Game workshop, there is an important difference in the quality of the experience.

In the workshop, the responses of the individuals in the group are openly encouraged, and subsequent exploration of the material becomes a shared group experience. In the cabaret, there is no exposure of an individual’s personal response to the material, unless they wish to share this voluntarily after the event, which means that people can take away the experience and react to it in their own way in the future. One of the powerful effects of storytelling is that images can persist in the memory, like seeds, and at some future moment they can be sparked into life by a chance remark or event. One of the joys of performing the cabaret is that you can never tell how different people will respond and where each personal journey might lead.

The Bgo Connection: Gaia Science and Sustainability - closing the gap between humans and nature - a workshop

The Bgo connection workshop is suitable for:

students in schools, colleges or universities;

as part of a package for in-service teacher training;

as a module for students studying ESDGC;

as part of community-led sustainability programmes.

At the heart of the process of ESDGC is the issue of changing the perceptual frameworks that shape our view of how we relate to nature. In Sense and Sustainability, Ken Webster and Craig Johnson observe that there is a distance between humans and nature and propose a new framework of nature as teacher, nature as capital as a way to dissolve this distance and move towards strategies for sustainability. The Bgo Connection (pronounced be-go) builds on this idea of nature as teacher, by focusing on ways of removing the gap between humans and nature through an interactive

workshop based on the concepts implicit in the scientific framework of Gaia Theory, which provides a clear scientific view of how the planet really works and where we as a species fit in. The workshop uses a selection of key quotations from James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, and explores, in an entertaining and accessible way, such fundamental ideas as material and energy cycles, symbiosis, self-regulation, system dynamics, mutuality, and the vital role of bacteria in the evolutionary process. It aims to equip students with a solid scientific Gaian vocabulary which will help them make sense of the conceptual labyrinth associated with sustainability and plan their own strategies in a coherent way.

Lead-in

The students are introduced to the Cosmic Calendar, the history of the universe scaled down to one year (Sagan 1977). They are presented with a blank calendar and asked to stick on various events such as the formation of the Earth, when dinosaurs lived, when humans appeared, and so on.

Workshop Session

The Cosmic Calendar is revealed; discussion on reactions to seeing universal and human history from this perspective; open-ended identification of key events in planetary evolution.

In Gaia we are just another species, neither the owners nor the stewards of this planet. Our future depends much more upon a right relationship with Gaia than with the never ending drama of human interest. (Lovelock 1988 p.14)

This quotation from James Lovelock is the pivotal starting point for exploring the gap between humans and nature. Humans have become obsessed with the 'never ending drama of human interest' and seem to have lost sight of the fact that 'in Gaia we are just another species'. A right relationship with Gaia can only come about by getting rid of this gap.

Practical work

Introduction - what is Bgo? We are all familiar with ego and its associated images and behaviours, but: Who is the you that grows your hair? Who is the you that breathes? This is the you that is beyond your ego and which connects you to the rest of nature in a profound way. Until now, there has been no word to describe this you – and using this new word bgo can help us understand and enjoy all our connections to the natural world with no pre-conceived emotional baggage.

Detailed exploration of bgo and its relation to natural processes through a selection of key quotes, including this from Lynn Margulis:

We are in mute incontrovertible partnership with the photosynthetic organisms that feed us, the gas producers that provide oxygen, and the heterotrophic bacteria and fungi that remove and convert our waste. No political will or technological advance can dissolve that partnership.' (Margulis 1997 p.16)

An invaluable source of ideas to support the workshop is the list of fundamental facts of life provided by the Center for Ecoliteracy and reproduced on page 91 of Sense and Sustainability and

which are all to be found in quotations from Lynn Margulis. This list might also be called Gaian common sense. A practical examination of these fundamentals is vital to the process of dissolving the gap identified in this workshop.

Lead-out

The power of extending the nature as teacher framework into the Gaia Science paradigm is that Gaia Theory places humanity into its proper context within the evolving planetary system and also locates the individual in a systems within systems framework, thus providing a more realistic view of how to design sustainable strategies and how to monitor their progress. Workshop participants can frame practical initiatives for themselves and the groups to which they belong - their school or college and their local communities in terms of the Gaian vocabulary.

The need is to stimulate without prescribing - and to use conceptual frameworks as support for learning, rather than as restraints on imagination and creativity. (Webster & Johnson 2008 p.127).

The science of Gaia Theory provides a solid foundation for this to be achieved.

The evolution of Gaia seems to depend upon the activities of individual organisms. If these are favourable for the environment they succeed. To me this means that it is more important to try to live in harmony with the Earth at a personal level than to allow any of the numerous human collectives and parties to take that responsibility away from us. (Lovelock 1988 p.45)

References

Lovelock J. (1988) The Ages of Gaia. Oxford: University Press Oxford

Bunyard, P., Goldsmith, P., and Goldsmith, E. (1998) Gaia, the Thesis, the Mechanisms and the Implications. (Eds.) Wadebridge Ecological Centre, Worthyvale Manor, Camelford, Cornwall, UK

Margulis L., Sagan, D. (1997) Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution. Berkeley, CA:

University of California Press

Webster K., Ireland, L., & Johnson C. (2008) Sense & Sustainability: Educating for a Low Carbon World, United Kingdom: TerraPreta

Peter Horton mini CV and Photo

The work I am currently offering, including 'Gaia - the Cabaret' and interactive workshop sessions on 'Gaia Theory and Sustainability', is a product of the following experiences:

- 30 years working as a writer, musician and performer, a lecturer in Theatre Studies and Communication Skills, and a Theatre Workshop director in schools, colleges and the community

- 20 years researching and producing educational and performance material on the cultural implications of Gaia Theory, working closely with James Lovelock and other leading Gaia scientists

- spending the last 12 years as a family developing a 5 hectare site in southern France using permaculture design principles and exploring on a practical, day to day basis, what 'living in a right relationship with Gaia' might mean...this is on-going!

