Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools: Promoting Transdisciplinary Education for Learners with Special Needs (Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research, 8) 3031525086, 9783031525087

Table of contents :
Preface
References
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Author
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives
1.1 Transdisciplinary and Intra-disciplinary Approaches
1.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching
1.2.1 Overall Adaptation of School Systems to the Dynamic Changes in the World
1.2.2 Learners´ Communication and Social Skills Development
1.2.3 Cognitive and Emotional Development of All Learners
1.2.4 Transdisciplinary Teachers´ Professional Development
1.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching
1.4 Education Challenges and Transdisciplinary Teaching in an Era of Continuous Change
1.5 The Role of the Family in Children´s Development and Transdisciplinary-Inclusive Environment
1.6 Summary
Chapter 2: Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and Transdisciplinary Teaching
2.1 Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation
2.2 Teacher Education and Mediation for Thinking Development
2.3 Summary
Chapter 3: Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
3.1 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
3.2 Diagnosis of ADHD
3.3 Treatments of ADHD
3.4 Inclusion of Learners with ADHD in Schools
3.5 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD
3.6 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD
3.7 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD
3.8 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with ADHD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools
3.9 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 3.1 and 3.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Inc...
3.10 Main Learning Topic
3.10.1 The Learners with ADHD
3.10.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers
3.10.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)
3.10.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies
Chapter 4: Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
4.1 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
4.2 Inclusion of Learners with ASD
4.3 Advantages of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools
4.4 Challenges of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools
4.5 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ASD
4.6 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation Among Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools
4.7 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 4.1 and 4.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Med...
4.8 Main Learning Topic
4.8.1 The Learners with ASD
4.8.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers
4.8.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)
4.8.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies
Chapter 5: Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments and Challenges
5.1 Vision Impairments
5.1.1 Inclusion of Learners with Vision Impairments
5.1.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges
5.1.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges
5.1.4 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Vision Challenges
5.2 Hearing Impairments
5.2.1 Inclusion of Learners with Hearing Impairments
5.2.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges
5.2.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges
5.2.4 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Hearing Challenges
5.3 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with Vision and Hearing Challenges
5.4 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 5.1 and 5.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning while Med...
5.5 Main Learning Topic
5.5.1 The Learners with Hearing and Vision Impairment
5.5.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers
5.5.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)
5.5.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies
Chapter 6: Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Learning Communities
6.1 Intercultural Education
6.2 Interculturalism and Thinking Development
6.3 Intercultural Education, Inclusion and Transdisciplinary Teaching
6.4 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools
6.5 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools
6.6 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies in Intercultural Schools
6.7 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation in Intercultural Schools
6.8 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 6.1 and 6.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Med...
6.9 Main Learning Topic
6.9.1 The Learners (From the Perspective of Their Cultural Background)
6.9.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers
6.9.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)
6.9.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies
Chapter 7: Summary
References

Citation preview

Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8

Heidi Flavian

Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools Promoting Transdisciplinary Education for Learners with Special Needs

Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research Volume 8

Series Editor Dennis Beach, Education, Högskolan i Borås, Borås, Sweden

This book series presents and discusses topical themes of European and international educational research in the 21st century. It provides educational researchers, policy makers and practitioners with up-to-date theories, evidence and insights in European educational research. It captures research findings from different educational contexts and systems and concentrates on the key contemporary interests in educational research, such as 21st century learning, new learning environments, global citizenship and well-being. It approaches these issues from various angles, including empirical, philosophical, political, critical and theoretical perspectives. The series brings together authors from across a range of geographical, socio-political and cultural contexts, and from different academic levels. The book series works closely with the networks of the European Educational Research Association. It builds on work and insights that are forged there but also goes well beyond the EERA scope to embrace a wider range of topics and themes in an international perspective.

Heidi Flavian

Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools Promoting Transdisciplinary Education for Learners with Special Needs

Heidi Flavian Achva Academic College Arugot, Israel

ISSN 2662-6691 ISSN 2662-6705 (electronic) Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research ISBN 978-3-031-52508-7 ISBN 978-3-031-52509-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Paper in this product is recyclable.

Preface

Humans are highly complex beings characterized by a variety of factors, where the significant factor that differentiates them from animals is the ability to think and solve problems. Since the beginning of humanity, educating the younger generation to prepare them for adult life has been the core goal for everyone, with different cultures promoting different types of disciplines and methods. In recent decades, it seems that beyond the different ways education is implemented in different cultures, a common characteristic is the desire to promote independent learners who can use high-level thinking skills, integrate a variety of sources of information, and develop innovative ideas and practices. This book gradually took shape after many years of my teaching experiences with different kinds of learners in different types of educational environments. These experiences motivated my inquiry into educational theories, goals, and methods of implementation, in order to offer scholars and educators around the world advanced perspectives of how transdisciplinary education can and should be implemented. Moreover, in this book I offer an educational perspective that is based on educators’ mediating for the development of their learners’ efficient process of thinking, while concurrently promoting the inclusion of diverse learners, and specifically, learners who are diagnosed with special needs, or may develop special needs if they do not receive the intervention they need during schools years. Learning from different studies (Blank et al., 2020) and my experiences throughout the years, I strongly believe that efficient education can be developed also while developing reciprocal relations with learners’ parents and families, I also refer to their role in transdisciplinary teaching through the book. In addition to thinking development, another aspect that differentiates humans from animals is the use of language. Whereas both use various forms of communication, human language continuously evolves for efficient use in all areas of life, and thus may present different perspectives of several concepts. For example, most English speakers use the term ‘snow’ in order to describe a type of precipitation, whereas the Canadian Inuit traditionally used over seven terms specifying the different types of snow, since the form of precipitation they experienced was significant in their daily life. In the content of education, language is one of the v

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main tools used to bridge between teachers and learners in order to facilitate the kind of reciprocity that may promote learners’ motivation to learn and cope with any learning challenges they encounter. However, such a process can be developed only if all participants use their language correctly and precisely. From my own experiences as an educator, along with the variety of studies, I developed my firm belief that with the right mediation (which is a concept that describes how educators can guide learners through a variety of learning opportunities) together with emotional support, learning accommodations, and correct use of language, everyone can advance their thinking development. Hence, in many instances I have chosen to use the term challenges, rather than ‘disabilities’ or ‘deficiencies’ throughout this book, in order to emphasize the optimistic perspective every educator must adopt. Among all the tasks educators perform, an essential one should be their obligation to implement methods that contribute to thinking development among all their learners, and the use of high-register language that serves as a most significant means to promote these skills. This is despite the difficulties educators face, given the everchanging lower register of informal spoken language. Acknowledging the importance of high-register language, it is incumbent upon teachers to develop the bridge that will allow their learners to enhance their use of proper language as this, in tern, will enhance their abilities as independent learners. Just as spoken language evolves and may take on different meanings in different locations, the main concepts used throughout this book are used by many other scholars in a range of interpretations. Consequently, for the sake of clarity, their particular uses in the context of this book are explicated either below or at the outset of each chapter, as relevant. The core concept underlying this book is transdisciplinary teaching, i.e., a practical method of the synthesis of disciplines that the transdisciplinary approach seeks to develop. To achieve this, teachers look for analogous concepts, issues, or problems across different disciplines in a manner that deepens learners’ understanding and broadens their perspectives. This approach can thereby promote efficient learning and aim teaching to better develop thinking skills among learners. It is worth noting that in the early days of informal education, when most learning skills were not taught in organized educational groups, and then at the beginning of academic education all teachers used the transdisciplinary method because there were no separate disciplines or curricula. However, nowadays, when disciplines are taught separately, educators relate to the transdisciplinary approach as an innovative method that is challenging to implement. As mentioned, conducting transdisciplinary processes is initially based on the thinking skills needed for ‘transcendence’, i.e., one’s ability to apply analogies from one situation to another, as well as from one discipline to another. This ability to implement such transcendence develops through one’s learning experiences and one’s cognitive development, as well as via informal mediation from the environment, even if learners do not recognize the concept of analogy and are not aware of the thinking process they are conducting. For example, when 2-year-old children are asked a question such as: ‘If dogs bark, what do cats do?’, they are expected, while not yet aware of the concept of analogy, to understand that the relation is based on how the animals use sounds to communicate, and therefore to answer that cats meow or purr. Thus, beyond the use of analogies to

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solve complex problems and motivating learners to search for less obvious connections through transdisciplinary teaching, the second core concept upon which this book is based is intentional mediation for transcendence. Ensuring that all our learners will be able to learn independently and deal with challenging situations not encountered in school should be the primary goal of all teachers, because this ability clearly depicts a successful learner. Although transdisciplinary teaching derives from the core theoretical perception that different discipline teachers should plan their teaching based on promoting similar thinking skills, translating this approach into practice can be complex. In order to simplify the implementation of transdisciplinary teaching, the theory of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) is integrated, and throughout the book, several practical examples for teaching, mediating, and promoting learners’ thinking skills are presented, together with references to different learners studying different disciplines. The goal of such a combination is to promote efficient teaching and learning that imparts to the learners the ability to learn independently throughout their lives. Since nowadays different scholars and practitioners use the concept of mediation in several ways, it may be misunderstood as a substitute for the description of any general communication or teaching. In the content of this book, when aiming to use mediation as a solid basis for learning and thinking development, the internal parameters of the concept must be understood in order for it to be used appropriately. Based on my educational experience and approach to pedagogy, and given the need to promote professional and practical use of the term, I have chosen Feuerstein’s theory of MLE, which details the criteria for optimal implementation of mediation in learning. One of Feuerstein’s core parameters for mediation focuses on transcendence, which aligns with the core parameters of transdisciplinary teaching methods. Further information regarding mediation is presented in the second chapter, along with relevant examples of the link between Feuerstein’s approach to transdisciplinary methodology. I am aware of the fact that educators may assume that assimilating the mediation approach can be studied for years, and there is a point in their perspectives in light of the ongoing professional processes mediators go through. But I am also sure that the sample of MLE I present in this book can constitute a solid basis for the promotion of thinking development among learners in transdisciplinary schools. Nevertheless, I encourage educators to continue their mediation training, as this will allow them efficient implementation of the transdisciplinary methods in conjunction with relevant mediation. This book is part of the series of books titled Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research, where the focus here is on the significance of the inclusion of learners with special needs, and on how this inclusion can be efficiently implemented in a transdisciplinary environment. I have chosen to use the concept of learners throughout the book in order to refer to all learners of all ages, and from all over the world. Thus, in order to avoid misunderstandings that may evolve from the fact that in many countries, educators use different concepts to describe learners according to their age. For example, they may use the term ‘pupils’ to describe those who study in schools, and ‘students’ for those attending higher education. Wishing this book to be both internationally relevant, and applicable to educators and practitioners from a

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wide range of educational programmes for all ages and levels, I have opted to use the concept learners. From the same perspective and wishing to provide all readers the opportunity to implement the content as suits them the best, I have chosen to refer to all people who practice education formally or informally as educators, rather than categorizing them as either teachers or parents. Nevertheless, when a distinction is needed, I use the specific relevant term to emphasize my perspective. This book offers the readers an innovative perspective regarding the implementation of transdisciplinary teaching in tandem with the promotion of inclusive education; emphasizing that one cannot be implemented without the other. The perception of inclusive education has developed after many years of physical integration in schools, and these two additional concepts should be clarified and understood before continued reading of this book. Following my explanation of these concepts, Fig. 1 presents the significant differences between the two concepts in a graphic module. When integration began in schools almost 60 years ago, it was characterized simply by placing learners who came from different backgrounds in the same schools. Later on, learners with special needs were placed in mainstream schools where they studied in separated groups according to the definitions of their challenges and were taught by teachers who were trained to teach only learners with such needs. These acts of integration in school did not lead toward any social or other interactions between the learners who were defined with special needs and the rest of the learners, nor even among the teachers of these different groups. Progressively, educators understood that true inclusion cannot be promoted when learners are separated according to their deficiencies. Moreover, all teachers must be able to share their knowledge and teaching strategies with their colleagues in order to promote inclusion. As a result, the aim educational leaders define is that inclusion should be implemented wherever possible, so that all learners study together in a more integrative manner, learning from one another’s strengths, just as their teachers do, in order to develop mutual learning environments. Moreover, educational leaders

Fig. 1 From integration to inclusion

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and educators began to understand that they should change their perspectives and behaviours toward inclusion in order to facilitate a successful inclusive environment. Thus, inclusion, as opposed to integration, refers to the ongoing overall processes that address and respond to the diversity of needs of all learners from the perspective of their special learning needs, cultural differences, or any other type of diversity (Elmira & Negmatzhan, 2022; Hajisoteriou & Sorkos, 2022). Following this approach, the concept of inclusive education refers to the belief that all people have the fundamental right to education, regardless of their individual challenges. Moreover, inclusive education creates the framework in which learners with special needs are included in educational programmes and in society, while also referring to the changes everyone in the learning community must implement in order to develop such an inclusive environment. Figure 1 presents the process that led from the concept of integration to that of inclusion, the core difference between the two concepts, and the vision educators currently have regarding inclusion. As a result of the above educational changes in the perspectives regarding inclusion, more teachers are involved in working with learners with special needs who are included in mainstream classes, and teacher education programmes have begun to integrate relevant training for all teachers. Additionally, knowledge regarding the comorbidity of deficiencies sheds light on the need to refer to learners more holistically, emphasizing both their strengths and the challenges they deal with on a daily basis. Inclusion, like any other educational process, develops dynamically according to the cultural perspectives in which it is implemented. Additionally, new studies regarding the variety of methods of inclusion that efficiently promote learning among different populations of learners contribute significantly to the implementation of inclusion in all areas of life. Nowadays, when legislation regarding inclusion is gaining momentum around the world, people use the concept to describe general situations in which people with different characteristics are learning, living, or performing any other social activities together, allowing everyone to participate and contribute to the environment they live in. But, when referring specifically to the inclusion of learners with special needs in educational programmes, educators should be more specific in their development and implementation of inclusive learning processes. Like many terms in education, the definition of learners with special needs may also differ from one country to another. To begin with, scholars’ attitudes toward the causes of learners’ difficulties differ. While some scholars may claim that a specific deficiency may have biological or genetic causes, others may claim it is as a result of emotional or other causes. The variety of attitudes can be categorized into two main causes: biological and sociological. In this book, each challenge will be approached from both perspectives, while presenting the contribution of integrating them for the broader understanding of all educators. Another aspect that reveals the differences between countries refers to the tools used to assess learners’ special needs. Not all countries use the same assessments, and due to cultural differences, the comparison parameters differ as well. But, despite these differences, the common principles scholars and educators agree upon are that defining a child has having special needs should only be based on official assessments, i.e., that only professionals specifically

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trained to assess special needs should be allowed to do so. Therefore, not every learner who faces difficulties in school can be defined as having special needs. Nevertheless, inclusive education within transdisciplinary education facilitates learning for all learners; those who were defined with special needs and those who were not. Since the variety of learners with special needs is very broad and given the high frequency of comorbidity among different deficiencies, specifying the type of deficiency a person has, as isolated from all other aspects of life, can be quite complex. Despite the extensive awareness of dysfunctional comorbidity, learners’ main deficiencies are still used to develop relevant individual education plans (IEPs) and curricula, along with decisions made about whether to place these learners in regular classes. In this book, I have chosen to devote three chapters to the most common challenges learners who attend inclusive classes are assessed with: attention deficiency hyperactive disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and learners with sensory impairments and challenges; specifically those with either vision or hearing challenges. Nevertheless, while focusing in this book on specific challenges and deficiencies I remain aware of the issue of comorbidity, as expressed when teachers relate to coexisting challenges while developing IEPs, while also developing learning sessions for all learners as needed in inclusive environments. I decided to focus on the core deficiencies in the light of my belief that in order to take into account the comorbidity perspectives in any inclusive programme, teachers should first understand the core meaning of each deficiency. Additionally, following the transdisciplinary methods, each parameter should be carefully studied and understood before connections are developed. Accordingly, after reviewing the core challenges and strength of a specific deficiency, in each chapter I present ways to implement transdisciplinary teaching in an inclusive educational environment that caters to learners with a particular primary deficiency. Furthermore, in the final chapter I summarize the teaching strategies offered throughout the book into one integrative table, while presenting how the same strategy may be implemented for different learners. The innovative perspective regarding transdisciplinary teaching and inclusive education offered in this book is organized in three figures. I developed to allow educators alternative ways to gain a deeper understanding of my perspective; two of these are first presented toward the end of the second chapter along with practical implementations throughout the book, and a third one I present toward the end of the book to summarize my whole transdisciplinary perspective. These figures invite transdisciplinary teachers to develop their own practices for the inclusion of learners with special needs, and by sharing their differential methods of implementation of the figures with their colleagues, they will strengthen the transdisciplinary approach as well. Furthermore, educators must remember that teaching and education in general are dynamic processes that change as a result of the events around us, and therefore the figures should be used as a basis for planning, while modifying the relevant factors. For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic burst into our lives, educators thought they needed to change the entire education system (Aljedaani et al., 2023). But all that had to be changed was the methods of implementation,

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because the core goals of promoting thinking, including all learners, and emphasizing similarities and differences between disciplines, still had to be implemented. The milestones that should be remembered from that and from similar situations are that educators must plan their teaching based on understanding who their learners are and what thinking skills they need for the future. Hopefully, the content of this book will, indeed, promote educators’ understanding of how to implement these core milestones. While the current book focuses on promoting the inclusion of learners with particular defined special needs, one chapter deals with the challenges of developing transdisciplinary teaching in intercultural communities. Although there is a debate among educators and scholars regarding the link between cultural differences and learning, based on studies and theories that conducted throughout the last century and along with my experiences, I decided to dedicate a chapter to this topic. Thus, because learners who are educated in different cultures develop different norms of learning and often the milestones they follow as learners are not as expected of them according to the culture they learn in (Figueredo-Canosa et al., 2020; Hajisoteriou & Sorkos, 2022). Therefore, when working in intercultural communities, teachers must implement relevant accommodations to promote thinking development and efficient learning among all learners from diverse cultures. I sincerely hope that the innovative integrative ideas presented in this book will pave the way for new ideas that other educators and practitioners will develop while practising transdisciplinary teaching in their teaching and learning communities. Nes-Ziona, Israel

Heidi Flavian

References Aljedaani, W., Krasniqi, R., Aljedaani, S., Mkaouer, M. W., Ludi, S., & Al-Raddah, K. (2023). If online learning works for you, what about deaf students? Emerging challenges of online learning for deaf and hearing-impaired students during COVID-19: A literature review. Universal Access in the Information Society, 22(3), 1027–1046. Blank, A., Frush Holt, R., Pisoni, D. B., & Kronenberger, W. G. (2020). Associations between parenting stress, language comprehension, and inhibitory control in children with hearing loss. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(1), 321–333. Elmira, A., & Negmatzhan, A. (2022). The role of school and family cooperation in inclusive education. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 14(2), 498–506. Figueredo-Canosa, V., Ortiz Jiménez, L., Sánchez Romero, C., & López Berlanga, M. C. (2020). Teacher training in intercultural education: Teacher perceptions. Education Sciences, 10(3), 81. Hajisoteriou, C., & Sorkos, G. (2022). Towards a new paradigm of “sustainable intercultural and inclusive education”: A comparative “blended” approach. Education Inquiry, 14(4), 1–17.

