Lack of connections in a student’s education is a common phenomenon in schools. Students may forget that certain topics were taught earlier in their education even if those topics were covered in a recent unit. Moreover, the student may not make connections between related topics and concepts in the same discipline—especially if the teacher never made them herself.

Such continuity of knowledge and skills in education is therefore a problem—and no less a dilemma in the sciences than in any other discipline. To avoid this, educators must build connections between topics and concepts.

For example, take Karen Spaulding’s approach to Earth science discussed in this video. Spaulding talks about creating links among topics within the sciences, and within her teaching of the Earth System in particular—such as between the fossil record and current Earth events.

This “systems approach” has a cohering effect on isolated topics. The approach has the ability to integrate ideas and subjects that may have been taught in a fragmented away across a sequence of units. As a teaching method, a holistic systems approach can help overcome how learning is broken up over the course of the school year.

Print Background Essay