Amidst the media hype surrounding climate change and issues of sustainability, the science which first made us aware of how the planet really works, and how our behaviour might affect it, rarely gets a mention. This is Gaia Theory, and it provides a fundamental new view of our relationship with the Earth, a startling and strangely attractive view which is at once both revolutionary and re-assuring!...

© Peter Horton 2011 gaiascompany@free.fr

Introduction to Steve Pratchett’s paper. “A non-linear pedagogical approach to ESD in Initial Teacher Training”

Steve comes from a long background teaching Geography and Art in Primary and Higher Education separated by a period as Development Education Officer for an NGO. Over the past few years he has been developing a curriculum model for ESDGC. In this paper he uses a more radical Norwegian approach to ESDGC in ITE to design a whole-day Education for Sustainable Development workshop using his model.

“Groups of students had to select and explore a sustainability issue through the four elements within the Curriculum Model to Underpin Education for Sustainable Development (Pratchett 2008) The model not only contains the cognitive domain of developing knowledge and understanding and the affective domain of values, attitudes and feelings clarification but also the action domain of participation.”

“The participants had to demonstrate evidence of reflection and action ‘aiming at developing and utilising the students’ commitment towards and engagement in thinking and acting towards ecological security’ as outlined in the Norwegian case study.”

As a result they raised issues concerning: Procurement of Fairtrade food, Fairtrade sports equipment, food miles, biodegradability and re-cycling. “For many this was a new and empowering experience as many were reticent about questioning and challenging the policy and practice of authorities and authority figures.

The students are engaged in independent enquiries on real issues that concern them, which encourage them to take responsibility for their learning. The direction learning takes cannot be predicted and there is many an unexpected turn. He views expressive objectives as more appropriate in this setting and quotes them as being “evocative rather than prescriptive”.

The feedback loops of online sharing of presentation slides and a discussion board result in a dynamic and lateral model of learning also suggestive of non-linearity.

A non-linear pedagogical approach to ESD in Initial Teacher Training

Steve Pratchett March 2011

THE CATALYST

As the following extract from Haavelstrud (2009) indicates, ecophilosophy is a required component in all teacher education programmes in Norway. Also note the Norwegian use of the preferable term teacher education and not training, the latter term now prevalent in the UK. Reading this article in 2009 became the catalyst for designing a more radical approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in 2009 on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes at the University College, Plymouth, St Mark & St John.

LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

We can all learn from international comparisons, so, drawing on the Norwegian example, I designed whole-day Education for Sustainable Development workshops in 2009 and 2010, for cohorts of Primary Bachelor of Education (BEd) Year 2 and 4 initial teacher training students at the UK University College, Plymouth, St Mark and St John.

Groups of students had to select and explore a sustainability issue through the four elements within the Curriculum Model to Underpin Education for Sustainable Development (Pratchett 2008) (see fig. 1 below). Note this model not only contains the cognitive domain of developing knowledge and understanding and the affective domain of values, attitudes and feelings clarification but also the action domain of participation.

Fig 1: Pratchett (2010 p.1) A Curriculum Model to Underpin Education for Sustainable Development

The participants had to demonstrate evidence of reflection and action ‘aiming at developing and utilising the students’ commitment towards and engagement in thinking and acting towards ecological security’ as outlined in the Norwegian case study. Up to this point in time perhaps the Marjon students had been more reticent about being as radical as those in Trondheim but it was a start!

Education is critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision-making. (UN 1992)

Ecophilosophy becomes a required course in teacher education in Norway in 2015

An extract from Peace Learning by Magnus Haavelsrud (pp.67-68)

Ecophilosophy becomes a required course in teacher education in Norway in 2015. The course reflects the insights that this discipline is not value neutral and descriptive only. It is explicitly normative aiming at developing and utilizing the students’ commitment towards and engagement in thinking and acting towards ecological security as part of a more comprehensive field of peace studies. In this way ecological security is conceived as closely integrated with issues of development, disarmament, and human rights. Evaluation criteria in the course include those described by Sigmund Kvaloy Setreng in his book, Diversity and Time published in Norwegian and entitled Magngfold og Tid in the year 2001 page 3271:

1. documentation of understanding global and local natural conditions seen as wholes in which each part relates to all parts;

2. documentation of understanding that each human being and the human species are part of nature demonstrating cases of both conflict and harmony;

3. demonstrating a wide range of human abilities and possibilities such as critical thinking, understanding patterns, wholes, and processes of change, sensibility, empathy, emotion, and compassion, intuition, and not least: ability for practical and political activity by participating in political and/or social conflict in the struggle for ecological security.

The students are required to focus on problems and challenges in their own community.