Acknowledgements

I would like first to thank from the bottom of my heart my husband, my children, and my grandchildren who encouraged me throughout the process of writing this book, while occasionally giving up the time they used to spend with me. The transdisciplinary approach I present in this book was developed thanks to all my learners throughout the years, who came from different cultures or had a variety of special needs, and allowed me to be their mediator and educator, while sharing with me their learning processes, I am thankful for each one of them.

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Contents

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2

3

Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives . . . . . 1.1 Transdisciplinary and Intra-disciplinary Approaches . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 Overall Adaptation of School Systems to the Dynamic Changes in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2 Learners’ Communication and Social Skills Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.3 Cognitive and Emotional Development of All Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.4 Transdisciplinary Teachers’ Professional Development . . . 1.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Education Challenges and Transdisciplinary Teaching in an Era of Continuous Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 The Role of the Family in Children’s Development and Transdisciplinary-Inclusive Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and Transdisciplinary Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Teacher Education and Mediation for Thinking Development . . 2.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . .

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Diagnosis of ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Treatments of ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Inclusion of Learners with ADHD in Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9

3.10

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Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with ADHD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools . . . . . . . . . . . Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 3.1 and 3.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Including Learners with ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Main Learning Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.1 The Learners with ADHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies . . .

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Inclusion of Learners with ASD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Advantages of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Challenges of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ASD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation Among Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 4.1 and 4.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Mediating for Inclusion of Learners with ASD . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Main Learning Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.1 The Learners with ASD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies . . . Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Vision Impairments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Inclusion of Learners with Vision Impairments . . . . . . 5.1.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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5.1.4

5.2

5.3 5.4

5.5

6

Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Vision Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hearing Impairments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Inclusion of Learners with Hearing Impairments . . . . . . 5.2.2 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.3 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.4 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Hearing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with Vision and Hearing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 5.1 and 5.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning while Mediating for Inclusion of Learners with Vision and Hearing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Main Learning Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.1 The Learners with Hearing and Vision Impairment . . . . . 5.5.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.3 The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.4 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies . . .

Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Learning Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Intercultural Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Interculturalism and Thinking Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Intercultural Education, Inclusion and Transdisciplinary Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies in Intercultural Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation in Intercultural Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8 Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 6.1 and 6.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Mediating in Intercultural Learning Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 Main Learning Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9.1 The Learners (From the Perspective of Their Cultural Background) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9.2 The Transdisciplinary Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89 91 92 94 96 98 100

104 106 106 107 108 108 111 112 114 116 117 119 122 124

129 131 131 131

xviii

Contents

6.9.3 6.9.4 7

The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies . . . 133

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

About the Author

Heidi Flavian is a senior lecturer and a researcher at the Special Education and Psychology Departments at Achva Academic College in Israel, and is currently the head of the Education and Teacher-Education Department. She has also been a senior lecturer on the International Team of the Feuerstein Institute since 2002. Recently, she authored the book Mediation and Thinking Development in Schools (2019) and edited a second book From Pedagogy to Quality Assurance in Education (2020). Her latest published studies address the inclusion of people with special needs and teacher education in an era of dynamic changes in the world. She is also an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Quality Assurance in Education, after serving as a guest editor for the journal in 2018. In addition, she is a reviewer for several other academic international journals. Her main areas of research are new methods in teacher education, mediation, inclusion of people with special needs, learners’ thinking processes, and teaching learners with special needs.

xix

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1

Collaboration towards the development of transdisciplinary inclusive schools . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . ..

15

Fig. 2.1 Fig. 2.2

Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31 32

Fig. 3.1 Fig. 3.2

Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53 54

Fig. 4.1 Fig. 4.2

Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75 76

Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.2

Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Fig. 6.1 Fig. 6.2

Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Fig. 7.1

Transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive schools . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . 146

xxi

List of Tables

Table 2.1

Table 7.1

Examples of mediation processes for efficient implementation of transdisciplinary approach while including learners with special needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

Integrative summary of practical transdisciplinary teaching strategies for implementation in inclusive learning environments .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . 138

xxiii

Chapter 1

Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

The transdisciplinary approach developed naturally at the beginning of organized educational activities, when children gathered together to acquire their knowledge from the adults in their community and relevant knowledge that would serve them in the future as well as strengthen their understanding of their cultural background and roots and would promote their contribution to the community when they mature. This core aim of education was never really changed, but the perspectives regarding the ways in which this goal should be achieved has evolved over time. Actually, the idea of unity of knowledge began in ancient Greece, where learners were grouped together according to what they wished to study and to society’s wish to prepare the younger generation for their future not necessarily according to age or achievement. At that time, there were no formal syllabi their teachers had to follow. At that early developmental stage of education, those responsible for transferring knowledge focused on its relevance to all children in all areas of their lives, without naming it as a ‘transdisciplinary approach’ or naming it anything at all. Specific titles for different teaching approaches were given only much later, once several theories had developed, all aiming to determine the correct way to educate in general or to teach and learn specific domains of knowledge. Over time, the need to study and be educated and thus be better prepared for the future became the desired norm for all cultures around the world; hence, the parallel development of state-organized education developed separately according to the particular visions and aims of each country. During the nineteenth century, learners often studied in multiage groupings, not only for practical reasons in remote locations but also as a result of educators’ beliefs that these programmes were similar to a natural community of learners. Thus, educators used to focus on one topic or learning skill while adapting their teaching to the differential needs of their learners (Aina, 2001). However, from the beginning of the twentieth century, groups of learners were organized according to age, and educational leaders, in collaboration with scholars, developed curricula for a variety of domains. Despite the seeming logic of this approach, teachers noticed that not all learners succeeded in meeting the © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_1

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1 Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

expectations defined by scholars and professionals. At this early stage of formal education, learners who did not meet the scholastic expectations tended to drop out of school. Educational leaders and scholars understood that such a process negatively influenced the development of communities as a result of the increase of populations lacking education. Investigating the reasons for this, researchers and theoreticians came to recognize that just as people differ from one another in many characteristics, they also differ in their learning strengths and in how they learn most efficiently, and while one teaching approach may contribute significantly to some learners, it will not be as useful for others. Recognizing the differences among learners encouraged philosophers, educators and researchers also to develop different models of schools and pedagogies as alternatives to mainstream education. Among these alternatives, which had different cultural goals, the two main ones, which are also based on educational and social theories and are still implemented in several countries around the world till today, are Waldorf (also known as Steiner) education and the Sudbury schools. Waldorf education is based on a holistic perspective that aims to develop learners’ imagination and creativity by promoting their intellectual, artistic and practical skills. Waldorf teachers have a great deal of autonomy in curriculum content, teaching methods and assessments, while they are committed to achieving the above goals. Sudbury schools are based on educating for direct democracy, and their K-12 learners have complete responsibility for their own education. Sudbury learners plan their learning schedule as they wish and learn from their experiences and their fields of interests rather than through specific coursework. Accordingly, these schools have no standardized curriculum, syllabus or instruction, and both learners and teachers have to plan the learning with equal responsibility in a manner that promotes learning and democratic social skills. While these two examples present educational models that focus on a flexible learning process, they are not suitable for all learners. Thus, when looking at learners with special needs, they may provide options for individual learning adaptations, but they do not address the core goal of inclusion. Although different approaches suit different learners, one of the core roles of all teachers around the world is to seek the proper teaching method each of their learners needs in order to learn efficiently. The recognition and acceptance of learner diversity underpins the claim that nowadays, teachers’ lesson planning must carefully include the selection and integration of several teaching approaches. However, they should also pay attention to both advantages and challenges in terms of their learners’ characteristics, the discipline they teach and their own teaching experiences. Teachers should also bear in mind that, as they gain experience with different learners, their perspectives of these advantages and challenges might change as well. To develop such a flexible perspective, teachers first need to understand the theoretical foundation of each specific teaching strategy along with examining the goals of each educational approach, and only then carefully examine the options for their implementation to suit their learners’ characteristics. This chapter presents the main concepts and components of transdisciplinary education mentioned throughout the book: transdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary

1.1

Transdisciplinary and Intra-disciplinary Approaches

3

approaches, advantages, challenges, key issues teachers should consider before and while implementing transdisciplinary teaching and the impact of transdisciplinary teaching on the teachers’ role.

1.1

Transdisciplinary and Intra-disciplinary Approaches

In the early 1970s, educators around the world called for a reform that would promote the efficacy of educational programmes for the learners’ future (Cartledge, 1999; Tejedor et al., 2018). This call was based on the understanding that learning each domain separately leads towards episodic knowledge acquisition that prevents learners from perceiving sufficiently broaden and comprehensive perspective of knowledge. Their aim was to develop curricula that go beyond the confines of a single discipline, towards a synthesis of several disciplines in order to expand learners’ understanding. This synthesis of disciplines is called the transdisciplinary approach, relating to the dynamic relations created between different disciplines in order to solve a variety of problems and foster effective learning (Laach et al., 2020). Transdisciplinary teachers use the concept of ‘dynamic relations’ to emphasize that no discipline is more significant than another and that the contribution of each to the overall process of transdisciplinary teaching-learning changes as a result of factors constructing the learning goals and methods. Moreover, dynamic expansion of knowledge is ongoing and occurs when researchers and practitioners of different disciplines engage one with another (Tarafdar & Davison, 2018). Accordingly, educational goals are defined by the dynamic relations between the chosen contexts of learning and the learners themselves. Thus, while transdisciplinary educators use the term ‘effective learning’, they acknowledge that it is a subjective concept that may differ from one educational setting to another. Similarly, assessing effective learning may also differ across cultures and from one teaching scenario to another. Although educators naturally acknowledged the importance of the transdisciplinary approach and developed curricula accordingly, the accumulation of new studies and knowledge and the need to organize it efficiently had an impact on education as well. The creation of specific faculties in universities alongside the development of technology and science led specialists to study and promote innovations in specific domains. The growth of those faculties originally involved researchers and scholars looking for similarity of content within specific fields known as ‘disciplines’. While, initially, the aim was to define disciplines according to a body of knowledge that was the object of scholarly attention, researchers later went on to define specific methods of research and teaching for each discipline (Tarafdar & Davison, 2018). Organizing knowledge according to specific disciplines promoted the intradisciplinary approach, which is based on the notion that educators must have in-depth understanding of each discipline separately in order to impart new knowledge properly to their learners. In light of this approach, each discipline encourages new scholars primarily from that discipline to create new autopoietic knowledge to

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1 Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

strengthen the discipline. Actually, this is a never-ending process that continually generates new topics of research. There are two main forms of generating new knowledge within a discipline; the first is to dig deeper into a particular topic and then differentiate it as a subtopic. The second involves examination of a certain subtopic, while comparing and contrasting it with other subtopics within that discipline. As a result of this intensive search for new knowledge, each discipline configures its boundaries from one perspective, but at the same time reconfigures the knowledge in relation to other disciplines conducting new studies as well. Examining and comparing these ever-increasing subtopics across disciplines provide fertile soil for selecting high-value common areas that lead to successful transcendence through transdisciplinary teaching. Nevertheless, while professionalization is necessary for adults wishing to become experts, this categorization of areas of knowledge (disciplines) greatly influenced school curricula and enhanced the focus on intra-disciplinary teaching. Accordingly, at school, learners are taught each discipline separately, by different teachers who are professionals in their own field with little or no knowledge of the contents their colleagues teach. As a result, learning in schools remains predominantly episodic, with no clear links between the various disciplines. Furthermore, teacher education studies also still focus on each discipline separately, while developing different didactic methods, even though the core educational concepts are used in all areas of education. While intra-disciplinary teachers are encouraged to become professionals within their fields, this often leads them towards the goal of developing excellent learners within their discipline. However, at the same time, the wish to develop excellent learners who are experts in specific domains often diverts teachers’ attention from the need to teach all learners efficiently. Nowadays, when educational policy in most developed countries promotes the inclusion of learners with special needs in mainstream classes, the need to become professional teachers who are also trained to teach heterogeneous and inclusive classes is becoming more and more common and constitutes the other issue addressed further in this book. Training teachers to be both disciplinary professionals and efficient teachers for all learners is a major challenge. However, educational leaders who understand that efficient teaching in such heterogeneous groups should be taught in all teacher education programmes encourage the implementation of relevant innovative programmes that will allow efficient inclusion for all. One possible solution for this challenge can be based on the transdisciplinary teaching approach. The debate over intra-disciplinary versus transdisciplinary teaching has led educators to recognize the need for a change in their educational perspective. Thus, in recent decades, the emerging consensus has been that learning can be enhanced by the integration of different teaching approaches, such as the transdisciplinary approach. To this end, teachers must have knowledge of a variety of disciplines in order to succeed as transdisciplinary teachers. Nevertheless, researchers understand that to achieve efficient transdisciplinary teaching, they must organize their new knowledge in a manner that integrates it as discipline-specific yet enlightening the transdisciplinary approach and helping to advance efficient teaching and learning.

1.2

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching

5

Implementing transdisciplinary methods also encourages teachers and learners alike to look for similarities and conduct analogies, which is a critical thinking skill for the learners’ future as adults. As mentioned earlier, the spread of the transdisciplinary approach along with translating it into practical curricula relies on a range of factors, primarily, understanding that the goals of transdisciplinary teachers differ from those whose teaching is purely intra-disciplinary. Hence, it is essential to begin with clarifying both the advantages and the challenges transdisciplinary teachers must relate to while planning their lessons.

1.2

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching

There are four key advantages to transdisciplinary teaching in schools that highlight the essentiality of the method as follows: (a) overall adaptation of school systems to the dynamic changes in the world, (b) development of learners’ communication and social skills, (c) cognitive and emotional development of all learners and (d) transdisciplinary teachers’ professional development.

1.2.1

Overall Adaptation of School Systems to the Dynamic Changes in the World

Until a few decades ago, educational leaders would plan and monitor curricula designed to advance learning for all, but these procedures are now largely ineffective. Dynamic social, cultural, demographic and technological changes have affected the characteristics of school learners and forced education systems to change (Flavian, 2021a). Although educational leaders are attempting to adjust the vision and goals of the system according to the changes in the world, as long as they focus on the discipline content taught rather than on methods and skills, the desired outcome of preparing learners for their future will not be achieved. Furthermore, to ensure that the adjustments to curricula are the right ones, educational leaders must also routinely assess educational processes. Efficient implementation of transdisciplinary teaching across the board provides educators with the opportunity to develop dynamic curricula accompanied by suitable assessment. The perspectives of teachers’ roles are changing as well, in light of global changes. Nevertheless, the core principle of transdisciplinary teaching that links curricula and the teachers’ role is the need to combine disciplines in order to teach relevant topics while developing learners’ thinking skills. At the same time, transdisciplinary teachers and learners become more aware of the changes around them, and learning materials and methods must be adjusted as needed.

