A Commitment to Interdisciplinary Learning

Ms Sally Munro | Director of Pastoral Care

The feature article in a recent University of Sydney Alumni Magazine caught my eye when it arrived in my post last week. The article, ‘A Multidisciplinary Vision Realised’, gave insight into the interrelated systems of health at the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) at the university over the last ten years. The author, George Dodd, identified the CPC as “home to some of the leading thinkers and innovators” in the fight against modern lifestyle disease. It is a perfect example of a real-world system that is brave enough to seek solutions by integrating disciplines, an idea according to Dodd that “challenged the more siloed thinking of organisations”. Whilst this vision at the University of Sydney began ten years ago, the integration of disciplines in education is not a new concept. It was prominent in the progressive educational movement of the early 20th century when educators such as John Dewey questioned the purpose of education and criticised what he saw as the prevailing educational environment. Dewey argued that segregating knowledge within separate subjects hindered a student’s ability to understand the connections between experience and school-based knowledge. Thus, he promoted a move away from discipline-based teaching toward an inquiry-based, student-centred pedagogy to make learning more applied and meaningful to students. The support for connecting learning across the curriculum has remained and commentary keeps educators curious.

In ‘The Shape of the Australian Curriculum’ⁱ, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority state “… 21st century learning does not fit neatly into a curriculum solely organised by learning areas or subjects that reflect the disciplines. Increasingly, in a world where , knowledge is constantly growing and evolving students need to develop a set of knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions or general capabilities that apply across subject-based content and equip them to be lifelong learners able to operate with confidence in complex, information rich, globalised world.” And yet, despite its long history and ongoing support, interdisciplinary learning has had an intermittent and sporadic presence with varying success in educational settings. It has phased in and out over time, more favourable on occasions although consistently competing with the push and pull of educational structures. Unless of course, you attend Loreto Normanhurst where the development of the Loreto Normanhurst Student Growth Model (LNSGM) exemplified a commitment to interdisciplinary learning over 20 years ago.

On reading the article in the alumni magazine, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the advanced foresight that underpinned the development of the LNSGM. I first learnt about the model when immersed in research for my postgraduate studies when I presented a thesis that suggested that attempts to integrate the curriculum in an environment that remains dominated by disciplines remains a contentious issue. Traditional schooling is so deeply entrenched in educational settings that it can paralyze our capacity to imagine anything else thus leaving new approaches susceptible to vulnerability. When engaged in my research, I can explicitly recall the impression on me to learn, that despite its complexities, there was a school that was courageous enough to prioritise a practice that enhances innovative pedagogy and an exploration of deep understanding, problem-solving and critical thinking. It requires a deep dive into the literature before one can truly gain an appreciation of the “institutional resilience” demonstrated by introducing integrated learning at Loreto Normanhurst. Furthermore, it displayed a heightened awareness of the landscape that was required to purposefully enable the practice.

Institutional resilience, as described by Wallaceⁱⁱ is the careful  management of holding the enabling and constraining conditions for interdisciplinary learning, both internal and external, in a “productive tension” (p. 46) to provide opportunities for sustainable practice. Schools that prioritise and are invested in promoting the conditions that enable integration, increase the likelihood of managing this relationship. The integrated learning experience at Loreto Normanhurst is unique. Rarely will you find it as authentically embedded into the school day, valued and understood. Like the CPC, Integrated Learning at Loreto Normanhurst continues to provide an environment that develops essential skills to respond to the challenges facing our time. It remains relevant, responsive and outward-looking. We articulate the development of ‘skills’ as graduate attributes, whereby a Loreto Normanhurst graduate is a woman of conscious faith, creativity, critical thinking, grit, service and voice. Furthermore, she has a deep understanding of her responsibility to engage these attributes to contribute to the world around her.

I have a deep sense of our responsibility to ensure that we are providing a stimulating environment that enables active engagement with learning that leads to this growth. An environment that enables students to actively construct their own knowledge so that their understanding leads to action. To use the words of Professor Stephen Simpson, the CPC Director, “the big thrill is bringing brilliant people together, seeing sparks, then gently blowing on the embers to see what might happen. That can be truly revelatory”ⁱⁱⁱ. This is our intention for integrated learning, away from the siloes of disciplines and towards the interrelated systems of the real world. It is promising to see Loreto Normanhurst continuing to lead the way. 

ⁱACARA. (2012). The Shape of the Australian Curriculum. Sydney: Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority.

ⁱⁱWallace, J., Sheffield, R., Rénnie, L., & Venville, G. (2007). Looking back, looking forward: Researching the conditions for curriculum integration in the middle years of schooling. The Australian Educational Researcher, 34(2), 29–49. 

ⁱⁱⁱSydney Alumni Magazine, The University of Sydney, Issue 16, Semester Two 2022.