One group of students in Trondheim, Norway, observes how plastic bags pollute not only beaches but oceans as well. As birds on the beaches and on the surface of the ocean get tangled up with plastic they die and sink becoming part of the fish food chain. This can in time lead to bits of plastic in fish stomachs which are again eaten by bigger fish, seals, and whales. As plastic contains chemicals that are cancerous the prognosis is that not only animals in the ocean may be exposed to this danger but human beings as they will in the end find it on the dinner table.

In their search for the causes of this problem the students are confronted with not only human behaviour on the individual level, but also political apathy in the Norwegian government and international government organisations such as the UN. Their goal or vision is to reduce the use of plastic food wrappings for shopping purposes, and also secure safe storage of plastic that is thrown away. This is a structural problem requiring global political action and they contact the representative from Norway in the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) in order for her to take up the issue in this global lawmaking institution. She finds the obstacles from industry and commerce so strong that she refuses to do so. Upon proof of more political

apathy the students become furious and contact the major newspapers in the country and with the help of the Young Peace Builders Organisation in the Hague they are able to make contact with similar youth organisations in several countries about the issue. The local challenge observed on a beach in Trondheim with the help of teacher-education students led to a global movement to forbid the use of plastic in food storage and transport including shopping bags in all member countries of the UN.

This student group meets the criteria of evaluation mentioned earlier and received a good grade in the course on eco-philosophy: 1) they had demonstrated the local-global interrelationship, 2) they had demonstrated harmony and conflict with nature, and 3) they had demonstrated a wide range of abilities and integrated reflection and action in their course work. P.S. It took five years for the seed sown by the teacher education student group to flourish in UN law. By the way, the representative from Norway was not re-elected to the UNPA.

Design of the ESD Workshop: Learning Objectives

By the end of the session students would have:

1. Developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of a sustainability issue;2. Developed an understanding of, and the ability to apply, an appropriate curriculum model to

underpin a sustainability enquiry; 3. Developed both ICT and communication skills in presenting the findings of a sustainability enquiry to

colleagues;4. Clarified their values, attitudes and dispositions towards sustainability;5. Demonstrated understanding of global and local natural conditions seen as wholes in which each part

relates to all parts;6. Demonstrated understanding that each human being and the human species are part of nature

demonstrating cases of both conflict and harmony;7. Demonstrated a wide range of human abilities and possibilities such as critical thinking, understanding

patterns, wholes, and processes of change, sensibility, empathy, emotion, and compassion, intuition, and not least; ability for practical and political activity by participating in political and/or social conflict in the struggle for ecological security.

I did not want the students’ research into their chosen sustainability issue to be solely an ‘academic’ exercise. The workshop was designed to engage them in not only the cognitive domain but also in the affective domain of clarifying their feelings, attitudes and values and in the action domain of self-empowerment and social/political participation. Emphasis was placed on students acting both collaboratively in groups and individually, demonstrating their ‘ability for practical and political activity by participating in political and/or social conflict in the struggle for ecological security’ (Haavelsrud, 2009) in relation to their own chosen sustainability issue. In the student task briefing below this is emphasised in the guidance statement both in terms of present and future actions and involvements:

Teaching for the future requires exploration of their own and others’ hopes and fears for the future and the action required to create a more just and ecologically sustainable future. It empowers children to feel that they can work towards their chosen future. (Hicks & Holden 1995 p.10)

Design of the ESD Workshop: Content & Plan for the day

9.00-10.30 Key-note lecture: ‘A Curriculum Model to Underpin Education for Sustainable Development’

Paired/group discussion and ranking exercise of the Eight Doorways for Sustainable Schools 2020

Paired/group discussion of model

1. What are your views on the curriculum models presented by Pratchett, (1985, 2004, 2006) and

Allen & Gunsell (2001) for addressing change & sustainability issues?

2. Have you ever seen these curriculum models implemented in Primary schools, used by students

on teaching practice or anywhere on ITT programmes?

3. What dangers and pitfalls are there for the teacher at each stage/step in these curriculum

models?

4. What contribution can NC subjects make at each stage/step in these curriculum models?

Viewing of Fair Play Football (Teachers’ TV video of a teacher using the model to explore the

sustainability issues that underlie the trade in sports equipment such as footballs).

Briefing on group task in which students engage in a sustainability enquiry and create a PowerPoint

presentation based around the curriculum model .

11.30-3.30 Group research for and planning & creation of PowerPoint presentations on chosen ESD issue, which should address the cognitive, affective and action domains. (Tutors will visit groups to offer guidance & advice.)

Identify the immediate participatory action your group or individuals within the group have taken today and then identify any future planned participation/action that you could or intend to get involved in for the future. Also identify what others could do if they wish to get involved and participate in your chosen issue.

3.30- 4.30 Student ESD presentations in four sub-groups to their peers and tutors, including questions and evaluative feedback from the audience.

Emphasis was also placed on tutors and students becoming both learners and teachers. Tutors as well as students’ peers were present for the group presentations, each being a culmination of the day’s research. Hence, knowledge, understanding, values and feelings, clarification and participation for change were explored and shared in a community of enquiry, initially within each group, and then within the wider body of students and tutors. The design of the workshop was based on:

1. the social constructivist premise that learning is most effective in a social context where dialogue and discussion are valued and more informed others (which in this instance tended to be the student groups) extended the learning of others through sharing with peers. The forum for discussion was extended into the College intranet environment via a discussion board (examples of student and tutor contributions accompany this article)

2. the premise that learning is most effective if it is experiential. Hence, it was felt that a didactic explanation of the cognitive, affective and action domains of learning in the curriculum model to underpin ESD (Pratchett 2010) would be less effective than students experiencing these domains for themselves. This would be more likely result in the internalisation of the learning process and, hence, enhance students’ ability and motivation to use this approach in planning and implementing the model in their primary classrooms.