6

1.2.2

1

Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

Learners’ Communication and Social Skills Development

Educational goals are usually defined by assuming what skills and knowledge school learners may need as independent adults. While knowledge may differ between cultures and from one generation to another, both social and communication skills are always needed. Therefore, educators always pay attention to these two important skills and integrate them through their curricula. Nevertheless, implementing teaching methods to develop these skills is not a simple task. For example, recognizing that, for many reasons, different learners have different learning needs often leads educators to develop individual learning programmes. While this approach may answer those individuals’ immediate learning needs, it also isolates them socially, and the schools’ goals of promoting the development of learners’ social skills are not achieved. But, basing teaching and learning on transdisciplinary methods allows the efficient development of each learner’s thinking skills through collaborative peer learning that promotes everyone’s social skills. This is because, according to the transdisciplinary approach, learners share their knowledge, their questions, their assumptions, etc., and by doing so, they develop their social skills, forming a learning community that welcomes all learners (Yang et al., 2003).

1.2.3

Cognitive and Emotional Development of All Learners

As explained earlier, many scholars, researchers and practitioners emphasize the tremendous contribution transdisciplinary teaching makes to learners’ thinking development. Considering learners’ diversity, teachers need to plan individual learning experiences that will contribute specifically to the thinking development of all their learners, while conducting learning activities that are relevant to everyone in the class. While this may be a challenge for some teachers, the transdisciplinary approach presents it as an advantage, because it strengthens both higher-order thinking and the feeling of competence among learners. Recent studies suggest that the implementation of transdisciplinary teaching motivates learners to ask critical questions about their learning goals and about the events surrounding them and draw critical conclusions, as they develop into the kind of independent learners that are needed in this twenty-first century (Keller et al., 2019).

1.2.4

Transdisciplinary Teachers’ Professional Development

In a rapidly changing world, teachers’ continuing professional development is the basis for successful education systems that are able to provide efficient learning opportunities for all learners. In addition to updating knowledge expertise in the

1.3

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching

7

domain they teach, teachers’ professional development can be achieved mainly by providing them with a variety of opportunities for developing their teaching skills (Birman et al., 2000; Kaniel, 2002). Additionally, Portela Pruaño et al. (2022) claim that the reality in so many schools today, which is characterized by diversity among both learners and teachers, demands reciprocal professional exchanges among teachers, mutual support and shared responsibility. Researching the importance of teachers’ professional development and its contribution to everyone in the learning community led Darby et al. (2020) to emphasize the need to integrate active learning among teachers in order to promote their professional development. They detail this into the elements of opportunities to gain practical and theoretical new knowledge, while encouraging them to become engaged in school activities and improving their teaching skills. All these essential elements of teachers’ professionalism are the core of the transdisciplinary method. Therefore, by implementing transdisciplinary work in schools, teachers’ professional development ensues daily, without any additional effort. Needless to say, teachers who are themselves active learners are then far better equipped to include elements that require active learning in their lesson plans for their various classes. Since the transdisciplinary approach is much more than a teaching method of a specific domain of knowledge, transdisciplinary educators aim to develop transdisciplinary communities in which people who are neither the teachers nor the learners have an opportunity to share their knowledge and learning. Accordingly, one of the additional advantages that evolved from implementing transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive schools refers to the participation of the whole community and especially the families and caregivers in transdisciplinary learning. Further inputs regarding this advantage are provided later in this chapter and in each of the subsequent chapters.

1.3

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching

In order to benefit optimally from transdisciplinary education, scholars and practitioners should also be deeply aware of the challenges that may affect the success of transdisciplinary work. These challenges pertain to teachers, learners, the school system, the environment and so forth. Furthermore, implementing transdisciplinary methods requires educators who were trained as intra-disciplinary teachers to develop different perspectives regarding their roles in school. Such changes must be carefully guided in order to allow individual reference to each learner within the learning community (Aina, 2001) and to avoid any lack of or decline in their sense of self-efficacy as a result of any lack of clarity regarding their significant contribution to their learners (Friedman & Kass, 2002). Promoting teachers’ feeling of competencies and sense of self-efficacy is highly important even beyond the perspective of an individual teacher, given the effects these factors have on learners’ performances and successes in all academic areas (Haram, 2017).

8

1

Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

While transdisciplinary teaching has been the object of a vast number of studies, most of these were conducted from scientific perspectives, aiming to learn about possible ways transdisciplinary learning might contribute to overall knowledge of all disciplines. Moreover, most of these studies seek to learn about the possible contributions of the transdisciplinary approach to higher education, rather than focusing on its possible contributions to K-12 education. Furthermore, it is important to note that the transdisciplinary curricula already implemented in schools have hardly undergone any quality assurance assessment that has been shared with others (Balsiger, 2015). As a result, the first challenge for teachers who wish to engage in transdisciplinary teaching is the lack of practical knowledge and the need to create their own programmes on the basis of their understanding of the approach and of their own experiences. Consequently, for the most part, they lack the tools to monitor their new teaching methods as they should in order to conduct proper quality assessment that will allow them to teach in the most effective manner. This challenge, based on the lack of relevant knowledge and studies, can be addressed and resolved with proper collaboration among scholars, researchers and educators to allow better time management with proper attention to the core outline of theory and implementation, alongside any necessary follow-up assessment. Examination of different teacher education programmes reveals that they focus mainly on imparting pedagogy and didactics of the discipline the teacher-trainees have chosen to teach. However, in order to become transdisciplinary teachers, these trainees also need to learn how to collaborate effectively with their colleagues in school and with other scholars and researchers who do not practice in the same domain. Although the development of such collaboration is time-consuming, in the long run, it will reduce preparation time and facilitate the production of professional and efficient transdisciplinary teaching programmes. Therefore, in order to overcome this challenge, trainee-teachers should be taught how to collaborate with others in this area from their first day of training. While transdisciplinary teaching is based on understanding the basis of the subject matter their colleagues from other disciplines teach, this is a challenge for them as well. Not only do they need to identify common elements and analogies between them, but they should also promote their learners’ cognitive skill of transcendence in order to provide the necessary cognitive foundation that will allow them to become transdisciplinary learners. Moreover, mediating for transcendence, as will be explained further in Chap. 2, is, itself, a complex challenge involving the development of high-level cognitive skills for both teachers and learners. The first step for motivating transcendent thinking can be achieved if future transdisciplinary teachers familiarize themselves with key concepts from the body of knowledge their colleagues are teaching and relate this knowledge to the curriculum of their primary discipline, so that they will be able to successfully mediate transcendence for all their learners. Learning about thinking skills and methods for all learners, including those with special needs, is another field transdisciplinary teachers should learn and implement through their teaching. But unfortunately, it is not yet taught as a mandatory topic in teacher education, and thus it becomes a challenge when

1.3

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching

9

implementing transdisciplinary methods in schools. To allow transdisciplinary teachers’ better reference to their learners’ thinking and learning skills, Chap. 2 in this book is dedicated to simplifying the meaning of thinking skills and the practical mediation methods that can be used to promote their development. However, the main challenge will be to identify the thinking strengths and weaknesses of different learners and knowing how to mediate accordingly. Only then can teachers plan their transdisciplinary activities, not only from the perspective of knowledge but also taking into account learner diversity. The subsequent chapters in this book contain suggestions that allow efficient transdisciplinary teaching that is mindful of all the above challenges. As mentioned earlier, the essential factor that either promotes or prevents the success of transdisciplinary teaching in school is the level of collaboration between teachers and scholars. Collaboration enables people to share their beliefs, values and effort in order to achieve a common goal, while teaching collaboration evolves from the common wish to achieve educational goals that cannot be achieved otherwise. For example, one of the main advantages that characterize learning in schools is the opportunity to promote social skills among all learners. Such a goal cannot be achieved when an individual teacher promotes the development of this skill, while other teachers do not cooperate to achieve this goal. Although researchers often emphasize the tremendous contribution of collaboration among teachers to their learners, to the overall development of their school environment and to themselves (Jao & McDougall, 2016; Muckenthaler et al., 2020), achieving successful teamwork and collaboration among teachers remains challenging. Nevertheless, learning to work together and combining knowledge and resources to promote shared goals can be achieved progressively, from the first step of just exchanging knowledge up to cocreating and delivering new curricula (Yuan & Zhang, 2016). Therefore, as an ongoing process that integrates people and other factors, curricula, teaching goals and learning processes should all change dynamically as a result of the different values and goals that new participants add. Furthermore, school-based teacher collaboration requires all members of the teaching staff and the school community as a whole to think, function and communicate in a very different manner than before (Kougioumtzis & Patriksson, 2009). While the success of the collaboration is based upon participants’ shared values, this may still be challenging for some participants. The beliefs and values people develop over the years are based on their culture and the environment. For example, in cultures where teachers are evaluated on the individual successes among their learners, or where it is not acceptable to develop innovative or different ideas, teachers may not feel confident enough to take part in intensive collaboration (Yuan & Zhang, 2016). Asking educational leaders and teachers who participated in successful teamwork projects about the challenges they had to deal with revealed four main issues to consider when planning teachers’ collaboration in schools: (1) the additional time needed to develop new syllabi, (2) difficulties scheduling collaboration meetings for all participants, (3) the need to learn new teaching and learning strategies and (4) the need to narrow ideological gaps between participants while defining new educational values and goals. Such gaps may be the result of different cultural perspectives regarding the teachers’ role,

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1 Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

responsibilities and previous teaching experiences (Jao & McDougall, 2016; Yuan & Zhang, 2016; Muckenthaler et al., 2020). Although these challenges should be carefully addressed within the collaboration framework, Jao and McDougall (2016) emphasize that with proper planning and understanding the source of these challenges, the benefits teachers and learners gain from this are well worth the investment. But, in order to achieve such benefits, educators should first plan and take several practical steps: provide all staff members with updated information that clarifies understanding of the meaning of transdisciplinary teaching; define with them the common goals they will work together to achieve; develop trust among members so they will share their ideas, successes and challenges honestly; decide what level of collaboration is needed; decide ahead of time on efficient communication channels and their frequency; ensure smooth teamwork; and define the role of each member. Moreover, it is important that educators understand that within the transdisciplinary approach, their roles may differ from one teaching process to another, and whereas on one occasion they may be the leader who needs the cooperation of others, on another occasion they will be the ones in the supporting collaborative role. In addition, it is essential to share with all learners the core elements of transdisciplinary teaching and learning while also explaining how transdisciplinary work will be conducted and the role of each participating teacher. While looking for practical teaching methods that will better engage learners throughout transdisciplinary learning, it is also necessary to understand the learners’ living environments. Baguma et al. (2019) found that when teachers use creative teaching methods and choose technology tools their learners are familiar with, they are more engaged in learning, they communicate better with others, and by doing so, they can develop their thinking skills more efficiently. Furthermore, teachers wishing to implement the transdisciplinary approach must also learn consistently how to become mediators who construct the links between the mediatees’ knowledge and thinking skills and the new knowledge they are going learn, rather than lecturers who focus only on the content they teach (Feuerstein et al., 2015). Moreover, as mediators, teachers will efficiently implement all the core elements of the transdisciplinary approach along with improving the learning skills of everyone in the class.

1.4

Education Challenges and Transdisciplinary Teaching in an Era of Continuous Change

While education has been an essential part of all cultures since the beginning of mankind, properly training education professionals to be able to contend with learner diversity has always been challenging. Firstly, it is in the nature of education systems to move slowly when it comes to updating curricula and pedagogical methods in general, as one must first see to it that teacher educators understand and appreciate

1.4

Education Challenges and Transdisciplinary Teaching in an Era. . .

11

the changes so that they can suitably prepare their trainee teachers. Then there is the monumental task of updating all the thousands of active teachers via ‘on-the-job’ training. Secondly, this task of moving forward and introducing innovation is now made that much harder, given the gap between the ongoing rate of change societies are experiencing, the accumulation of new knowledge and the greater differences among learners in mainstream classes (Grossman & McDonald, 2008). Towards the end of 2019, the world was shaken by the rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected all areas of life, especially education, which had to make immediate changes to the teaching and learning environment, teaching methods and even participants in lessons, since many parents were at home while their children studied online. The experience of teaching during the pandemic provided an opportunity to rethink the role of education in general and, specifically, the role of teachers in a dynamically changing world. This led researchers to expose the challenges in order to look for practical ways to deal with them in the best possible manner. For example, Korkmaz and Toraman (2020) found that teachers were frustrated because they could not assist and guide their learners as they used to face to face in class. Additionally, schoolteachers mentioned that the lack of direct communication in class hampered the development of communication with their learners. Likewise, kindergarten teachers claimed that the sudden changes that caused them to work with young children online not only harmed the direct communication between them but also, in many cases, forced them to ask the parents to take part in their professional work and to assist from home, and these situations allowed parents to criticize their teaching more than they did prior to the pandemic. Coping with these and other educational challenges during the pandemic was difficult for everyone involved in the education system, from kindergarten through the academic levels: teachers, parents and learners. Recognizing these challenges led a variety of researchers to conduct studies during and after the pandemic, aiming for better understanding of the main parameters educational leaders should consider and focus on while planning the role of future education. An additional aim of these studies was to look for practical ways to improve education when experiencing sudden changes and adjusting to the reality we live in, while at the same time maintaining effective teaching and learning (Betthäuser et al., 2023; Naginder & Manroshan, 2000; Paoletti et al., 2022; Reimers, 2022). Analysis of these studies reveal four core parameters that researchers identified as essential basis for future education that are also relevant for the enhancement of transdisciplinary teaching and learning. These parameters refer to (1) the need to develop a learning community that allows all learners to cope with new challenges by investigating and sharing new knowledge, (2) the need to develop educational systems that provide all learners from all socioeconomic levels to opportunity to learn, (3) the need to plan teaching based on understanding the different thinking skills learners must be able to use and how to develop these skills and (4) the need to develop teachers’ ability to apply reflective thinking in order to improve their teaching methods and practices as an inherent norm. From another perspective, the lack of knowledge regarding the efficient use of updated educational technology is one of the issues repeated in most studies (Flores

12

1 Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

& Swennen, 2020; Jones et al., 2022; Korkmaz & Toraman, 2020). While this might seem irrelevant to transdisciplinary methodology, the opposite is true. As part of the learning culture within transdisciplinary-oriented schools, teachers are motivated to search for new methods and tools for teaching one another as well as their own learners. Furthermore, they encourage their learners to bring new knowledge to class that everyone can benefit from. Therefore, if the Zoom technology, which became one of the main teaching tools during the pandemic (Naginder & Manroshan, 2020), had been well developed before the pandemic, its use would probably already be more common among transdisciplinary teachers to share their knowledge with their colleagues. Fundamental elements of transdisciplinary curricula mentioned in recent studies examining what teachers felt they needed to implement during the pandemic (but did not know how) strengthen the possible contribution of transdisciplinary methods in all schools and for all learners. One of the conclusions recurring in many studies is that whereas reality changes constantly, what is taught should be relevant to the skills learners need to develop in order to become independent learners who also develop their abilities to become entrepreneurs (Korkmaz & Toraman, 2020; Zhao & Watterston, 2021). Additionally, teachers of K-12 learners felt that during their online teaching, their curricula were irrelevant, given the need to focus more on thinking skills, creativity and social skills that promote collaboration among learners and mainly to develop learners’ critical thinking. Teachers also mentioned that they needed their curricula to be more flexible and logically linked to other domains their colleagues taught (Flores & Swennen, 2020; Naginder & Manroshan, 2020; Zhao & Watterston, 2021). Teachers’ perceptions regarding their need to better prepare their teaching in such a constantly changing environment emphasize their need to develop efficient peer collaborations that will increase their professionalism along with their teaching methods and teaching skills. While such professional development will significantly contribute to the involvement of all learners, it can be encouraged only on the teachers’ understanding of their role as transdisciplinary educators along with the development of their feeling of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1982; Friedman & Kass, 2002; Jones et al., 2022; Naginder & Manroshan, 2020). Furthermore, the core requirement from transdisciplinary teachers to focus on the development of all learners’ thinking skills has obliged educational leaders to deliver relevant courses through teacher-training programmes and in-service courses. Another challenge teachers emphasized they faced while teaching online during the pandemic was the inclusion of learners with special needs. At a time when many teachers were still learning efficient methods for implementing inclusion in schools, having to suddenly shift their lessons to an online platform caused many of them to revert to performing integration rather than inclusion. Zhao and Watterston (2021) found that while teachers succeeded in preparing differential learning activities in parallel virtual rooms so that technically speaking all members of the class were learning in a similar environment (integration), they could not properly have learners with diverse needs work effectively together (inclusion). Given that inclusion is now understood and practiced worldwide, there is no doubt that this challenge must be seriously addressed. Responding to this challenge is in line with this book, which

1.5

The Role of the Family in Children’s Development. . .

13

presents how inclusion can be implemented efficiently via transdisciplinary methods. Thus, once they have understood the methods, transdisciplinary teachers will be able to apply them both in class and online.

