— Tim Breen, Ph.D., Head of School
By nature and from experience, I suppose, I generally approach trends with hesitancy at best. How long will it last? Is it worth the hype? Is it detrimental to our social fabric or to individual health and wellbeing? But I’m confident: this trend is a good one.
I’m talking about expeditionary learning. This has long been a hallmark of Outward Bound, some semester programs, and an integral part of a few progressive schools like Watershed. And it is clearly gaining traction in the broader educational landscape. This is a good thing.
It's been exciting in the last few years to see other educational institutions– K-12, colleges & universities, enrichment programs– exploring a move away from the conventional curriculum toward a focus on deep dive, real-world learning. As we say at Watershed: real challenges, real questions, real work, real impact. The research shows and our experience here at Watershed reinforces, this is what works in education. This is what results in enduring learning, growth, and change. This is what our students and teachers deserve. This is what our world needs.
A recent example of the spread of this idea popped up in my email inbox recently. It was about a summer program at Yale for high school students called the Young Global Scholars Program. I was excited and interested to see that I found the program’s educational focus and approach are very much like Watershed: exploring real challenges in the world in transdisciplinary ways. Indeed many of the questions their courses explore sound like they could be what we call essential questions in our Expedition Courses. Here are some of the questions listed in the Young Global Scholars program materials:
How can we design sustainable cities?
If feasible, should we edit human genomes? How could this be used and what impact would this have on society?
What are the most effective poverty alleviation strategies and how do we implement them?
Should artificial intelligence be used to solve human problems? What makes human intelligence different from artificial intelligence?
How do we balance environmental protections with economic development?
As climate change and global conflicts continue to shape global migration, how does international law govern (or not govern) asylum processes in different country contexts?
Can we use observations from nature to improve how we design products and buildings?
How can we best mitigate human pollution in the atmosphere, oceans, and soil?
How very Watershed! Indeed, some of these have been essential questions for recent courses here. These are the important questions for students to explore as they prepare for the future.
The word is spreading. It makes me proud to be at Watershed, and it gives me hope for the future of education.
If you want to read more, I've included the Young Global Scholars course descriptions for the program below. Here, too, are links to Watershed’s 2022-2023 High School Courses, Middle School Courses, and May Term Courses.
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The Yale Young Global Scholars Program offers four different courses: Solving Global Challenges, Innovations in Science & Technology, Literature, Philosophy, & Culture, and Politics, Law, & Economics. Descriptions from the program website are below:
Is Solving Global Challenges a Good Fit for Me?
Solving Global Challenges (SGC) focuses on innovative and cross-disciplinary approaches to solving the greatest challenges facing the global community in the 21st century. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students work towards developing solutions to issues with a global impact, focusing heavily on the 17 key challenges identified in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These wide-ranging topics include global health, gender equality, poverty alleviation, art in protest, environmental sustainability, and green technologies.
If you are intrigued by any of the following questions, then this session is a great choice:
How can we design sustainable cities?
If feasible, should we edit human genomes? How could this be used and what impact would this have on society?
What are the most effective poverty alleviation strategies and how do we implement them?
Should artificial intelligence be used to solve human problems? What makes human intelligence different from artificial intelligence?
How do we balance environmental protections with economic development?
Is Innovations in Science & Technology a Good Fit for Me?
Innovations in Science & Technology (IST) is designed for students who are interested in learning about diverse topics in the STEM fields and applying scientific principles to real-world applications. Students explore a wide variety of scientific fields such as physics, molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, astronomy, engineering, neuroscience, immunology, psychology, and earth science. Students also are exposed to interdisciplinary applications across the many scientific fields ranging from the nanoscopic to the astronomical in scale.
If you are intrigued by any of the following questions, then this session is a great choice:
How do we go about finding new planets, and could they sustain human life?
Why are certain drugs more effective than others?
Can we use observations from nature to improve how we design products and buildings?
Can organisms be engineered to serve specific purposes?
How can we best mitigate human pollution in the atmosphere, oceans, and soil?
Is Literature, Philosophy, & Culture a Good Fit for Me?
Literature, Philosophy, & Culture session (LPC) is designed for students with an interest in the expression and interpretation of creativity and culturally significant texts. Participants study fiction, philosophy, poetry, theater, film, music, visual arts, dance, and other creative arts. Instructional staff will frame texts and media comparatively and internationally, enabling students to think more fluently about their places in the world and cultivate the skills to better articulate themselves in speaking and writing. Students will be presented with interdisciplinary and international perspectives and will consider the function of the arts and humanities when inspiring solutions to social problems and dilemmas.
If you are intrigued by any of the following questions, then this session is a great choice:
What makes an argument compelling?
In what ways can dance function as a political statement?
How do economics impact the production of art?
What potential for expression does music offer when words fail us?
Where does meaning come from in avant-garde film?
Is Politics, Law, & Economics a Good Fit for Me?
Politics, Law, & Economics (PLE) is a session aimed at students with an interest in understanding diverse economic theories, the values and practices of government, and legal frameworks in historical and comparative perspectives. Students learn key ideas in topics such as public policy, human rights, market regulation, governance structures, international policy, and conflict and cooperation across borders.
If you are intrigued by any of the following questions, then this session is a great choice:
What legal frameworks exist governing surveillance and foreign intelligence gathering?
As climate change and global conflicts continue to shape global migration, how does international law govern (or not govern) asylum processes in different country contexts?
What types of resistance movements bring about lasting political change? And how do innovations in social media shape and change protest movements today?
What are the challenges in tackling criminal economic activities, particularly if they cross international borders? How can policy makers design relevant and successful solutions?
Should governments regulate markets? How do governments balance economic growth with workers’ protections?
Fieldwork is an essential component of Watershed’s academic program.