Education for citizenship cannot be based on the transmission of knowledge. It is essentially a matter of developing in pupils a range of capabilities, especially the power of autonomous thinking. And that requires an approach to curriculum planning, a curriculum model, whose central feature is not knowledge to be acquired or facts to be stored or extrinsic objectives to be attained but the process to be promoted and the procedural principles to be derived from those processes …..Such a curriculum cannot be integrated with a curriculum, which like the National Curriculum is founded on preselected knowledge-content and predetermined behavioural objectives. They are oil and water. (Kelly 1995 p.186)

3. The premise that learning is most effective when enquiry based.

Education about sustainability is most effectively delivered through enquiry-based learning – the hallmark of good, effective geography teaching. Pupils can be encouraged to take responsibility for their learning by identifying real issues that concern them such as litter, disability access and energy supplies in their immediate environment. They can investigate the issue with hands on practical data collection and use the results to take action and see the effectiveness of their actions, so developing education for sustainability. (Morris & Willy 2007 p.34)

EVALUATION AND OUTCOMES

During the workshop and in the presentations there was ample evidence of high levels of participation, e.g. some groups engaged locally in challenging the university’s chef regarding the degree to which he addressed issues of Fairtrade, food miles, biodegradability... Others challenged the Principal on the university’s levels of commitment to recycling and others challenged the PE department on their purchasing policy in relation to Fairtrade footballs and sports clothing. Some contacted local councils, for example on their lack of strategies for recycling batteries, others wrote to their MP lobbying for action on their chosen sustainability issue and others joined organisations, which lobby and work in the area of development and sustainability. For many this was a new and empowering experience as many were reticent about questioning and challenging the policy and practice of authorities and authority figures. Students also engaged in a post-workshop online discussion board where they reflected on the value of the learning experiences of the day and their contribution to their personal and professional development.

A NON-LINEAR PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH

This case study includes many of the features associated with a non-linear approach to Education for Sustainable Development. The students are engaged in independent enquiries on real issues that concern them, which encourage them to take responsibility for their learning. The direction learning takes cannot be predicted and there is many an unexpected turn. Much of the learning is open-ended and cannot be determined by the tutor in advance with prescriptive objectives. Hence, expressive objectives are more appropriate:

An expressive objective describes an educational encounter. It identifies a situation in which children are to work, a problem with which they are to cope, a task in which they are to engage; but it does not specify what from that encounter, situation, problem, or task they are to learn …. An expressive objective is evocative rather than prescriptive. (Eisner 1969 cited in Kelly 1989 p.79)

The prior reading, evaluation of media sources, and the workshop itself all interact in unforeseen ways and the feedback loops of online sharing of presentation slides and a discussion board result in a dynamic and lateral model of learning.

REFERENCES

Eisner, E. W. (1969) Instructional and expressive educational objectives: their formulation and use in the curriculum, cited in Kelly, A.V. (1989) The Curriculum Theory and Practice. London: Paul Chapman

Haavelsrud, M. (2009) Peace Learning in Kagawa, F. & Selby, D. (Eds.) (2009) Education and Climate Change Living and Learning in Interesting Times. London: Routledge

Kelly, A.V. (1995) Education and Democracy, Principles and Practice. London: Paul Chapman

Hicks, D. & Holden, C. (1995) Visions of the future: why we need to teach for tomorrow. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books

Morris, G. & Willy, T. (2007) Eight Doorways to Sustainability. Primary Geographer No. 64, Sheffield: Geographical Association

Pratchett, S.J. (2008) A Curriculum Model to Underpin Education for Sustainable Development published online at: http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/gattegno also as a paper presented at the All Our Futures Conference, Plymouth University, 9-11th Sept. 2008. Also published online at: http://csf.plymouth.ac.uk/files/Presentations/P-T/S-Pratchett.pdf

UN (2005) Guidelines and Recommendations for Reorienting Education to Address Sustainability. United Nations3

3 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001433/143370e.pdf accessed 3 March

2011

Steve Pratchett a photo and mini CV

Steve Pratchett studied Education & Art at Trent Park College when training to be a primary teacher. In the1970s &1980s he taught in several schools in Dagenham & Barking and became deputy headteacher in Hainault. Then he joined Christian Aid as a Development Education Officer in NE London for three years. In 1985 he was appointed to the University College Plymouth, St Mark & St John as Senior Lecturer in Geography and Art &Design where he remained until retirement in 2009. During this period he wrote approximately fifty journal & online articles for ‘Primary Geographer’, ‘Teaching Geography’, ‘Mapping News’, ‘START Magazine for Primary and Pre-school Teachers of Art, Craft & Design’, ‘The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching in Mathematics (NCETM)’, ‘The National Council for Educational Technology’, ‘The Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA)’ and ‘The Ordnance Survey’. In collaboration with the RNLI & MCA he developed an educational resource, ‘Mayday’, on Air/Sea Search & Rescue for primary children. Among his interests was the development of virtual learning environments using multi-media, reusable learning materials in both art and geography in collaboration with Coleridge Productions in Plymouth. One of these sets of materials, ‘Water Excel’, explores soil erosion, drainage and leaching with primary children. Another explores approaches to using the media of papier-mâché in teacher education and primary schools. A feature of his teaching was an interactive, participatory multi-media approach, which included much fieldwork, and many simulation games in geography which he originally began developing when at Christian Aid and later brought into his Undergraduate and Postgraduate teacher education programmes. Many of his learning materials and publications arose from school-based curriculum development and research projects or team teaching with students, which was an approach to teacher training which he promoted with passion and enthusiasm throughout his time as a lecturer.