1.5

The Role of the Family in Children’s Development and Transdisciplinary-Inclusive Environment

Families and caregivers play an irreplaceable role in children’s development and learning. From birth, the family constitutes children’s primary source of love, support and guidance and is the main social agents for learning about the environment and culture they live in. These interactions are not only essential for emotional well-being but also profoundly impact the children’s cognitive, social and emotional development (Feuerstein et al., 2015; Kozulin, 2015). Understanding that learners join formal education programmes after being educated by their caregivers for their first few years led to investigation of the influence of caregivers and families on one’s overall development. As a result, parental attachment theory was developed, highlighting the critical influence family interactions have on children’s cognitive and social-emotional progress (Lyu, 2023). Moreover, studies show that the more secure and stable the environment and the more secure the interactions within the family, the better the children’s future academic performance and future ability to cope with cognitive and emotional challenges is likely to be. Thus, as children grow and enter the formal education system, the multifaceted roles the family plays in shaping a child’s growth and learning broaden, since educating within the family should continue but along with new educational goals and different educators who have additional aims for teaching. As of the mutual goal of parents and teachers to promote children’s development, they all need to develop variety of collaboration methods that will allow achieving this goal. But, while some teachers occasionally claim that cooperations with families and including parents in schools’ activities may cause overload work, there are more advantages to these cooperations. Additionally, although developing such cooperation may be challenged also as of the differences between caregivers and educators, the motivation should evolve from the understanding of the contribution such cooperation has on children’s development in all areas. Furthermore, the efficiency of such important cooperation can be developed only with reciprocity that respects the different parental and teaching styles along with the differences among learners. The ongoing communication between parents and teachers also contributes to both parties that will further benefit from understanding the differences between their educational goals and always looking for what they have in common and will correspondingly promote the development of inclusive learning environment. Building learning communities where parents, learners and teachers learn together one from another is the core criteria that will promote transdisciplinary learning communities.

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Transdisciplinary Teaching: Main Concepts and Perspectives

For families that have children with special needs, communicating with teachers may often be challenging, given negative stereotypes the latter may have regarding the ability of these families to contribute to the school community (Elmira & Negmatzhan, 2022). However, despite this and other challenges that may arise, the significant role the family plays in everyone’s development becomes stronger when one of the family members has special needs (Subanova, 2023). In such circumstances, when families of learners with or without special needs are integrated in school activities, the positive cooperation between all parents and all teachers influences the overall inclusion process, beyond the scholastic and social benefits that may be seen otherwise. The main impact is first in the ongoing therapeutic and educational contact between home and school that contributes to the development of children in all areas of life. Additionally, efficient communication between families and educators contributes to learners’ social integration beyond school hours, in the society in which they live. These advantages evolve from the effectiveness of sharing information, formation of knowledge regarding the special needs of the learners along with the needs of others and increasing the visibility and participants of different social agents in schools (Elmira & Negmatzhan, 2022). While developing learning communities is an ongoing process that involve different social agents (Lyu, 2023), efforts to promote inclusive transdisciplinary learning environments require even greater cooperation of all the parents with school staff in order to create inclusive communities that cope successfully with the challenges. Nevertheless, just as learners are different one from another and they do not all learn following the same methods, families also differ based on their culture, their approach to their children and a variety of other factors within the family. Therefore, families’ ability to cooperate with school should be associated with their availability and their motivation to assist their children’s development. In the subsequent chapters of the book, I refer to the role of the family more specifically while relating to the challenges the learners deal with.

1.6

Summary

Transdisciplinary teaching, as described above, should carefully plan and implement progressively, with educators anticipating most of the events they may encounter. This must be done while recognizing learners’ strengths and challenges along with cooperating with their families, to better prepare their learners for the future. At the same time, educators need to learn about their own strengths and challenges and what methods of teaching can promote their transdisciplinary approach. This selfawareness, along with the awareness of the strengths and challenges other educators have, can be developed through reflective thinking and can allow transdisciplinary educator to develop relevant transdisciplinary teaching tools, along with collaborative skills with colleagues. Furthermore, transdisciplinary teaching and learning should only begin once the educational objectives and core elements of each discipline have been clarified and worthy common components have been identified.

1.6

Summary

15

From previous studies, we can learn about the possible significant contribution of transdisciplinary education to all learners, but in order to succeed, educators must develop and implement transdisciplinary programmes that will be integrated from a young age and in a variety of educational settings, while also considering learner diversity. It is important to emphasize that these programmes can be neither developed nor implemented without clear understanding and intention among the scholars and the teachers from various disciplines who wish to promote them. Moreover, teachers should be ready to engage in effective teamwork that acknowledges their learners’ characteristics and needs in order to promote their academic and social development. This they will do while sharing their knowledge from different domains and their teaching experiences. While transdisciplinary teaching evolves from the core theoretical perception that educators from different disciplines should look for the common contexts that link the domains they teach, prior to that, transdisciplinary teachers need to identify the common thinking skills that are essential for their learners and integrating appropriate teaching methods that will promote the development of the defined thinking skills. Thus, the common thinking skills serve as the essence for all the transdisciplinary units. Furthermore, educators should recognize their learners’ cultural background, thinking challenges and the environment they live in, in order to provide relevant teaching and mediation methods. Following this stage, transdisciplinary teachers can plan their teaching while focusing on differential ways to mediate towards the development of the defined thinking skills together with integrating the knowledge content they wish to teach. In order to simplify implementation of the transdisciplinary approach, the development of appropriate understanding of thinking processes and skills that should be effectively implemented through transdisciplinary teaching while referring to both learners and their environment are addressed in the following chapters. The integration of all the above elements together with the collaboration between all participants is one of the main advantages of a transdisciplinary teaching environment that leads towards efficient education. To summarize, and as presented in Fig. 1.1 below, the development of effective and professional transdisciplinary inclusive schools, which also promote the development of inclusive communities in the future, can evolve from the collaborations among all participants who understand and wish to apply transdisciplinary methodology.

Fig. 1.1 Collaboration towards the development of transdisciplinary inclusive schools

Chapter 2

Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and Transdisciplinary Teaching

Throughout the previous chapter, the concept of transdisciplinary teaching and learning was examined from different perspectives, aiming to present the advantages and challenges educators may have while planning and executing their transdisciplinary work. The chapter also presented the core elements to be implemented in order to develop efficient transdisciplinary teaching and learning that motivates the continued development of transdisciplinary teaching. Among these elements, researchers emphasize the significant role proper development of thinking skills plays on efficient learning. This chapter aims to introduce the readers to the core knowledge regarding the meaning of thinking skills, their contributions to learners’ development and their inclusion in society and efficient mediation methods that can be used in order to facilitate the development of those skills among different learners. As presented later in the chapter, there are different approaches towards the definitions of thinking skills and mediation. However, the common points of agreement are based on one important understanding that all forms of efficient thinking should share the three-stage foundation of input, elaboration and output (Flavian, 2019; Kaniel, 2003). While educators cannot observe the elaboration processes, they can learn from the results of the thinking, which are presented in the output. Therefore, educators must plan their teaching carefully in order to allow proper input procedures that will influence the unseen elaboration and later the visible output. Additionally, the mediation approach presented in this chapter offers a practical method to promote thinking skills within transdisciplinary teaching that is applicable to all learners. Thinking is an internal human process that enables people to provide explanations for the events around them in order to learn how to communicate and act with others, along with planning their acts in the future. It involves the application of ‘thinking skills’, which are the tools that allow us to conduct cognitive activities. Generally, thinking skills are cognitive processes we use to collect and organize information, search for and investigate new knowledge, solve problems, make decisions and even create new knowledge. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_2

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

It was towards the end of the nineteenth century that people first began to understand that educators must focus on developing thinking in general and particularly on the development of specific thinking skills in order to achieve the aim of supporting efficient learning among all learners. Dewey (1897) was the first to claim that the main goal of education is to prepare all learners for their life as independent adults. He specified his vision by emphasizing the need to provide all learners with the opportunities to acquire the cognitive, emotional and social tools they might need in the future. After investigating children’s cognitive development, Piaget (1947/ 2001) claimed there are different levels of thinking which should be developed step by step to allow efficient and independent thinking. Emphasizing society’s role in stimulating proper thinking development, Piaget also classified thinking development into three stages of cognitive development: after concluding the sensorimotor stage at the age of two, the first cognitive development stage is the preoperational stage that continues up to the age of 7, when the child learns basic symbols as the basis for language and thinking skills. Then, the concrete operational stage develops up to the age of 13, during which children develop basic comprehension, comparison and analogy skills. The third cognitive stage, which continues to develop throughout life, is the formal operational stage and is based on abstract thinking and higher-order thinking operations, which, according to Piaget, not all people achieve. Based on the perspective that educators can and should implement goals regarding the development of their learners’ thinking development, researchers developed a variety of taxonomies to organize thinking skills practically so educators could use them easily. Taxonomies, in general, were developed from the fields of biology and science, aiming to classify elements into specific categories and hierarchies. Bloom’s six-stage taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) was the first to organize thinking skills according to the complexity of learning, motivating educators to challenge their learners to use higher-order thinking skills. Despite the fact that since Bloom, other researchers have developed their own thinking taxonomies, the simplicity of the original one attracts educators to continue their studies and teaching based upon it. Aviles (2000) emphasizes the need to understand all six stages in depth in order to fully be able to comprehend and include different skills that people are expected to learn and master at each level, while also helping teachers to better prepare their teaching and later to evaluate learners’ abilities in their field. These stages also affect the teaching methods that should be implemented. The six stages are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and, finally, evaluation. Knowledge is the most basic form of learning, and it refers to what one can literally remember and retrieve from a textbook or any other source of information. One’s knowledge is correlated directly to the material taught and the curriculum determined by teachers. Those who are asked questions about knowledge should be able to list, recite, remember, define and recognize things that they have previously learned. The next step is comprehension. Here, not only is one expected to recall information received but also to display a slightly deeper level of understanding of the taught knowledge. At this stage, for example, learners are requested to express their skills in comprehension by rephrasing something in their own words, or another mode of

2

Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

19

communication such as sign language, or interpreting a text they have read and matching pieces of information to one another. The third step is application. In this stage, learners are expected not only to fully remember and understand given material but to correctly use what they have learned previously in new scenarios or situations. At this stage, learners will be able to take information, choose from what they have learned, and explain its relevance in a new context. In addition, learners will be able to construct, demonstrate and make predictions, based on what they have previously learned and remembered. The fourth step is defined as analysis, and it is also known as the first stage of higher-order thinking skills. Analysis allows one to draw inferences; compare and contrast, classify or organize information; and distinguish pieces of information from one another. Only specific parts of the learned information are relevant, and while being assessed on their skill of analysis, learners are expected to select relevant items and connect them to one another. They will be able to infer information based on what they have learned and organize knowledge based on a given principle. Following the analysis, the fifth step is the synthesis. This stage showcases one’s creativity as it involves the creation of new things. Here, learners are expected to be able to produce, compose and create different assignments. Knowledge previously learned can now be presented in a new manner, showing deep understanding. The final stage of Bloom’s taxonomy presents the highest level of thinking – evaluation. Evaluation is considered the hardest and most complex, allowing an individual to judge and critique something, compare findings and debate issues. Evaluation includes using external standards provided to learners by their teachers to assess information studied in class. Learners are expected to extract relevant information, understand it profoundly and apply it to a claim that they make. Although the six elements of Bloom’s taxonomy were originally organized hierarchically, nowadays it is clear that teachers should also understand the spiral nature of their interrelationship. Cain et al. (2001) explain this approach by referring to reading comprehension. While reading and listening comprehension constitute the centre of teaching a language, comprehension should be considered through all higher-order thinking skills. Thus, comparing young learners with equal reading ability and vocabulary levels revealed that the only difference was the learners’ ability to infer, i.e. to draw certain conclusions based on analysing and synthesizing evidence and facts. While one can simply read a text based on knowing vocabulary and grammar structures, enhancing true comprehension of the reading involves higher levels of thinking. Following studies with similar goals and questions (Aviles, 2000; Cain et al., 2001; Sagala et al., 2019) broadens the possibilities for efficient implementation of the taxonomy in different curricula. The recommendation for teachers is, on the one hand, to develop their teaching and assessment step by step following the six stages but on the other hand, to integrate all elements of thinking throughout all learning situations. Moreover, when, for example, learners have difficulties analysing the knowledge, teachers should make sure they properly impart the relevant knowledge and develop the necessary understanding of it and its implications. Furthermore, developing curricula based on the spiral perspective of

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2 Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

Bloom’s taxonomy allows efficient inclusion of learners with special needs who require differential mediation, according to their thinking level. For example, learners with vision impairment who do not use Braille (or any other tactile system) can often expand their knowledge and understanding based on auditory channels but cannot use any writing applications for that. This should not prevent their teachers from integrating alternative ways to execute application while promoting higher levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation, early on in the stages of accumulating new knowledge. As mentioned earlier, following Bloom’s taxonomy, different scholars and researchers developed different taxonomies seeking to present both the order and the reciprocity among thinking skills. Feuerstein et al. (2015), for example, analysed each of the main thinking stages: input, elaboration and output, connecting them to specific cognitive functions. This led to the proposal to organize thinking skills by categorizing and defining the level of action and the results of the thinking as either ‘lower-order’ (concrete) or ‘higher-order’ (abstract), while the value of their contribution results from the mediation and activities conducted in the learning environment. Accepting that thinking skills are the specific cognitive operations performed in order to succeed in all types of thinking, Barkley (2012) proposes considering thinking as containing subprocesses such as observing, organizing, conceptualizing, comparing, evaluating, criticizing, discerning, experimenting, solving problems and inventing new meaning or events. Another component scholars agree upon is the need to promote efficient implementation of higher-order skills throughout all curricula. But, while doing so, educators should bear in mind that developing higher levels of thinking must be mediated after recognizing the differences between learners and the uniqueness of each one (Sagala et al., 2019). Another approach that aims to explain and highlight the differences among people’s thinking (and thus their intelligence) was developed by Gardner (2000, 2011). Gardner claims not only that people differ one from another in the order in which they use their thinking skills but also in how they express their intelligence and learning outcomes. He organized overall intelligence by defining seven core subintelligences through which people may express their intelligence: linguistic intelligence is based on one’s high-level use of verbal language; logical-mathematical intelligence covers the area of logically linking events, looking for reasoning, numbers and critical thinking; musical intelligence includes sensitivity to musical sounds, rhythms and tones, as well as composing music and understanding the internal structures of musical compositions; visual-spatial intelligence relates to good spatial orientation and judgement along with the ability to visualize abstract events; bodily kinesthetic intelligence refers to one’s ability to control one’s movements along with the capacity of highly skillful physical activities and the ability to express emotions and thinking using body movements; interpersonal intelligence refers to individuals who are highly sensitive to others’ feelings, moods and temperaments and are readily able to express empathy and cooperate with others; and intrapersonal intelligence deals with introspective and self-reflective dimensions, while understanding one’s own uniqueness, strengths and weaknesses. Gardner

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

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emphasizes that although people may express their intelligences differently, they are all born with all of them, and it is up to society to mediate in order to allow all learners to develop all types of intelligences. Thus, Gardner encourages educators to develop as many teaching methods as needed, including innovative and creative ones, to promote learners intelligences and thinking processes that will allow them to become independent learners. Acknowledging the significant influence that well-developed thinking skills have on learners successful learning in all areas and throughout life is the common link between all researchers, scholars and educators. Furthermore, they all agree upon the perception that in order to promote all thinking skills, they should be organized in more practical ways that will allow educators assess and plan their teaching according to learners’ needs. Over the past two decades, researchers and therapists have been studying the sources of learners’ practical thinking processes, while adding the concept of executive functions to the field of thinking and learning. They define executive functions as the behavioural and cognitive elements that play the most significant role in one’s learning processes. They also present learners’ ability to control their own cognitive actions and direct them through effective routes that will allow the achievement of their aims (Baggetta & Alexander, 2016; Miller & Wallis, 2009). Executive functions, like thinking skills, are considered to be generally cross-domain, developing as a result of multiple aspects such as academic, social, emotional or other experiences (Hudson et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the development of executive functions and thinking development are interdependent and evolve through reciprocal experiences. However, the efficiency and quality of executive functions is usually assessed by occupational therapists, physiotherapists or other specifically qualified professionals who guide educators what intervention might be needed in school. In addition to the above, when children need intensive intervention to promote the efficiency of their executive functions, such intervention is usually given in specific clinics. But, given that in most teachers’ guides and curricula there is a reference to learners’ thinking skills and because this book aims to provide knowledge mainly to educators, references and examples will be made mainly to the ways in which transdisciplinary teachers may mediate for the promotion of learners’ thinking skills. From a wide perspective of the role of thinking skills and executive functions in everyone’s successful learning, along with understanding the differentiated ways learners’ thinking is developed, both researchers and educators agree upon and emphasize the fact that teachers should carefully implement teaching methods specifically designed to develop thinking skills among all learners, through the stages of input, elaboration and output and for all levels of complexity (Feuerstein et al., 2015; Kaniel, 2003; Mahanal et al., 2019). Over the last decade, scientists engaged in neuroscience, neurocognitive psychology and education sharing their studies and knowledge to establish the field of neuropedagogy. Researchers in this innovative area of knowledge focus their studies on the ways educators can promote thinking and learning by implementing the neuropedagogical approach in their curricula. Their main conclusion highlights the contribution of educators to learners’

