How our approach to learning is different

Dr Mona Nasseri – programme lead for MA Ecological Design Thinking – explains what makes the approach to learning at Schumacher College different to many other academic institutions.

Definition: Transdisciplinary learning is the exploration of a relevant concept, issue or problem that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new knowledge and deeper understanding to real life experiences.

What makes us different is that we value the inter-connection between ideas, fields of work, practice and knowledge. Here at Schumacher College, we see the whole picture rather than looking at a ‘problem’ through the silo of our own discipline.

Our teaching approach is very different compared to most universities in the UK today.

The transdisciplinary approach is still a new area for most university environments – but it something we have embraced for some time.

I really believe we are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible academically

We were fortunate in that, even before the pandemic, we had already embraced low-residency teaching – to allow our students to combine work and study.

In some institutions they have just shifted the same course to a digital delivery, withan acadmic talk to a screen. We have created a totally different design which exploits the digital nature of delivery and part of that is our trans-disciplinary approach.

For our students, it means that they are able to access teaching from some of the most extraordinary thinkers and practioners from all over the world as an integral part of our course.We have a stellar list of contributors which give our masters programmes strength and rigour and really push the conventional structure of what most people expect.

The trans-disciplinary approach is not add-on to our programmes. It’s the foundation of all that we do.