Introduction to “Exploring Museum Spaces”

This piece, composed of extracts from the final report, is a good example of the non-linear unpredictable nature of such interactions between students from different disciplines each with their own subject knowledge and way of working. It is also and important example of what can happen when ideas are recorded over the day as different viewpoints are explored using a “Personal Meaning Map”. The students’ comments bear this out and it is worth going back to the full report to fully appreciate the effect of such an experience on both staff and students. Concept maps and mind maps are useful tools to record, construct and negotiate an individual’s understanding of a concept or set of concepts within a group. At each stage in the process of the day visit to the museum, the participants had the opportunity to record their thoughts on the mind map, but using a different colour each time so that the evolution of their thinking could be traced. A number of students really appreciated this facet of the day, time to express themselves on paper in a non-threatening way and the chance to add to and modify this thinking in the light of further experiences and discussions. Furthermore they appreciated the reflective nature of the map which they could read back and reflect upon at a later date. We have had many experiences with student teachers and teachers negotiating meaning using concept maps in primary maths and science.

Also of interest is the whole notion of using artifacts, real things to look at handle, talk about, focus on, gain different understandings of, explore their meaning, cultural significance, and in this case relate this to sustainability. Looking at and thinking about museum exhibits was for most of these students neutral territory. The experience provided multiple opportunities for fresh thinking about old things.

Excerpts from: Exploring Museum Spaces and their Collections as Tools for Interdisciplinary ESD

HEA Small Grant ESD Interdisciplinary Project Final Report 2010/11

By Ian Fairweather, Debbie Flint, Adam Mannis June 2011

ABSTRACT

This project has evaluated how museum spaces, collections and resources can assist interdisciplinary pedagogies for sustainable development. Evidence was collected from students of distinct disciplines collaborating during workshops at differing museum sites. Findings reveal that students valued their museum experiences. Not only did these learners gain new understandings from interactions across other subject areas; they were also able to extend their initial individual thinking in relation to sustainability. In addition, Personal Meaning Mapping tools provided a visual record of their knowledge and understanding being constructed, each time they were stimulated to extend their thinking on sustainability through designated tasks.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Background An exploration of relevant literature was undertaken, highlighting how HE-museum collaborative

partnerships can provide valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

2. Aims The aim of this project was to evaluate how museum spaces, their collections, and other

resources, can assist interdisciplinary pedagogies for sustainable development. The work of the project was based on student groups, drawn from three distinct discipline areas

– of anthropology, art and design, and materials science – collaborating during a series of one-day workshops to analyse museum objects through the lens of sustainability.

3. Methods The project workshops were held in differing museum contexts, and participating students came

from HEIs located in the region of each museum. During a workshop, thematic (sustainability) discussion-based explorations were undertaken by

students of selected museum objects / displays. This methodology was innovative for the disciplines involved, because it drew upon the kinesthetic properties of the objects, and their potential for an active learning experience.

A variant of Personal Meaning Mapping was used as a tool by students, to record how their thoughts and ideas relating to sustainability changed during the workshops.

The project report details the case context at each of the chosen museum sites.

4. Results Evidence was collected from an evaluation of the student participants. This was presented as reflections from each of the museum workshops. Evidence also addressed the following three key aspects: (i) museums as tools for

interdisciplinary ESD; (ii) interdisciplinary discussions for ESD; and (iii) Personal Meaning Mapping to support and evidence learning about ESD.

5. Conclusions This project can be deemed a success, in part from the rich evidence it has provided into student

learning with regard to sustainable development. Participants had fun, they gained new insights, and they took back many positive aspects from

the workshops to their institutions. Students valued the interactions of museum spaces and experiences. The museum collections

provided a starting point and catalyst for thinking about sustainability. These learners clearly enjoyed the opportunities to come together for interdisciplinary

discussions. Not only did they gain new understandings from interactions across other subject areas; they were also able to extend their initial individual thinking in relation to sustainability through structured workshop tasks.

In addition, the Personal Meaning Maps provided a visual record of their knowledge and understanding being constructed, each time they were stimulated to extend their thinking on sustainability through a designated task.

6. Recommendations Four stakeholder groups have been identified, for whom a set of recommendations have been

put forward: students, museums, HEIs, and the Higher Education Academy. In relation to the former group, students can draw on museums’ often free resources to enhance

their learning and discovery. They should consider both how, and where, in their learning, tools

such as Personal Meaning Mapping may be deployed. In addition, evidence gathered through this project has indicated how students can make use of both their formal and informal learning to draw on the thinking and insights of other disciplines, especially for complex topics such as sustainable development.