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2 Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

thinking development (Friedman et al., 2019; Kaniel, 2002). Concurrent with these approaches, teachers have also realized that they should modify their own teaching methods and approaches according to learners’ strengths in order to improve the function of their less-developed thinking skills. This is contrary to previous approaches that focused on learners’ challenges and how to solve them, without referring to learners’ strengths. As a result, many educational programmes have focused on teaching and learning strategies that will allow teachers to integrate thinking skills for all their learners and develop them on a daily basis. Likewise, Hernstein et al. (1986) further explained that well-developed thinking skills can be applied only when several fields are studied together and that preparing learners for the future must be based on recognizing their way of thinking alongside making logical connections across a variety of disciplines. In other words, they strongly suggest a focus on transdisciplinary teaching. Mahanal et al. (2019) and Moore (2004) support this approach even further by referring to the important role of welldeveloped critical thinking in adulthood. They claimed that teachers must integrate activities that promote critical thinking development in all disciplines and for all types of learners, especially those assessed as having special needs. Furthermore, problems in daily life are multidisciplinary by nature, and in order to solve them, people must gather information from several sources, integrate the relevant ones and reflect and look for innovative solutions to them. This approach should be implemented in schools in order to develop learners’ critical thinking. But careful planning and implementation must be conducted along with defining at what stages and with which tools, teachers will assess the success of the implementation, focusing on the critical thinking both teachers and learners developed over the years. As mentioned earlier, researchers who examine the contributions of transdisciplinary learning and learners’ thinking development (Keller et al., 2019) claim that all thinking can be developed efficiently through transdisciplinary education. They also emphasize that transdisciplinary education allows learners to develop broader perspectives of their environment, which will be essential for their future. According to these researchers, transdisciplinary education is the only method that can provide proper thinking tools to deal with climate change, for example, which is one of the major present and future challenges humanity must face. Concerning the thinking skills people use, Tejedor et al. (2018) state that transdisciplinary teaching contributes significantly to the development of learners’ ability to solve problems efficiently and effectively. This is achieved mainly on the basis of three components: (1) exploring and understanding the world we live in by integrating various sources of knowledge, (2) innovating by using the integrated knowledge to create new paths and new knowledge and (3) applying transcendence by analysing and critiquing the knowledge one acquires in order to use key ideas when dealing with new situations in life. Although it seems obvious that learners should apply transcendence to their transdisciplinary learning, this way of thinking does not develop by itself. Mediation for transcendence is a specific process teachers should integrate into their transdisciplinary teaching (Feuerstein et al., 2015; Flavian, 2019), and it is part of the overall mediation approach explained below.

2.1

2.1

Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation

23

Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation

As previously mentioned, mediation is a general concept that describes how people can support or guide others during learning. However, scholars refer to mediation in different ways, and the use of the concept often confuses educators. One of the unique perspectives of this book is how mediation and thinking development theories are integrated into an innovative method that allows understanding of the theories along with opportunities to implement this approach among diverse types of learners. Whereas mediation may be understood as general interactions between teachers and learners, throughout this book, it follows the mediated learning experience (MLE) theory developed by Feuerstein et al. (2015), who defined mediation according to 12 specific parameters organized into two sub-groups. Feuerstein’s mediation approach is an integral part of the cognitive modifiability theory he founded in order to explain the ways in which people’s thinking is developed and the role of society in modifying and developing thinking among all learners. The 12 parameters of mediation were defined to allow mediators to promote thinking development by choosing the most essential parameters for efficient planning, execution and assessment of teaching and learning activities and tasks. The first three parameters (intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence and meaning) are universal and must be included in all mediated scenarios. The other nine are situational, and their inclusion in mediated scenarios is at the mediators’ discretion (Flavian, 2019). The following is a brief description of Feuerstein’s et al. (2015) 12 parameters of mediation, specifically in relation to the transdisciplinary approach. After this description, Table 2.1 presents examples of how the transdisciplinary methods can be mediated for educators who include learners with special needs in their classes, while mediating for successful learning for all learners. Additional examples of possible ways to implement mediation through transdisciplinary teaching for learners with special needs are presented in subsequent chapters of this book to provide readers with the basis to develop their own mediated scenarios, once they feel they have the self-efficacy to do so. It is important to emphasize that although the following explanations and examples intend to allow educators better implementations of the MLE approach in schools, Feuerstein also encouraged parents to practice MLE in different interactions with their children. This encouragement evolved from Feuerstein’s core belief that every place people live in should be approached as a learning opportunity, but this can be developed only if all people will know how to identify the opportunities to mediate and will mediate on a daily basis. 1. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity Every mediation scenario begins with the mediator’s intention to modify and improve the mediatees’ cognitive and thinking skills through planned interaction. The role of the mediator is to orient interaction with the stimuli by focusing on shaping thinking. The mediator’s intention can be practiced only with mediatee reciprocity, i.e. the mediatee’s responsive needs and awareness. This first parameter of mediation presents the intent of each participant to take part in

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

Table 2.1 Examples of mediation processes for efficient implementation of transdisciplinary approach while including learners with special needs Parameter of mediation Intentionality and reciprocity

Transcendence

Meaning

The feelings of competence

Regulation and control of behaviour

Sharing behaviour

Individuation and psychological differentiation

Examples of mediation benefits for transdisciplinary teachers who include learners with special needs The main intention/goal of this mediation process is to promote inclusion of learners with special needs by implementing the transdisciplinary approach. Defining the intention and presenting it openly to all learners and co-teachers are the basis for successful mediation. The reciprocity will be achieved through the mediation for transcendence and meaning Promoting inclusion of learners with special needs, based on transdisciplinary methods, leads towards the promotion of the overall goal of education: to prepare learners for life as adults in the community they live in. By including learners with special needs in all classes, both teachers and learners will learn how to better include others in their environment outside of school Successful transdisciplinary teaching and inclusion of learners with special needs evolve from the collaboration among all teachers. Therefore, the meaning is the contribution of the collaboration to all educators and learners while applying the transdisciplinary method Implementing transdisciplinary methods and promoting inclusion of learners with special needs are two challenging tasks. The collaboration processes will allow each teacher to succeed in their daily teaching, thereby increasing their feeling of competence. Likewise, the feeling of competence of all transdisciplinary learners will increase from the collaboration among themselves Efficient implementation of transdisciplinary methods along with the inclusion of learners with special needs must be carefully planned. Hence, teachers must analyse the core goals of their curricula into sub-goals and only then carefully implement them while assessing each step before moving on to the next. By doing so, they will also mediate to all learners how to regulate and control their behaviour This parameter of mediation allows teachers to share both their successes and their uncertainties. When all teachers share their ideas and teaching plans, everyone benefits. Moreover, when they share their doubts and questions within the secure community of transdisciplinary teachers, they can learn new perspectives regarding the challenge they present. Mediators may share these processes with their learners as well, and thereby modelling for them how sharing promotes everyone’s learning Although transdisciplinary teaching and the inclusion of learners with special needs are based on collaboration, the contributions of individual perceptions, attitudes and knowledge are essential. Thus, this parameter of mediation welcomes each of the teachers to develop their own (continued)

2.1

Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation

25

Table 2.1 (continued) Parameter of mediation

Goal-seeking, goal-setting and goal-achieving behaviour

Challenge: the search for novelty and complexity

Awareness of the human being as a changing entity

The search for optimistic alternatives

The feeling of belonging

Examples of mediation benefits for transdisciplinary teachers who include learners with special needs teaching methods to promote inclusion while following the transdisciplinary approach. Likewise, they will mediate to all the learners that their ideas and thoughts are welcome to be shared in class The variety of ways transdisciplinary methods and inclusion of learners with special needs can be implemented are endless. Although teachers usually do not develop curricula independently, given the national curricula they have to follow, this MLE parameter invites them to seek the relevant goals for their learners and for themselves within the curricula. Moreover, teachers are also invited to plan on their own how to achieve these goals Since implementing transdisciplinary teaching along with promoting inclusion are both complex processes, it is essential that transdisciplinary teachers mediate to each other the tools they have to find innovative ways that will lead to success in both areas, while they also mediate to their learners how to look for alternative solutions. This parameter can be based on the mediation for competence This phase of mediation focuses on transdisciplinary teachers’ needs to reflect on the development of their teaching skills and recognize the ways they have become efficient mediators and transdisciplinary teachers who include learners with special needs. At the same time, they can mediate to all learners how they have changed cognitively This parameter of mediation invites transdisciplinary teachers to highlight all the alternatives they have to solve challenges and, in collaboration with their colleagues, to focus on the best alternative. They should remember that the optimistic option they chose may be changed in a similar situation due to other parameters that may be involved Integrating all previous MLE parameters allows the mediation for the feeling of belonging to both mediators and mediatees. Thus, transdisciplinary teachers who encourage inclusion simultaneously advance their own inclusion in the community they work and live in, while sharing the contribution of the transdisciplinary approach to better educational processes

the learning and changing by bringing their experiences and insights to make it significant, as well as transferrable beyond the specific situation. While mediating through transdisciplinary teaching, educators should focus on the core knowledge the whole process will relate to and define the goal of the transdisciplinary learning in a way that will engage all learners.

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

2. Mediation for transcendence Transcendence is defined as the widening of the core learning beyond the specific context in which it was acquired. Mediating for transcendence occurs when the mediator broadens the opportunities to learn from a specific and concrete situation. Through such mediation, the mediatees consistently enlarge their cognitive and emotional repertoire and learn to look for new opportunities to apply what they have learned. While it seems simple to mediate for transcendence during transdisciplinary sessions, this isn’t so. It must be implemented while providing the mediatees with the necessary cognitive tools to conduct transcendence independently in the future. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers also need to mediate the reason for choosing the domain of knowledge they integrate, emphasizing the shared core knowledge of the disciplines involved, and motivate their learners to look for other domains these common principles might transcend to. 3. Mediation for meaning Although the MLE seeks to modify cognitive abilities, mediation of meaning is the affective component of the interaction. Mediation of meaning can be implemented only after transdisciplinary teachers recognize and understand the areas of knowledge most relevant for their learners in order to enable efficient delivery of the core context of learning. By doing so, the intrinsic motivation for reciprocity towards cognitive modifiability of all learners is increased. This process should be conducted alongside the mediation for intentionality and transcendence. 4. Mediation for the feelings of competence Competence in general and specifically the feeling of competence are the key features of cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning that promote people’s ability to cope with challenges. Competence is related to motivation specifically in situations where individuals are required to achieve better than usual. Because the feeling of competence is not the direct outcome of the perception of one’s real ability, there is a need for intervention and mediation by a social agent. Implementing new methods of teaching and learning such as the transdisciplinary approach may reduce the feeling of competence among some learners. In such cases, the role of the mediators is to translate the individuals’ performance in a way that allows them to better understand the results of their behaviour and develop appropriate awareness of it to improve coping with similar situations in the future. 5. Mediation for regulation and control of behaviour Regulation and control of behaviour accelerate the individual’s orientation towards self-reflection and provides the necessary feedback for decision making in the future. Mediation of regulation and control of behaviour in general and through transdisciplinary teaching creates the cognitive prerequisites to enhance the individuals’ ability to adopt and use new modes of learning and behaviour. This is because transdisciplinary teaching invites learners to use a variety of thinking skills in changing environments.

2.1

Transdisciplinary Teaching and Mediation

27

6. Mediation for sharing behaviour Becoming a member of a society requires willingness to reach out from the ‘self’ towards participating with others, and at the same time, to allow others to participate in one’s thinking and emotional processes. Moreover, transdisciplinary teaching and learning are based on exchanging information and therefore cannot be conducted without sharing behaviour. Although observing this type of behaviour is possible from a young age, the results of mediating for sharing behaviour may appear only after a long period of time because of the complex influences of both cultural and psychological factors. 7. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation Based on enhancing the mediation of sharing behaviour and the sense of competence, learners develop their feeling of trust and security in their environment. Nevertheless, they also need to keep their unique identity. Therefore, mediators have to integrate the mediation of psychological differentiation, which enhances their self-perception as separated and independent entities. This accompanies the mediation of belonging (see parameter 10 below). 8. Mediation for goal-seeking, goal-setting and goal-achieving behaviour Seeking a goal in any area of life and striving towards it are based on both a high modality of thinking skills and one’s competence to be able to change reality. Both teachers and learners are challenged while seeking the core learning goal during transdisciplinary learning of the variety of disciplines that are integrated. While this includes strategies for better organization and use of core principles of learning, mediating for the need to search and choose goals also enriches and articulates mediatees’ lives as learning entities. 9. Mediation for challenge: the search for novelty and complexity One of the most important goals educators should define is the need to provide their learners with the awareness and skills for changing and modifying their behaviour when needed. Because transdisciplinary teaching and learning are based on recognizing and dealing with new learning situations, learners’ cognitive flexibility and modifiability should be well developed. This can be achieved when mediators focus on the ability to meet rather than avoid novel and complex challenges, leading mediatees to become aware of the challenges they face and what they might face in the future. 10. Mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity Whereas previous parameters of mediation referred specifically to learners’ feeling of competence and motivation to deal with learning challenges, the mediation of awareness of the human being as a changing entity refers to learners’ reflections on their learning abilities. This parameter of mediation presents the core belief that as a result of the learning, both educators and learners will be cognitively modified. Throughout the transdisciplinary teaching and towards the end of each session, mediators need to mediate that modifiability is a uniquely human feature that allows adaptation and flexibility through learning. Mediators should look for signs of change among their mediatees and make them aware of how they have changed in order to help them make other changes on their own in the future.

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2 Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

11. Mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives Transdisciplinary teaching provides the opportunities to consider a range of dilemmas pertaining to several domains of knowledge, along with proposing several solutions. Mediation of an optimistic alternative through learning has an impact on cognitive structure and on the modifiability of the individual’s behaviour while searching for the most efficient solution. While a pessimistic view of problems causes a passive acceptance approach, an optimistic view motivates dynamic, active and creative approaches. Mediating learners for positive outcomes cause them to continue to act that way independently, later on in life. 12. Mediation for the feeling of belonging People’s readiness to broaden their views beyond the immediacy of their own experiences depends on their feeling of belonging to the society in which they live. Efficient transdisciplinary teaching and learning depend on cooperation between all participants, but in order to develop such cooperation, everyone must feel part of the learning community. Mediating for the feeling of belonging includes all the parameters of mediation but mostly serves as an integrational link that strengthens transcendence and gives perspective to the regulation of behaviour.

