Written by Mina Cullimore

I love this view of our planet Earth, seen through the windows of the International Space Station. When reflecting upon this image, I can notice the uniqueness, complexity and beauty of this ‘third rock from the sun’, imagine the experience of being an astronaut on the ISS, and marvel at the ways we can design, create and utilise implements to help us leave the surface of our planet.

For young people in schools, education offers opportunities to broaden their knowledge, understanding and skills to both help them learn about aspects of the world they are encountering as well as prepare for their adulthood. When reflecting upon this image in a classroom, what kinds of questions could be asked and investigated by inquisitive minds?

We could investigate specific questions related to this image through the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, maths). We could also investigate specific questions through SHAPE disciplines (social sciences, humanities and arts for people and the economy). In many of the schools’ Epistemic Insight projects I am involved with, as well as recent work with RE PGCE students, we are currently co-creating multidisciplinary approaches to investigate big questions (and specific smaller questions) through both Science and RE (Religious Education/Religion and Worldviews) lessons.

These projects have been developed as a response to our research in schools; in the current education model there is an emphasis on substantive knowledge (knowing and understanding facts and information). Our research findings have identified gaps in young people’s understanding of how knowledge ‘works’ (referred to as disciplinary knowledge and ways of knowing). It is therefore very exciting to read Ofsted’s recent research review report for RE (May 2021), as well as the New Curriculum for Wales (more about this in my next blogpost) and publications from RE Today and BJfRE (the British Journal for RE) – all of these are emphasising the value of multidisciplinary approaches to improve the educational experiences of learners (from primary through to higher education) and their disciplinary knowledge.

To have effective disciplinary knowledge, one can ‘think like a physicist’, ‘think like a historian’, ‘think like a philosopher’ and ‘think like a linguist’. This means that, when thinking like a historian, one can identify the kinds of questions that a historian might ask and see as important to investigate, as well as understand the methods a historian might employ to acquire a clearer picture and understanding (knowledge).

What is of particular interest to me in these recent publications is the role and value of disciplinary knowledge RE lessons. My experience of thirty years in classrooms (nineteen years as subject leader) informs my understanding of how important it is to engage young people’s epistemic curiosity through conversations about and investigations into the world around us. In Richard Keuh’s keynote speech at the RExChange conference at Culham St Gabriel[1] last October he confirmed that RE has an important and vital role in the curriculum. His Ofsted report highlighted two key elements (both of which relate closely to the work taking place in Epistemic Insight projects):

• High-quality teaching and learning in RE includes three key strands of knowledge: substantive, disciplinary, and personal knowledge
• When exploring disciplinary knowledge in RE, students (and their teachers) are encouraged to understand that topics and issues in RE can be investigated through different distinct disciplines (for example, theology, philosophy, and human/social sciences)

The action-research projects we are involved with in schools and teacher-training courses tests the use of Epistemic Insight tools and approaches that enable young people (and their teachers) to become more epistemically insightful. This means that people become more confident in identifying and use different disciplinary questions and methods within areas that are explored both in RE classrooms and across to classrooms from other disciplines.

This image from the ISS could be used as a ‘starter’ to stimulate and investigate questions within and across RE, science, design and technology, geography, drama and music lessons. It is an exciting time in education, where conversations about curriculum planning are drawing attention to how ways of acquiring knowledge about the world can be richer and more comprehensive when we explore it through a range of scholarly approaches, particularly through conversations about the big questions.

Here is more information about our Epistemic Insight action-research projects in schools.

References

British Journal of Religious Education: Vol 43, No 2 (tandfonline.com)

Curriculum for Wales: the journey to 2022 – Hwb (gov.wales)

Research review series: religious education – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Some of our Papers and Reports | Epistemic Insight

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[1] You can find out more about our Epistemic Insight session ‘EI in the Classroom’ at the conference here.