In relation to the later stakeholder group, this project has clearly shown that an interdisciplinary approach recognises a diversity of understandings of sustainable development; and allows a consensus-building approach in line with the aims of ESD. The Higher Education Academy should, therefore, take note of these project findings, and look to promote further interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional, explorations of ESD; along with other complex topics.

2.0 Aims

The three discipline areas from which the participating students in the project are drawn – anthropology, art and design, and materials – approach the notion of sustainable development very differently. The project was built on the idea that the experience of collaborating to analyze museum objects through the lens of sustainability would be likely to have deep and lasting effects on students’ understandings of the concept.

3.3 Museum-based workshops

In each museum, the project team facilitated a thematic (sustainability) discussion-based exploration of the objects / displays. The rationale for this approach derives from the pedagogical literature associated with museum education discussed above. This methodology was innovative for the disciplines involved, because it drew upon the kinesthetic properties of the objects themselves and their potential for an active learning experience.

To facilitate and record this experience, we drew from some of the creative learning techniques used in the Higher Education Academy’s Change Academy programmes. An example of this is the ‘Rich Picture’ activity, where poster-making is used to communicate and develop shared understandings of complex ideas. We settled upon a variant of Personal Meaning Mapping, a tool developed by John Falk and colleagues, to measure learning in ‘free-choice’ learning settings such as museums. It is designed to measure how ‘a specified educational experience uniquely affects each individual’s conceptual, attitudinal and emotional understanding’ (Falk and Dierking, 2000). In this project, personal meaning maps were used by students to record how their thoughts and ideas relating to ‘sustainability’ changed throughout the day (see example below).

On a large piece of paper, students were asked, at the beginning of the day, to write the word ‘sustainability’. Next they were asked to record their thoughts and feelings about this word. This exercise was repeated at various points during the day, after an intervention or experience had taken place each time using a different coloured marker pen, so that the development of the students’ thinking was recorded.

Meaning Map – from the workshop at The Manchester Museum

The project raised no serious ethical issues. All the students involved were participating on a voluntary basis and were aware that the work they did was not assessed. All were given written information before taking part in the workshop, explaining the nature of the project and what they could expect to do. To reinforce this, it was explained on the day of the workshop that this was part of a research project funded by the Higher Education Academy, and that the students’ work would form part of a model for interdisciplinary Education for Sustainable Development in museums. Museum staff, likewise, participated on a voluntary basis, and the nature of the project was fully explained to them in verbal and written form beforehand. Consent was obtained from the students and museum staff to photograph them and to use digital photographs, their recorded comments and their meaning maps in this report; and in further publications relating to this project.

3.4 Case context

Workshops were held at The Manchester Museum, The V&A Museum (London), and the London Transport Museum. The context for each will be described below.

3.5 The Manchester Museum, 16th March 2011

Meaning Mapping at the Manchester Museum – Photo Lorenzo Ferrarini

Workshop design

Eight students participated (2x Anthropology, 4x Art and Design and 2x Materials Science), from a variety of HEIs in the region. Several of these student participants expressed an extra-curricula interest in an activity that related to the workshop (running cross-curricular workshops in primary schools, gardening, biodynamic farming, display and exhibition of culture, museum volunteering).

Two museum staff participated in the day. Esme Ward, Head of Learning and Engagement; and Stephen Welsh, Curator of Living Cultures.

Introduction

The facilitators provided an introduction to the day, by outlining the day’s aims and activities. Esme Ward ran an ‘ice-breaker’ session aimed to get the group thinking about learning from objects. A selection of small objects was distributed (a glove, a packet of ketchup…) and participants were asked to write down 30 questions about their object. This activity encouraged students to communicate in small groups, and to feel comfortable in drawing upon their existing knowledge in analyzing objects.

Museum tour

Esme took the group on a brief tour of the Museum, and gave a short accompanying talk about the museum context. The talk raised some sustainability issues (relationships between local and global, the local community, the planned museum allotment) and other issues; the display of artifacts, future plans for the museum, what visitors can do in the museum, the involvement of fashion design in the display of artifacts, audience engagement strategies (HE, school children, etc.) and connections between objects and themes. The talk touched on ideas about how to experience the museum and the importance of looking beyond disciplines.

The tour concluded with a visit to the Museum’s Benin Collection. Here, students identified an object or group of objects on which to focus their attention for the remainder of the day. These objects could be described as ‘traditional’ museum objects, in the sense that they were exotic artifacts presented as representations of a different culture, distanced in both space and time from that of the students. The objects directed students’ thoughts towards non-modern ways of living and interacting with the environment, and issues to do with cultural contact and survival.

First generation meaning maps

Participants spent 10 minutes individually jotting down the sustainability implications of their chosen object/s.

Working in disciplinary groups

Participants spent 50 minutes in disciplinary groups discussing the sustainability implications of their chosen object / display. In some instances, this involved returning in groups to the exhibition. During this time, students also prepared to feedback their thoughts to the other disciplinary groups.

Second generation meaning maps

Participants spent 10 minutes jotting down the sustainability implications of their object/s, following their discussions within disciplinary groups.

Subject group feedback

The disciplinary groups fed back their thoughts on the sustainability implications of their chosen object/s. The students reflected on ways of thinking about sustainability, the role of the museum and who objects were preserved for, the impact of humans on the natural world, and the sustainability of cultures. Participants spoke about how the objects on display, although removed from their original context, are able to “sustain the society they came from.” The Materials Science group, for instance, discussed the role of ‘design’ and the way that objects tell stories or record narratives.