2.2

Teacher Education and Mediation for Thinking Development

The first chapter of the book presented the challenges teachers must address while educating and preparing their learners for the future. Although the challenges are complex, teacher educators can and should provide future teachers with the necessary skills to overcome them. Understanding these needs, scholars around the world have introduced many changes into teacher education programmes, aiming to train teachers who can deal successfully with the dynamic developments in all areas of life that influence educational leaders’ goals for education in general (Flavian & Kass, 2020). In addition, educators and scholars share their experiences and perspectives on how teachers should be prepared, as they develop various methods of teacher education (Searby, 2020). The traditional model of teacher education, along with the definitions of the teachers’ role, was developed on the assumption that teaching is a profession involving the application of new knowledge acquired through scholarly research that is then examined as it is applied in a different setting, i.e. passing on that knowledge to learners. Nevertheless, nowadays we understand that teaching should be based on several theories and philosophies of pedagogy which teachertrainees are expected to then apply in their own classes (Santin & Torruella, 2017) while developing all learners’ thinking skills and mediating to all members of the class how to become independent learners (Flavian, 2019; Sagala et al., 2019; Tejedor et al., 2018). In addition, teacher education should refer to the practical

2.2

Teacher Education and Mediation for Thinking Development

29

perspectives of teaching core and updated relevant knowledge, together with the fundamental skills teacher trainees need in order to become professionals in the specific discipline they have chosen to teach in schools. Over the years, different teacher education models have been developed, aiming to effectively integrate theories and methods that will produce the most professional and effective teachers, training models that will promote both teachers’ skills for teaching knowledge and their ability to develop the thinking skills of all their learners. However, while thinking of how transdisciplinary teaching can be expanded and implemented in all curricula, scholars should seriously consider redefining the teachers’ role and reflect on how to train teachers differently. Becoming a transdisciplinary teacher in no way contradicts the goal of being professional and effective. Nor does it contradict the need for in-depth study of a principal discipline. But, as mentioned earlier, the core principles of transdisciplinary teaching must become an integral part of teacher education. Developing an appropriate transdisciplinary teacher education programme should begin with developing the core social skills that promote effective teamwork. Orozco-Messana et al. (2020) emphasize the importance of good teamwork for optimal implementation of the transdisciplinary approach. They compare this to a type of team-based problem-solving approach which includes reciprocal teaching and learning, knowledge complexity, social accountability and, mostly, the co-creation of knowledge. Moreover, seeing formal K-12 education as preparation for adult life and given the fact that today, both school curricula and workplaces require good teamwork skills, it is essential that teachers acquire the skills of respectful and productive teamwork in order to impart them to their learners. Balsiger (2015) also stresses the importance of teamwork when referring to the mandatory process of assessing the impact of transdisciplinary teaching. From his perspective, the assessment team should include theoreticians, researchers and educators who implement this approach in different school systems. In addition, being an expert in the domain they teach, transdisciplinary teachers must be familiar with the contents of other disciplines. Thus, successful implementation can only occur when all discipline experts collaborate efficiently and learn about each other’s disciplines and their potential points of contact, in order to refer to them in their transdisciplinary activities (Tarafdar & Davison, 2018). Improving teamwork among transdisciplinary teachers, scholars and researchers should also strengthen their understanding that the goal is to jointly identify the common and the differential contents of different disciplines, highlighting for themselves and for their learners the logical links between them, and thereby enhance thinking development (Flavian, 2021b). Woest (2018) claims that the application of transdisciplinary methods demands pedagogical knowledge and understanding of how to create clear curricula that integrate disciplines but at the same time allow learners to gain essential knowledge that emphasize the common and unique aspects of each discipline and understanding how to use this knowledge in the future. Nevertheless, this can only occur as a result of two main factors that develop simultaneously: effective teamwork and the use of relevant teaching and learning strategies. Teaching strategies are the carefully planned and monitored processes aiming to achieve the clear goals relevant to the teachers, the learners

2 Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

30

and the knowledge content. Likewise, learning strategies are the planned processes conducted by the learners themselves to achieve their learning goal. Accordingly, successful learners are those who can solve problems correctly by using proper strategies in different areas of learning rather than being masters in one specific subject (Nisbet & Shucksmith, 2017). The combination of teachers’ teamwork and planned teaching strategies provides teachers with an opportunity to create and implement suitable transdisciplinary syllabi, rather than just practicing those developed by scholars who are not sufficiently familiar with the learners and their needs. Moreover, when teachers understand the pedagogy underlying the syllabi and when they develop the syllabi themselves, teamwork will be much more effective for both them and their learners. As mentioned, understanding the core principles of knowledge and linking them to different disciplines is known as ‘transcendence’ (Feuerstein et al., 2015), which serves as a basis for well-developed critical thinking. The skill of transcendence is spontaneous neither for teachers nor for learners. Thus, learning how to mediate for cognitive transcendence must be integrated throughout teacher education programmes, in a way that teachers will understand both how to apply it to themselves and how to mediate it to learners (Flavian, 2019). Furthermore, becoming a transdisciplinary teacher obliges teachers to use mediation methods to promote learners’ independent study and thinking (Flavian, 2021c). Therefore, in addition to disciplinary teaching methods within teacher education programmes as preparation for implementing the transdisciplinary approach, teacher trainees must also learn how to integrate several teaching methods and sources of information in order to better develop thinking among all learners across several domains (Saputra et al., 2019).

2.3

Summary

The first two chapters of this book present several educational perspectives of the meaning of transdisciplinary teaching and learning, as well as the advantages and challenges of transdisciplinary methods. These educational approaches also clarify the meaning of thinking skills and their role in learning. Integrating these and other elements allows educators to develop transdisciplinary curricula that are relevant to all learners. Nowadays, inclusion of learners with special needs is common in most countries. Therefore, understanding that creating effective adaptations for learners with special needs while teaching all learners in the class is an additional challenge transdisciplinary teaching must address as well. The following chapters will focus on those elements specifically, offering practical and innovative methods along with updated studies and pedagogical perspectives. Furthermore, given the multiple ways transdisciplinary teaching may be implemented, educators should remember that their understanding of the approach is the core key to its success and that implementation must be planned and gradual. This should also be accompanied by proper formative assessment that enables reflective teaching with a view of making the necessary improvements. Concluding all the above from practical perspectives,

2.3

Summary

31

educators who wish to implement the transdisciplinary approach must also consistently learn how to become mediators rather than lecturers and then gradually mediate throughout their teaching activities, while looking for efficient methods to develop the thinking of all their learners. Figure 2.1 below – Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching – summarizes the above, while integrating and addressing the four main factors which, when properly integrated, will enable educators both effective transdisciplinary teaching and effective inclusion of learners with special needs. The four factors are (1) learners: who are our learners? What do we know about them that it is relevant for us to be able to promote their thinking skills? What are their previous learning experiences? What are their challenges? What don't we know that we should do before we begin planning our teaching? (2) Teachers: although it may be obvious, teachers should clarify for themselves the main content area of their expertise on which to base their transdisciplinary teaching. Then, they should ask themselves what their teaching skills strengths and weaknesses are, what social skills they have to ensure collaboration with their colleagues and how they may implement all mediation parameters. (3) Colleagues: in order to develop teamwork that supports transdisciplinary teaching, we should make sure we know about the disciplines our colleagues teach. Additionally, we need to ask what they know about the discipline we teach and about transdisciplinary teaching and whether they want to collaborate and conduct transdisciplinary teaching. (4) Educational and social goals and teaching strategies: before any educational programme develops, the following questions must be asked: what are our educational goals? What teaching strategies should be used? How may we achieve these goals, based on the discipline we teach? Which other domains of knowledge may we integrate in order to conduct meaningful transdisciplinary teaching and learning?

Fig. 2.1 Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching

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Thinking Skills, Mediation for Thinking Development and. . .

The reciprocal relations among the above four parameters, which present all the parties involved in transdisciplinary education within inclusive schools, allow teachers to explore each of them while planning meaningful transdisciplinary teaching in such schools. But, beyond the essential preparation of each of the four parameters, integrating them efficiently evolves from teachers’ adaptation of different perspectives regarding the strategies for planning their teaching. While changing behaviour requires a lot of energy and self-awareness, this can be simply solved by developing a routine of the new behaviours; a routine that must be practiced daily in order to elaborate it properly. Figure 2.2 – Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine – presents the ongoing process teachers should conduct for themselves, while planning their transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive schools. Each teaching plan must begin with recognizing and understanding learners’ characteristics. Based on this essential information, teachers may define the learning goals evolving from the thinking goals teachers aim to promote. Therefore, the following stages will be to choose relevant thinking skills and learning strategies to be developed, based on the knowledge content teachers wish to teach. Following the first four preparatory steps, teachers may begin planning their transdisciplinary teaching while integrating the relevant parameters of mediation. Finally, teachers should monitor their teaching and begin the routine from the first step of ascertaining learning their learners’ characteristics, as these may have changed as a result of the learning processes they have recently experienced. Throughout this book there are examples of how to use the information in Figs. 2.1 and 2.2 to assist different learners. Understanding the challenges inclusion of learners with special need reveals, in each of the following chapters, the focus is on how to promote transdisciplinary teaching while mediating to all learners who study in mainstream schools, and specifically to those with different characteristics and challenges. This will support the core goal all transdisciplinary teachers share, which is to help all learners achieve their own learning goals, and not those defined by scholars who are not aware of learners’ particular needs.

Fig. 2.2 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine

Chapter 3

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Maintaining attention is a learned behaviour influenced by a variety of factors throughout life. The complexity of understanding and defining how attention is developed lies mainly in the fact that attention develops as a result of people’s experiences and feedback received from the environment, and thus, different people develop their attention differently. Furthermore, different cultures have different norms of behaviour and thus may differ in their definitions of what constitutes appropriate attention behaviour in various situations. In other words, one type of behaviour may be perfectly acceptable in one culture but not in another. Nevertheless, for some children, adolescents and adults, focusing on academic development according to society’s requirement to maintain their attention is a barrier that often prevents them from succeeding in schools, in their social life or in any other area of life. Societies’ attitudes to these types of attention challenges also differ one from another, since not all cultures agree upon the need to assess and provide learning accommodations for learners with attention challenges. These cultural differences in perspectives of learning interaction should be also related to by transdisciplinary teachers in intercultural learning communities, a topic discussed in detail later in Chap. 6 of this book. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is officially defined as a neuropsychological disorder characterized by an individual’s inability to organize learning behaviours in order to achieve the expected results (Gavin et al., 2023; Goldstein & Naglieri, 2008). According to the DSM-V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), the specific characteristics of attention deficiencies must be diagnosed in early childhood, in order to assess a person as having ADHD, rather than having any other difficulty that prevent them from learning. Biological researchers also view ADHD as a lack of the development of executive functions which, in a given sociocultural context, emphasizes one’s dysfunction in organizing and conducting efficient learning (Sjoberg, 2017). Following the sociocultural perspectives, other researchers (e.g. Rafalovich, 2001) claim that the source of the attention deficits evolves from lack of proper socialization due to children’s dependency on the adults © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_3

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

around them. Furthermore, the different nutrition children are provided with and the use of computer games along with exposure to new technologies may also cause children to present behaviours that are similar to ADHD characteristics. This approach brings us back to the definition of biological researchers, because if ADHD is biological, it means that the deficiency will not disappear when children become adults and parents (Kooij et al., 2019), and they will mediate to their children the behavioural norms that differ from what is expected. Thus, both biological and sociological researchers should cooperate in order to allow children with ADHD to cope with their challenges and be included in their environment. The diagnosis of ADHD, regardless of its source, is usually conducted during early childhood or school years, because of the key difficulties learners with ADHD experience while attempting to learn academic skills. Learners with ADHD tend to display impulsive associations between different topics they study, a process that challenges them because of the fundamental need to organize learning according to specific criteria. Therefore, developing intervention programmes and providing proper learning tools for those learners is essential and will influence their future as adults with ADHD, who will need to mediate for future generations. The core learning strategy that can help learners with ADHD through their studies is the search for logical connections and interactions between different events and knowledge content. This is exactly the basis of transdisciplinary education, and therefore transdisciplinary teachers can significantly enhance the inclusion of learners with ADHD in their learning communities. But, at the same time, facilitating and implementing transdisciplinary methods among learners with ADHD requires careful planning in order to avoid the impulsive or associative thinking that is typical of these learners.

3.1

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

For over two centuries before ADHD was officially defined by researchers, similar characteristics of the deficiency appeared in several clinical reports by scholars and other professionals from European countries, to describe children who presented the symptoms of the disorder, without organizing the symptoms in a specific category of disability or deficiency (Faraone et al., 2021). When researchers decided to further study the symptoms nearly two decades ago, they linked the dysfunctions only to biological sources, considering them a sub-group of a mental disorder, which meant it was also stigmatized. This stigma, which led therapists and caregivers to believe that they could not improve those children’s learning skills, reduced the credibility of healthcare providers for many years and thus prevented or delayed treatment of individuals challenged by the disorder (Barkley, 2002). Nowadays, ADHD is one of, if not the most prominent, neuropsychological, psychiatric and sociocultural disorders among children worldwide. Research also shows that while ADHD largely affects children, it often continues to affect said individuals throughout their entire lives (Kooij et al., 2019). Currently, the updated definitions and diagnosis of ADHD

3.2

Diagnosis of ADHD

35

no longer refer to mental deficiencies, as they are based on cognitive and emotional aspects that can be improved on with appropriate interventions. Additionally, researchers from different fields of science invest time searching for the most accurate definition of ADHD that will include its causes and possible treatments, since they all agree that, in many cases, underlying medical issues may also be involved. Nevertheless, despite the significant cognitive, social and psychological impact ADHD has on individuals, because of the variety of factors that influence the attention challenges, the condition is often not properly diagnosed or treated. This aggravates the symptoms and makes it hard to cope with academic studies, work and social settings throughout life.

3.2

Diagnosis of ADHD

The need to understand, diagnose and properly treat people with ADHD has led many researchers to examine the dysfunction carefully, in order to avoid any erroneous assessment. Generally, researchers and neuropsychologists define ADHD as a neuropsychological disorder that has an extremely complex aetiology, along with certain multifactorial perspectives that strongly influence the ability to organize learning behaviours in an optimal manner (Francesco et al., 2013; Goldstein & Naglieri, 2008). Additionally, researchers agree that most of the difficulties people with ADHD experience and present stem from the functional cognitive and behaviour impairments which originally are the ongoing pattern of developmental levels of intention and hyperactivity or impulsivity (Gavin et al., 2023). Accordingly, various assessments based on integrating relevant information about a learner’s medical history, following their learning by developing computer software, and questionnaires regarding their behaviour in school and at home have been developed over the years in different countries. Additionally, cultural norms also influence society’s attitudes and acceptance of ADHD, and thus scholars’ definitions of the deficiency may also differ. Consequently, official assessments are usually validated and trustworthy for each country, before being used by professional diagnosticians. Although the definition of ADHD that most researchers agree upon seems to include all the relevant parameters, it is also too general. Therefore, researchers recognize five main areas according to which children are diagnosed as having ADHD: impulsivity and poor planning skills, inattention, hyperactivity, problems modulating gratification and poor emotional regulation (Goldstein & Naglieri, 2008). Additionally, according to the latest update of the American Psychiatric Association (2013), ADHD is defined as a subsection of learning disability (LD) and therefore might affect a variety of academic skills relating to difficulties and/or disorders that interfere with the acquisition of basic academic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic (Paul, 2013). These disorders also stem from dysfunctional neurological processes related to the development of language, visual perception and attention. Their manifestations can range from minor disorders,

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

which can be overcome through hard work targeting specific learning skills, to major ones that are best addressed by studying in specially devised programmes (Chandler, 2010). Furthermore, ADHD should only be assessed when a learner’s performance is significantly lower than expected, compared to the cognitive abilities pertinent to the learner’s age group. Approaching ADHD as a developmental disorder also includes the accompanying developmental difficulties with self-control, which may be expressed in a variety of learning behaviours, behavioural and academic problems, as well as truancy and discipline issues, all of which frequently leave their teachers dealing with stressful situations (Barkley, 2013; Gaastra et al., 2020; Reed et al., 2017). An important fact that also must be considered by everyone aiming to assess ADHD is the possible comorbidity of the deficiency. Grigorenko et al. (2020) emphasize that while comorbidity with ADHD may lead to the development of other deficiencies (such as specific learning disabilities and emotional difficulties), other deficiencies may also be expressed as ADHD. This approach is highly important and strengthens the need to develop professional and expert evaluators of carefully defined ADHD that distinguishes it from other challenges. Thanks to the extensive research on ADHD, learners with this dysfunction can now be diagnosed in early childhood and receive relevant intervention if needed, but at the same time, the number of children who are diagnosed with ADHD is increasing, and as a result, they constitute the special needs population most frequently included in mainstream school programmes (Vaida et al., 2017). Nevertheless, diagnosis of ADHD should not be conducted too early in childhood since, in many cases, young children display behaviours that may be similar to the ADHD symptoms, but they are not, and given the early stage of development of young children, there is no way to differentiate between symptom-like behaviours that are age-related and those that are actually symptoms of ADHD. To reduce the risk of error, the diagnosis of ADHD can be performed only by licensed clinicians who include in the assessment information they collect from parents, teachers, or caregivers, along with the self-report of the individuals themselves. ADHD cannot be solely diagnosed by brain imagery, concrete written tests or rating scales, since ADHD encompasses a wide range of symptoms (Faraone et al., 2021; Kooij et al., 2019). Moreover, an individual can only be diagnosed with ADHD if the symptoms of hyperactivity, lack of concentration and inattentiveness are evident for at least 6 months in different settings. In addition, the extent to which one is considered hyperactive, inattentive or both can vary from person to person, and only the integration of information from different sources may expose the most accurate picture of the deficiency. Some may display multiple symptoms and behaviours, whereas others may only display one of these. The diagnosis is based on the understanding that the symptoms are hyperactivity and inattentiveness, which lead to many other potential learning and behavioural problems that cannot be explained by other conditions. According to the official DSM-V diagnostic tool (Kooij et al., 2019; Paul, 2013), in addition to the fact that ADHD is seen as a neurodevelopmental disorder, a variety of symptoms must be present before the age of 12. In order for someone to be diagnosed with ADHD, they must present at least five out of the following six symptoms: inattention and hyperfocus,

3.2

Diagnosis of ADHD

37

hyperactivity, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, excessive mind wandering and lack of behavioural self-regulation (executive function deficits). Inattention and hyperfocus refer to the individual’s ability to focus on tasks without being easily distracted. Individuals with ADHD lose themselves in the middle of these processes and focus on details that are not important, which hampers their ability to make decisions. They may also be overly attentive in certain areas or activities such as computer games. Hyperactivity is a broad term that affects children and adults in different ways. For some people with ADHD, the term refers to feeling restless, talking too much, moving more than others and physically showing their lack of ability to be at rest. Some may also have trouble quieting their thoughts and minds. Impulsivity refers to behaviours that are not thought through and are enacted with the hopes of gaining excitement or sensation. These behaviours are often the cause of social conflicts and physical injuries among people with ADHD. Impulsive behaviour often implies the existence of risky behaviours among children, young adults and also among adults. These behaviours may be manifest in playing with fire, fighting with other people, using of harmful substances or dangerous driving of vehicles, etc. Emotional dysregulation refers to individuals with ADHD who have a hard time reacting appropriately to different situations. They often experience more anger, frustration and irritability and are less able to tolerate these feelings than others who do not suffer from this symptom. Among learners with ADHD, the emotional dysregulation episodes are short-lived but are regularly noticeable. Excessive mind wandering is another symptom that refers to mental restlessness which makes it hard to focus on what is important. These learners jump from one thought to another, even when they are not logically connected, and this makes it harder to accomplish tasks and think and convey thoughts coherently. Even though mind wandering can be found in people with other neurological disorders, it is considered to be a strong indicator of whether or not an individual has ADHD. Behavioural self-regulation, which is recognized as a core parameter of the executive functions, refers to the individual’s ability to work, organize, problem solve and more. Individuals with ADHD have difficulties completing these tasks, and these difficulties do not necessarily result from deficiencies of the executive functions. Therefore, behavioural deficits or problems need to be researched separately from executive functions, similarly to the way it is conducted while researching children’s inhibition and working memory. Moreover, executive functioning tests have not proven to be reliable predictors of who has or does not have ADHD, whereas behavioural rating scales that focus on executive functioning are better indicators of a potential ADHD diagnosis (Kooij et al., 2019). The definition of ADHD in the DSM-V also takes into consideration the effects that the disorder has on the individual’s emotional state and therefore considers their moods and emotional regulation as indications of ADHD. In their investigation of the link between emotional challenges and ADHD, Faraone et al. (2021) emphasize that the frequency of emotional challenges among learners with ADHD is six times

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

greater than among other children, probably caused by the daily coping challenges learners with ADHD encounter. Since the symptoms of ADHD are not directly related to cognitive abilities and the cognitive skills and intelligence levels of learners with ADHD match societal norms in most countries encouraging the inclusion of learners with special needs, the majority of learners with ADHD study in mainstream schools (Gaastra et al., 2020). The fact that this disorder is diagnosed in most countries among 5–7% of children and adolescents and in some countries with even higher frequency (Flavian & Uziely, 2022) makes school activities challenging not only for the children with ADHD but also for their peers and their teachers.

3.3

Treatments of ADHD

Following a diagnosis of ADHD, treatment must be provided to allow efficient learning at school, acquisition of behaviour norms for better social inclusion, as well as thinking and social skills that can promote integration in society as children and as adults. From the perspective of the families, treatments of ADHD should also provide them with the possibilities to conduct their activities on a daily basis. Medication is currently the most common treatment offered by doctors to allow learners with ADHD to better focus on their learning, and when needed, doctors also recommend using medicines for behavioural challenges at school and at home. Nevertheless, the methods presented in this book aim to provide educators with the necessary intervention tools, regardless of any recommendations concerning medical treatment. Additionally, researchers claim that while medication is often effective and improves individuals’ quality of life, academic and social achievements and also supports self-regulation, there are risks involved that should be taken into consideration. Hence, when medicines are used properly, they significantly help reduce violence, injuries and even suicide attempts. However, research has not shown any clear effect on working memory or the structure of the brains of individuals with ADHD among those on medication (Faraone et al., 2021). Clearly, then, medication cannot be used as the sole answer to ADHD, and other treatments should be integrated as well. In addition to medication, other treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can significantly help learners with ADHD (Kooij et al., 2019). Moreover, optimal education and treatment would ideally include the participation of parents, teachers and others close to the person with ADHD to attain the best results (Danielson et al., 2018), whereas further discussion regarding the role of parents and their contribution to efficient education of learners with ADHD appears later in the chapter. It is essential to remember that learners with ADHD were either born with this deficiency or developed it as a result of their immediate sociocultural environment. Moreover, learners with ADHD do not choose to have this deficiency, which influences their ability to organize their learning in all domains of life and to thrive according to their cognitive abilities. Nonetheless, they can learn how to manage it if they receive proper mediation and

3.4

Inclusion of Learners with ADHD in Schools

39

treatment. Therefore, teachers and parents are the most important social agents who can influence the success or failure of social inclusion and academic achievement. Of course, how the individuals diagnosed with ADHD deal with their challenges has an even greater influence.

3.4

Inclusion of Learners with ADHD in Schools

As mentioned earlier, many learners with ADHD study in mainstream school, thanks to their cognitive abilities and many numbers (5–7%) of the learners in a class. Hence, they constitute the main subgroup of ‘learners with special needs’ that teachers encounter daily while teaching and overseeing social activities (Dort et al., 2020; Levine, 2002; Vaida et al., 2017). This high percentage of learners with ADHD has motivated educators to develop a variety of teaching strategies as well as teacher education programmes designed to train teachers to better address the needs of learners with ADHD in mainstream settings. Such teacher education programmes provide both updated knowledge about learners with special needs and appropriate tools and teaching techniques for more successful inclusion (Flavian & Kass, 2020). Moreover, with the understanding that optimal inclusion relies on educators’ positive attitudes towards the inclusion of learners with ADHD, these academic programmes aim to develop positive attitudes by integrating theories and practices throughout the teacher education process. Following the dynamic and ongoing process of investigating this deficiency, teachers need to be more systematically informed about ADHD and its effects on the learners rather than only during their teacher training. This will enable them to cater to their learners’ needs while managing a class and mitigate any animosity towards said learners. It is quite easy to react negatively to learners displaying inappropriate behaviour. However, added knowledge about ADHD will enable teachers to help all their learners from both the academic and emotional perspectives and will lower barriers between them (Dort et al., 2020). From another perspective, in order to promote successful inclusion in schools, it is also essential to strengthen the teacher-learner relationship particularly with learners with ADHD, since learners with ADHD who feel safe and trust their teachers are more likely to cope better with their daily academic challenges (Ewe, 2019). Teachers who are not properly educated about ADHD and about how to approach these learners’ difficulties may often display some mildly hostile behaviour towards them. From the learners’ point of view, if they feel they are being judged and not accepted by peers and even more so by their teachers, they are significantly less likely to succeed in academic settings. As a result, they are also more likely to avoid participating in activities that will develop their capabilities and thus will not get the support that they need to address and overcome their difficulties. The more that learners with ADHD and their teachers can work together, the less likely learners are to externalize their negatively perceived behaviours, and the more likely they are to succeed. Following this logic, since peer learning and cooperation with teachers are

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

core elements of the transdisciplinary methods, we may assume that the inclusion of learners with ADHD in a transdisciplinary environment is more likely to be implemented effectively and with better outcomes. In addition to educating teachers about ADHD and all that is encompassed in this disorder, it is necessary to understand which accommodations can and should be made in the classroom for said learners, so that they can be empowered, while not being held to lesser standards than those expected of their classmates (Lovett & Nelson, 2021). In many cases, teachers are not aware which simple accommodation may contribute to their learners with ADHD and thereby promote their inclusion. For example, using simple navigation cards that allow learners to follow school activities or even a single lesson procedure, as well as minimize their tendency to be distracted, is a teaching strategy that can be implemented easily. For example, placing a rough outline of the lesson plan on the board or screen and ticking off the parts that have been completed can help any learners in the class whose mind has wandered. The advantage of this is that this does not turn the spotlight onto the learners with ADHD but rather helps them feel like an ordinary member of the class. This is just one example of how a strategy initially intended to facilitate the learning of students with ADHD actually benefits everyone in the class, as mind wandering among children and adolescents is a common occurrence. Learners differ from one another in many respects regardless of whether or not they have specifically recognized challenges, and this is also true of learners with various forms of ADHD. Consequently, not all types of accommodations are appropriate for all learners with ADHD, and asking the learners themselves, allowing them to advocate for their own needs, will provide teachers with the most powerful information they need. This is actually the fundamental way to practice inclusion, thanks to the reciprocity between the teachers and the learners. Moreover, by creating such mutual interactions, teachers can understand their learners who, in turn, will gain self-confidence that will support them and promote their own success in the future as adults with ADHD. Given that learners with ADHD often present academic and social difficulties, researchers emphasize that interventions should be conducted within the school system in order to promote their academic success, while also conducting further interventions after school hours. These interventions must focus on the acquisition of learning skills and self-monitoring task completion, building self-confidence in their academic capabilities and encouraging social engagement with others on campus, while presenting possible implementations in situations other than in school. The stronger learners are in these skills, and the more support they get, the more likely they are to complete school and college and succeed in the future, managing the symptoms of their ADHD more efficiently. These interventions must be planned and implemented in cooperation with parents in order to continue their support and guidance after the school day. However, when teachers recruit parents as partners through these programmes, they should make sure that the parents do not become only the supervisors of homework and school assignments, because this will reduce learners’ motivation to cooperate with their parents (Gavin et al., 2023). Additionally, parents should have support from professional advisors in order to continue the

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Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD

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interventions appropriately at home. The continuation of intervention programmes and the co-work of teachers and parents will provide the learners with greater improvement in all areas of life, especially regarding their inclusion in society. Focusing on the core goal of inclusion leads us to the question of whether or not learners with ADHD receive the academic tools that will allow them to study in higher education and be included in their environment like everyone else. Stevens et al. (2020) claim it is essential for all communities to find ways to intervene properly in order to encourage the academic success of learners with ADHD in higher education as well as in K-12 education. An example of such success we can see is when adults with ADHD who eventually attend higher education institutions enroll in teacher education programmes, integrate into society, and become professional teachers. The choice of a teaching career entails making a commitment to focus on learners’ knowledge and academic needs. Consequently, teachers with LD and ADHD must be doubly aware of their own challenges on a daily basis, to make sure they do not harm their students’ learning (Flavian, 2016). Principals who were aware of having teachers with ADHD among their staff acknowledged that despite their concerns about these teachers’ abilities to appropriately prepare and manage the learning in their classes due to time management difficulties, in practice these teachers were using their personal experiences as learners with ADHD to advance others’ learning processes. Flavian (2011) mentioned three main advantages related to the employment of teachers with LD and/or ADHD: (1) these teachers were more sensitive to and thus quicker to detect learning difficulties among their learners and provided essential accommodations even before these learners developed significant academic gaps and were officially diagnosed, (2) teachers with ADHD consistently use a variety of teaching strategies that can address the needs of all learners and (3) by including teachers with LD/ADHD in the school staff, learners are exposed to different role models and thus learn to appreciate diversity in the classroom.

3.5

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD

The inclusion of learners with ADHD in schools is now taken for granted, but for optimal inclusion one must understand the advantages the transdisciplinary approach offers such learners in terms of both academic success and future social inclusion. Moreover, while learners with ADHD cope with many challenges, their inclusion in a transdisciplinary learning environment will enable them to get to know their strengths as well as ways to address their weaknesses. Understanding and practicing a variety of learning methods that allow all learners to study together in inclusive environments will undoubtedly also contribute significantly to their classmates and teachers. The main advantage of transdisciplinary teaching for learners with ADHD derives from the need to have social ties, despite their social challenges. Because

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of their impulsivity and hyperactivity, they often find it hard to maintain friendships, but they do have an inner need to develop meaningful social bonds which also cater to their need to be active. Consequently, transdisciplinary teachers can use this need to teach learners with ADHD the appropriate social tools and enable them to lead social activities within the framework of transdisciplinary learning. The very fact that the transdisciplinary approach is based on collaborative work can be used to encourage the development of meaningful social ties for learning and for social integration in general. Another advantage of the transdisciplinary approach when including learners with ADHD is the tremendous sensitivity these learners have towards any stimulus around them. While this oversensitivity may distract learners with ADHD when intending to read or write, transdisciplinary teachers may use this to their advantage. For example, since learners with ADHD are sensitive to the presence and changes of objects, sounds, others’ behaviour, etc., with specific mediation and guidance, they can be responsible for paying attention to their classmates to make sure they are coping with the learning process. This responsibility is directly connected to the great empathy most learners with ADHD are characterized with, and this is an opportunity for the rest of the learners to recognize one of the great strengths that learners with ADHD possess. This may also lead teachers to encourage their learners to always look for the advantages of those who study alongside them. However, one should remember that while learners with ADHD notice all the stimuli around them, without appropriate mediation from the transdisciplinary teachers, they might not attribute importance to part of the information, and so the teachers must focus the learning process for them and mediate its aims clearly. One of the features of ADHD, which originates in reacting to multiple surrounding stimuli, leads these learners towards associative thinking, which is part of their particular creativity. Although associative thinking is perceived as a challenge for learning, recognizing this type of thinking and guiding the use of it for learning assignments that require creativity and the search for innovative solutions will allow learners with ADHD to contribute to the learning community, while the rest of the learners learn to recognize and appreciate another perspective of ADHD. For transdisciplinary teachers, creativity is the basis for meaningful, in-depth learning, hence the significant advantage of including these learners in the class. Transdisciplinary teachers can encourage these learners to find creative new ways to learn and to elicit creative solutions to problems or dilemmas that arise. Learners with ADHD are also typically curious and motivated to learn new things, which can also make a significant contribution to the transdisciplinary learning process given the basic need to look for new links between different content domains. Yet another advantage at the disposal of transdisciplinary teachers is the honesty and directness of communication that is typical of learners with ADHD. While often this honesty derives from a lack of awareness of accepted social norms, it can be used to learn from the learners themselves about a variety of perspectives regarding their learning, such as how they understand the learning, how enjoyable it was and even if it added to their previous knowledge. This is because learners with ADHD will share their positive and negative feelings and their opinions about anything and

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Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD

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thereby help make learning more effective and meaningful later on. However, transdisciplinary teachers must make sure that all communication is conducted in acceptable and inoffensive ways. Although developing reciprocal relations between teachers, parents and learners may cause significant challenges when seeking to develop transdisciplinary learning environments, succeeding in creating efficient cooperation between all participants will be very advantageous. This is because the advantages of maintaining a continuum of learning process at home as well as at school are greater than the challenges. While learners with ADHD tend to have associative thinking that leads them to deal with several issues at the same time, mediating them for transcendence will promote their ability to monitor their work and focus on their learning goal. For the rest of their classmates, this mediation will support their need to learn how to look for links between what they learn and other domains, without developing associative behaviour. At the same time, explaining the core methods of transdisciplinary teaching to all parents will provide them with the understanding how to support their children at home: those who need to monitor their tendency for associative thinking and those who need to develop their transcendence thinking skills. Teachers, on the other hand, will learn from the parents about the challenges and successes they experience with their children while implementing transdisciplinary methods at home and will be able to adjust their mediation accordingly.

3.6

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with ADHD

Transdisciplinary teaching is based on building social ties that will contribute to meaningful peer learning. Given the objective difficulties learners with ADHD have in conforming to behavioural norms and hence also developing proper social ties, stigmas are very often created, preventing the inclusion of these learners into the social fabric of the class (Ewe, 2019). Consequently, the most significant challenge transdisciplinary teachers face is to prevent such stigmas against learners with ADHD and, if they already exist, to conduct activities that will eliminate these perceptions among teachers and learners at the school. Knowing about the many learning challenges and their implications is an important foundation for planning efficient learning. However, transdisciplinary teachers indeed face a meaningful challenge, and that is turning theoretical knowledge into an inclusive plan of action. In the transdisciplinary framework, one must plan learning processes that also cater to learners with ADHD, who are typically impulsive and hyperactive and often have problems with planning and organization and sometimes also emotional difficulties. In other words, while retaining the principles of transdisciplinary learning, the teacher must regulate and organize the academic, social and emotional information in a manner that, on the one hand, will not prevent learning on the part of learners with ADHD and others and, on the other, will still

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allow the learning to be challenging and thought-provoking. An example of a dilemma these teachers must cope with relates to the depth of the learning process. One of the aims of transdisciplinary teaching is to deepen knowledge and understanding of a topic of study through making connections with other disciplines. Connecting disciplines according to logical elements is indeed an advantage for learners with ADHD, but because of their deficiency, they may not delve deeply enough into one discipline and may be too associative in their responses. Moreover, they tend to learn ineffectively and too simplistically because of their limited attention span. The challenge transdisciplinary teachers face is how to teach the topic of study in depth, while relating to the effect of the challenges on the learning process but without giving up on the integration of the additional disciplines. Beyond teaching the main discipline and integrating it with additional ones, transdisciplinary teachers must make sure to employ teaching and learning strategies that are relevant both to the learners and to the content studied. This means that the challenge they face goes beyond knowing the learners, understanding the challenges they need to cope with on a daily basis and knowing the various disciplines. Transdisciplinary teachers in inclusive schools must also be familiar with variety of teaching and learning strategies, while understanding how to choose the appropriate ones for each learner, how to use them in each discipline separately and which strategy will suit the integrative part of the learning. As will be shown below, the introduction of teaching and learning strategies that are helpful for learners with ADHD are very often no less beneficial to many other learners in the same class.