Interdisciplinary discussion

Following the disciplinary presentations, the three groups had some time to work together to develop questions for the ‘museum expert’. The disciplinary presentations gave rise to very engaged discussion, and a whole range of unanswered questions as the following comments indicate:

“I started with facts I’d picked up, but now I have hundreds of questions.”

“At some point we have to stop asking questions…we have to sit with the ideas a bit…like pastry it has to rise.”

Museum input

Stephen Welsh, Curator of Living Cultures, talked about the ‘Living Cultures’ galleries, including the history of objects sourced (stolen) in the late 19th century, how they became part of colonial / imperial collections, and how the ‘Living Cultures’ gallery tries “to make connections with the cultures from which objects are sourced.” He then addressed the students’ questions.

Reflections on The Manchester Museum event

Student evaluations were very positive, and indicated that students felt they had developed their understandings, for example:

“It went from quite obscure to really focused … the last one very specific about display and responsibility. I got an answer which is to do with clarity…how fair he seemed to be…it was amazing. Clarity was something that came out of it…for sustainability to be transparent.”

“I was always interested, but I’ll be out of my comfort zone … by bringing disciplines together, there is more knowledge, but more questions.”

“You have this lens that you see through … that you didn’t know that you had” [the discipline].

“I liked the interdisciplinary group…all the different views in the group.”

It was also clear that the students had found the Personal Meaning Map methodology a useful way to develop their thoughts, particularly in terms of being able to see how the interdisciplinary discussion changed their perspectives:

“The first round was really vague – am I writing the right thing?”

“The second group you confirm it; the third you go, wow, new stuff; the fourth confirms it.”

“After that round [the discipline] I had a load of new thoughts.”

The project team, however, felt that the focus on sustainability had been lost to a degree during the museum input session, as the discussion had turned more to the politics of collection and display. This was confirmed by some of the students’ comments:

“I thought we would have been talking about the sustainability of objects…but we have moved to talking about the ethics of display.”

“It’s gone somewhere else, as well…off on a tangent.”

“We veered away from sustainability, because no-one knows what the definition means.”

Nevertheless, the museum input had been a valuable component of the cross-disciplinary interaction:

“He [the museum expert] brought in a fourth discipline, which is museology.”

The part of the day that had generated the most interesting discussions, and which the students seemed to find most transformative, was the interdisciplinary discussion; after the disciplinary groups had presented their ideas to each other. We felt that this part of the day had been too short, and so decided in the future it would be better to have the museum input in the first session.

3.6 The V&A Museum London, Sackler Centre for Arts Education, 15th June 2011

Meaning Mapping at the V&A Museum

Twelve students participated (7x Anthropology, 4x Art and Design, 1x Materials Science), from a number of universities and specialist college across London.

The day was facilitated by the project team, and a member of the museum staff – Leanne Manfredi, Programme Manager: Higher Education and Creative Industries.

Introduction / Museum input

Leanne Manfredi gave a talk introducing The V&A Museum, and discussing its collections policy. She raised a number of issues about sustainability in the museum context. Following this, students produced their 1st generation meaning maps before visiting the New Acquisitions Gallery. The Gallery contained a diverse selection of mostly 20th Century design and photographs, recently acquired by the V&A. The displays raised questions about the notion of preservation – what should be preserved, and for whom?

What does sustainability mean to our discipline?

After completing their 2nd generation meaning maps, students formed groups with peers from their own discipline to discuss the sustainability implications of the museum collections, and the New Acquisitions Gallery in particular. Following this discussion, they completed their 3rd generation meaning maps.

Subject group feedback and interdisciplinary discussion

More time was devoted to this session than at the Manchester event, and there was no Q&A session with the museum expert; although Leanne was present, and contributed to this discussion.

The discussion was very lively, and students were keen to explore each other’s disciplinary perspectives. This not only helped to broaden their understanding of the issues, but enabled them to reflect on what they already knew. For instance, when art and design students questioned the terminology used by anthropology students in discussing the display history of objects – (“synchronic…representing a culture according to one moment in time…diachronic…looking at culture over time”) – a discussion ensued. Here, anthropology students realized that their previous understandings of these terms had led them to regard synchronic or ahistorical representations as misleading; but thinking about objects in the museum context required them to re-think this judgement.

Following the discussion, students completed their 4th generation meaning maps.

The day ended with a tour of part of the museum, including the ‘open storage’ collections and a chance to meet student interns at the museum.

Reflections on the V&A Museum event

In this event, the primary museum input took place at the beginning of the day; so it took longer for students to get a chance to engage directly with the issue of sustainability. But, the museum talk effectively framed the context for the ensuing discussions. Students felt that having focused their attention on ‘sustainability’ before visiting the collection, had changed the way they interacted with it:

“Approaching exhibits with a word in the head. Education = interpretation = prior interpretation.”

“Walking into the exhibits with the idea of sustainability in my head…complexity of sustainability, wide viewpoint that fed into the discussion of sustainability … synthesizing viewpoints, productive relationships.”

“To have someone from the museum to explain the problems that museums face was great.”

Again, students were positive about the interdisciplinary discussion:

“At the start you’re in your own realm…then you are in an alien environment … but, then it comes back to your own ideas again.”

“On sustainability … a wide view … from material science to anthropology. [Also], the museum’s role in interactions with different cultures and sustaining materials / skills.”

“We don’t get a lot of opportunities to work with other students…it opens the doors of perception.”

“Sustainability…a shared goal…It’s good, because there’s competition…it’s great to extend the network of people you know.”

Students also described the way in which the Personal Meaning Mapping methodology enabled them to build up new ideas

“The colours… I can tell exactly what point I was at in the day.”

“At first, I was trying to be broad… then it focused, focused until museums became the focus.”

“I went over, and made additions to my earlier points, and I made connections between my ideas.”

“The colours created a sense of layering… layers of awareness and consciousness, by experiencing the museum and discussing it with other people.”

Students placed a high value on the way that the workshop enabled interactions with each other, and with the museum environment:

“What makes the workshop succeed is that there’s a highly structured part of the day. I have to talk things out before I understand. There’s inter-student mediation going on.”

“I enjoyed the day because it has value… HE is often abstract, but with this we could see how it’s impacting on people’s perspectives.”

However, the project team continued to feel that it had been difficult to keep sustainability in focus.

3.7 London Transport Museum, 1st July 2011

London Transport Museum – the Boardroom Display

Seven students participated (1x Anthropology, 3x Art and Design, 2x Materials Science), these drawn from both pre- and post-1992 institutions in the South-East.

Introduction / Museum input

After a ‘Welcome’ by project leaders and student introductions, Steve Gardam, Head of Live Programmes, took the group to visit the ground floor of the museum, and showed us the ‘Boris Bus’, a new vehicle acquisition. The ‘Boris Bus, an innovative bus purchased during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor of London, and regarded by some as an expensive white elephant, was a different kind of museum object; both in terms of its size and the fact that it was almost new. It raised direct issues about sustainability (public transport verses the car, carbon emissions), but also encouraged discussion about waste and short-sighted consumption. This provided a starting point for a discussion of sustainability. After this, students completed their 1st generation meaning maps.

Interdisciplinary discussion

Given smaller participant numbers and because, in previous sessions, students had particularly valued the chance to interact across disciplines – even though there had not seemed to be enough time – we decided not to break out into disciplinary groups. Instead, we proceeded straight to the interdisciplinary discussion, which was lively and had a greater focus on sustainability than in previous events. After this, students completed their 2nd generation meaning maps. The following are a sample of student comments on this discussion:

“Working with students from other disciplines; I don’t believe any of us had done that before at university. I got a lot out of it. Before, I have only had a joint project with others from within my subject discipline.”

“It is good to have everyone from different disciplines being asked the same question, and then to see and compare what comes from that. Some things overlap, and confirm your thinking. Other things emerge completely new, only brought to light by a different perspective. Dialogue is established, as you enquiry how and why others thought certain things. That cross-talk and group discussion is really important in clarifying ideas and sharing information. When you do this, you will surely have questions that you want to ask. Because of that, you need enough time set aside for those interdisciplinary discussions. That way, you start to build up a composite picture, going beyond your own initial perspective.”

“What I got from this process and these exercises, is a realization of what I don’t know, in terms of my understanding and knowledge. And, for such a complicated and ill-defined topic as sustainable development, I now appreciate that I will have to work with others to gain a fuller understanding. It is that pooling of expertise across disciplines, put forward in our group discussions, which can give you a means of gaining the big picture. That is a valuable outcome. The resource that improved my understanding was the input from others in the group, and the group membership was from people outside my discipline.”

Museum tour

After lunch, Steve Gardam took us on a tour of the museum. As on previous occasions students felt that their earlier discussion of sustainability informed their engagement with the museum tour, and vice versa. After this, students completed their 3rd generation meaning maps; indicating in the comments below how this task had also been of benefit:

“From the museum tour, I have been able to add new things to my meaning map, that I had not thought of before. I had a conversation with [named student] while walking around the museum, and that sparked another idea… I got an extra layer of insights from the tour and talk given by the museum professional.”

“There was no explicit message of sustainability in relation to the transport systems that are part of the museum experience. Instead, there was an implicit message. What struck me, was the large numbers of people that were transported by boat, by bus, and by tube, in past centuries. That was certainly more sustainable than car travel of today.”

“What came out clearly in the tour we have just had, is the relationship between sustainability and change. At some point in the past, the city was certainly not sustainable, having no drains or sewers. Then, with the incorporation of engineering infrastructure, the city became more sustainable.”

Reflections on the London Transport Museum event

This event was more focused on the museum content than at the other two venues. Although students did not have the opportunity to develop their ideas in disciplinary groups, they approached their individual reflections on sustainability from a disciplinary perspective. They valued the extra time available for interdisciplinary discussions, which enabled them to develop their ideas about sustainability. The students seemed more able to make connections between the museum displays and the notion of sustainability, than in previous events; although this was partly due to the content of the displays themselves, which, being related to transport was more clearly relevant to sustainability. This was so, despite the museum expert having informed us that sustainability was not a theme the museum dealt with specifically.

Falk, John, H. and Lynn D. Dierking, (2000) Learning from Museums: Visitor

Experiences and the Making of Meaning. AltaMira Press, Plymouth.

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/sustainability/sc_interdisc_final.pdf