3.7

Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD

Learners with ADHD study in all learning environments, since most of them are of normal intelligence, and there is a high percentage of this type of deficiency in the population. Therefore, no one can overlook the need to facilitate their inclusion in all areas of school life rather than just physically integrate them. Furthermore, the fact that given their intelligence and their cognitive abilities, many of the learning strategies they need to use are similar to those that all other learners need to implement as well (such as how to organize information or how to write an appropriate and complete answer). Nevertheless, ADHD does not manifest itself in the same way among all learners because of the complex elements of which the deficiency is composed, and therefore the daily challenges learners with ADHD face are varied. For this reason, specific learning strategies are needed. Therefore, educators should use a range of teaching strategies that can be adapted to the diverse needs of the learners. One of the core goals educators must aim to achieve is to turn the teaching strategies they use into learning strategies their learners can use independently for current and future learning tasks. To achieve this essential goal, all educators must share with their learners why they chose a certain strategy and

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Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD

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encourage their learners to look for other strategies they have already encountered that can help them achieve their learning goals. Additionally, when educators share the teaching strategies they use with parents, the chances learners will use the strategies in areas other than school are higher. This reciprocal and cyclical learning is also the basis of any transdisciplinary and mediated learning progression, given the contribution of all participants throughout all teaching-learning processes. Furthermore, transdisciplinary educators should not try to develop their teaching strategies according to the varied causes for ADHD among learners but rather should understand what factors may prevent those learners’ effective learning. For example, having different components that are not necessarily relevant to the main topic may distract many learners with ADHD and cause them to lose focus. These components might be decoration in the learning area or on the assignment page, the use of several colours on the board or even the entry of other staff members into the classroom. Other distracting elements may be auditory, such as discussions among learners, background music or even the sounds of moving chairs in the classrooms. Educators can simply understand which of the factors interfere with these learners’ attention by asking them or, by observing them throughout the day. Once they understand what the triggers are for their learners with ADHD in a particular class, educators can better organize the learning environment by either reducing or eliminating whatever is unnecessary or by selecting the teaching and learning strategies that will best support these learners for the task at hand. Regarding the auditory elements, in some cases teachers may suggest that the learners use noise-reducing earplugs for part of the time while still allowing them to remain with their peers, rather than being sent to study separately in another room. The obvious advantage of this is that it can enhance the inclusive experience of the learners with ADHD. One of the major challenges all learners with ADHD have to address is organizing the information presented to them with a focus on what is relevant. This is because their lack of attention or impulsive behaviour or because of their tendency for associative thinking may prevent them from focusing only on the relevant parameters and from maintaining their attention for a sufficient length of time. Therefore, in order to ensure successful learning for all learners while optimally including learners with ADHD, all stages of the learning must include strategies of organization and focus. This is because on the one hand, they enable the study of several disciplines while developing creativity and handling a cognitive challenge, and on the other, such strategies will effectively promote development of the skills of an independent learner, on the understanding and recognition that effective learning strategies are the foundation of all learning. While such strategies are essential scaffolding for the success of learners with ADHD, introducing and discussing them openly with the whole class will undoubtedly benefit many other members of the class. The key principle in planning these strategies is to define the goal one wishes to achieve and which strategy will lead to its attainment. For learners with ADHD, however, it is important to define the goal with them and for them, so that they will not be drawn to focus on subcomponents of the process and be distracted from the overall objective. Below are key strategies that transdisciplinary teachers should strive to include for the benefit of all their learners but particularly of those with ADHD. The

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

strategies focus mainly on mediating the core learning objective, developing the feeling of competence and the social skills that will contribute to learning and social integration. Further on an example is given of how to include the strategies in a unit of study. – Prior to any transdisciplinary work, teachers must learn how to address the five main areas of ADHD: impulsivity and planning, inattention, hyperactivity, problems modulating gratification and poor emotional regulation (Goldstein & Naglieri, 2008). Addressing these areas will allow efficient preparation and implementation of the learning that will benefit all learners and not only those with ADHD. Nevertheless, addressing these elements must be based on recognizing learners’ strengths as well as their challenges. For learners whose strengths are visual and spatial, effective teaching-learning strategies may be the use of tables, graphs, figures and even drawing. However, efficient use of all these strategies can be achieved only after defining the main parameters learners must refer to when organizing information. For example, if the main goal of the lesson is learning how to compare things, prior to that the teachers will define with the learners the goal of comparison and the criteria that will be relevant for this goal. Similarly, while teaching a certain process, defining the stages that should be emphasized through the flowchart is essential. In another example, if the topic of the learning session relates to relations among different elements, the concept of relation along with the relevant parameters should be carefully explained before using Venn diagrams, which are highly efficient for many learners with ADHD. – As mentioned above, learners with ADHD struggle to learn and internalize the skill of comparing because of their tendency to relate to several things at the same time and because of their difficulty deciding what is the most important aspect they should be relating to right now and what can be postponed until later. Hence, one must also mediate for learners with ADHD how to recognize what is important and/or urgent as opposed to what is less so. This is particularly important in the framework of transdisciplinary teaching, since learners are expected to integrate stimuli from different fields and this kind of organization is necessary for the learning to suit everyone. – Beyond the need to conduct efficient learning throughout all school activities, underpinning success in learning and in all areas in life, is the need to learn how to plan and organize one’s schedule. From the day children are born, adults organize the daily schedule for them, assuming they will internalize how to do so only from their passive experiences and from following the modelling around them. However, for learners with ADHD, this type of learning is usually not absorbed simply through incidental modelling, and they are likely to require mediation according to what elements are chosen to be part of the schedule, how one knows how long it might take to complete each element and so forth. Thus, asking learners with ADHD to organize their learning time is challenging and complex, because it requires them to understand and internalize concepts of both time and order, and then to integrate them while estimating how long it will take to complete each activity and in what order each of the activities should be carried

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Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD

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out. Usually, the most effective strategy for organizing the order of activities for learners with ADHD is to create a ‘to-do’ chart which they complete according to the pre-taught criteria of importance and urgency. For managing learning tasks linked with transdisciplinary teaching, the table should also contain a criterion noting whether the task is to be done alone or with partners. For most learners with ADHD, one can also add a column detailing the relevant study material for performance of the task. Once learners with ADHD have internalized the principles of working with this chart, teachers must provide mediation for transcendence to other areas of life, changing the chart’s column headings accordingly. Once again, this can be introduced in a whole class, as it might considerably improve how other learners without ADHD can further improve the efficacy of their work methods both in school and later on in higher education and in the workplace. – Following on from the use of charts as an organization strategy, transdisciplinary teachers must also be aware of the fact that many learners with ADHD are challenged when it comes to spatial and temporal orientation. Therefore, teachers must mediate core concepts such as ‘before and after’, which are fundamental for developing efficient use of different types of timetables. Thus, teachers need to look for time organization strategies that are appropriate for their learners with ADHD. Nowadays, when technology is available for almost everyone, teachers should implement and/or recommend the use of technology tools that can assist with both organizing and reminding the learners of assignments. But, remembering that technology is not only a tool, teachers who wish to promote their learners’ thinking skills must also mediate their learners how to use it efficiently and differently for each assignment. – Before imparting strategies that help with specific organization according to a schedule, one must make sure that the learners with ADHD understand the meaning of the concepts of time and are aware of the schedule. The great importance of internalizing these concepts and time management strategies is particularly relevant for transdisciplinary learning because of the amount of collaborative learning, where the failure of one student to deliver on time impacts the learning of everyone else in the group. One can be more lenient and accommodating about time management when it comes to individual learning and assessment, but not when it comes to group work, which prepares learners for their future integration into society as adults. There are two main time management strategies for learners with ADHD: the first is the stopwatch. When learners understand the concept of time and the meaning of the duration of time, they can be given a stopwatch that will make a sound or vibrate when the predefined time for work has ended. In this way, even if the learners with ADHD have lost concentration and sunk into other thoughts, the stopwatch will remind them to return to the task at hand, and the learners will not be embarrassed if the teacher or any of the other learners comment on it. Of course, it is also important to define how the timer signals the end of the work, so that it does not disturb the other learners. After internalizing this notion, a second strategy may be added – combining the chart ranking the importance of the tasks with the use of the

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

stopwatch. At this stage the student should create a simple ‘to-do’ list noting the task to be done, how long it is expected to take and at what time it should be done. A chart of this sort can be taught at the beginning when there are tasks the student with ADHD must do on their own but within the framework of the transdisciplinary work, so that they are not isolated from the rest of the class. Since many external signs of ADHD include difficulties focusing, impulsive behaviour and distractibility, all of which can negatively affect other learners in the classroom, teachers must apply classroom management strategies that cater to both learners with ADHD and the remainder of the class (Dort et al., 2020). Classroom management strategies are relevant to all learners, and they must be clearly defined and displayed for teachers and learners as needed. This is particularly important for transdisciplinary work, since when learning several disciplines together, combining group and individual learning and sometimes even with different teachers, some chaos might be expressed in a lack of learning and even behaviour problems among learners. Definition of the rules of learning and behaviour are clearly linked to mediation for meaning and for regulation and control of behaviour. This mediation will be particularly useful for learners with ADHD, since if they feel a lack of certainty about the learning process or about where they are supposed to learn, they can always focus on the defined rules and continue with what they are doing. Further to class management strategies, learners with ADHD tend to shift their attention suddenly from one subject to another because of their impulsivity or associative thinking. This is why the planning of transdisciplinary work for learners with ADHD should be carefully constructed and monitored. Hence, the transdisciplinary teacher must preplan every stage of the teaching and share that plan with the learners with ADHD at the beginning of every lesson, explaining what it is they are expected to perform. Harnessing the learners can be done through mediation for meaning, mediation for sharing and mediation for the feeling of belonging. Prior research (Curtis et al., 2014) clearly shows the influence of the connection between learners with ADHD and their teachers on the success of the learning process. This success is expressed in engaging the learners’ intrinsic motivation to cope with learning challenges. Success is also expressed in the completion of the learning process in which learners have managed to acquire new knowledge and use it as needed. To provide the optimal transdisciplinary environment for learners with ADHD, they must learn proper communication skills that will allow them to advocate for themselves (Lovett & Nelson, 2021). Therefore, the transdisciplinary teachers must also mediate for competence as well as for individuation and psychological differentiation. This will help learners with ADHD learn about themselves, develop their self-confidence and be able to advocate for their needs and desires. During and after concluding transdisciplinary learning sessions, teachers can apply a variety of assessment procedures. Although it is almost natural to integrate alternative forms of assessments in the transdisciplinary method, when examining learners with ADHD, some accommodations must be made. For

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Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with ADHD. . .

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example, it is essential to provide the learners with ADHD a separate quiet area, to allow them to complete the exam or any other assessment procedure, without any irrelevant external noise. In addition, most learners with ADHD have difficulties with time management and attention span and therefore need extra time to complete their assignments. Beyond these two accommodations, the transdisciplinary teachers should make sure that their learners with ADHD do not need any other individual accommodation that will allow them to present their knowledge. – Another challenge learners with ADHD must cope with is their difficulty in learning how to learn independently, which is an essential skill they will need as adults. It is important to clarify that the difficulty in independent learning stems from two main factors: the sources of ADHD and the fact that over the years caregivers and educators supported the children with ADHD very closely and in many cases did not allow them to develop their independence. This is challenging for them mainly because of their poor organizational skills and limited attention span, both of which are required in independent learning. This challenge is strengthened by the fact that most learners with ADHD are emotionally empowered by social activities, and therefore they often do not have any intrinsic motivation to learn independently. While the organizational strategies offered above may allow learners with ADHD to learn independently, educators should also mediate their possible contributions to group learning and other social activities. Hence transdisciplinary teachers must also include within the social and collaborative framework certain opportunities for independent learning that can help overcome this weakness, along with group activities that are based on previous individual learning experiences: a method that evolves from the transdisciplinary approach according to which all domains must be studied integratively while emphasizing the unique contribution of each.

3.8

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with ADHD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools

The following examples aim to provide educators with some ideas for how to implement the 12 parameters of mediation with learners with ADHD. Nevertheless, educators should bear in mind that while mediating in inclusive learning environments all participants gain from the mediated interactions. Therefore, the mediated interactions can and should be planned and implemented while teaching the whole group of learners together or in small groups which include different learners. Moreover, the mediation approach should become one of the teaching tools all educators use in their lessons and not only the transdisciplinary project leader. 1. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity While planning their initial lesson objective, transdisciplinary teachers should carefully consider which goals will be most effective for learners with

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

ADHD included in their class, in order to provide them with the most efficient learning methods, despite their attention challenges. This will facilitate the mediator’s main intention to modify and improve mediatees’ cognitive and thinking skills. Since learners with ADHD tend to occupy themselves with several issues at the same time – a relevant skill for transdisciplinary learning – the transdisciplinary teachers must clearly define a specific intention that will anchor learners with ADHD, if and when their attention wanders. Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier in Chap. 2, the mediator’s intention can be practiced only with mediatee reciprocity, which can be developed with the latter’s responsiveness, needs and awareness. Therefore, the teacher-mediators should focus on the core knowledge learners are required to relate to and mediate to the learners with ADHD the differences between the main goal of the transdisciplinary learning and the other goals that may evolve from the integration of other domains of knowledge. 2. Mediation for transcendence Transcendence actually represents the core method of transdisciplinary teaching, given its definition as the widening of learning beyond the initial learning context. Therefore, it may be almost natural for transdisciplinary teachers to mediate for transcendence while leading their learners to explore other domains of knowledge that broaden the opportunities to learn from a specific concrete situation. Although this parameter of mediation is essential for efficient thinking development, transdisciplinary teachers must mediate it carefully for learners with ADHD, who often present impulsive or associative thinking, in order to allow them to understand and assimilate efficient transcendence. Wishing to exploit their inherent need to be occupied with several things simultaneously and, yet, not to be impulsive, requires the transdisciplinary mediators to provide the necessary cognitive tools, such as comparison, classifications and analytic perceptions, learners with ADHD need in order to conduct transcendence independently in the future. 3. Mediation for meaning The emotional sensitivity and empathy that are typical of learners with ADHD allow efficient mediation of meaning through reference to the emotional, affective component of learning interactions. While mediating for meaning, transdisciplinary teachers should also emphasize for their learners with ADHD how the core domain of knowledge they are studying also relates to the areas of knowledge the learners are interested in. By doing so, the intrinsic motivation for reciprocity towards the cognitive modifiability of the learners with ADHD is increased, and they are more willing to cope with their own learning challenges. 4. Mediation for the feelings of competence Learners with ADHD, who struggle with organizing their learning in all areas of their lives, have a tremendous need to develop their feeling of competence. Although all learners need to have a feeling of competence in order to succeed, the characteristics of ADHD pose a greater challenge than usual. Transdisciplinary teachers should, therefore, focus on mediating the competence of succeeding in specific cognitive skills that will later support independent

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Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with ADHD. . .

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success. While the feeling of competence serves as a basis for the development of features of cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning, it is related to motivation specifically in situations where individuals are required to achieve better than usual. Learners with ADHD often prefer social learning activities, and therefore transdisciplinary mediators can increase their motivation through such activities that provide opportunities for success and thus mediation for competence. Nevertheless, if the learners with ADHD are not familiar with transdisciplinary methods, they may try to avoid the opportunity to learn differently, because of their feeling of incompetence. In such cases, the transdisciplinary mediators should plan a process that allows learners with ADHD to learn the new method stepwise, thereby gradually developing their feeling of competence. Mediation for regulation and control of behaviour Regulation and control of behaviour is one of the major challenges learners with ADHD face on a daily basis. Their inability to regulate and control their behaviour is expressed in both academic and social activities, and the main role of the transdisciplinary teacher is to mediate in a way that accelerates learners’ orientation towards self-reflection, while learning several domains together with other learners. While transdisciplinary teaching invites learners to use a variety of thinking skills in changing environments, learners with ADHD need additional mediation that supports efficient regulation of their behaviour in such a learning environment. Mediation for sharing behaviour For learners with ADHD who are motivated by learning with their classmates, mediating for sharing behaviour provides transdisciplinary teachers with opportunities to mediate to them which social skills are most appropriate. As transdisciplinary teaching-learning is based on exchanging information, learners with ADHD can learn and implement the needed social skills through mediation for sharing behaviour. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation As a result of the considerable integration of learners with ADHD in mainstream schools, these learners are often aware of their deficiencies rather than their strengths, and their desire to be like others may lead them to avoid opportunities to express their uniqueness. At this stage, the role of the transdisciplinary teachers is to mediate for individuation, as well as for competence, so that learners with ADHD can develop their feeling of trust and security in their environment, while retaining their unique identity. This process of mediation also accompanies the mediation for belonging. Mediation for goal-seeking, goal-setting and goal-achieving behaviour While learners with ADHD tend to experience everything they can in a short period of time, mediation for goal seeking may provide a unique support that will help them succeed, particularly when combined with the mediation for regulation of behaviour. Being able to seek and define your goals is important for all areas of life, and all transdisciplinary teachers and learners are challenged while looking for the proper goal for them and their peers. Nevertheless, this

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

process is much more challenging for learners with ADHD. To implement such a mediation process, transdisciplinary teachers must organize their teaching so that their learners with ADHD are exposed to the materials step by step and will be able to determine their learning goals without being distracted by other learning content. For this type of mediation, transdisciplinary teachers should also include strategies for better planning, organizing and use of core principles of learning. 9. Mediation for challenge: the search for novelty and complexity For learners with ADHD who tend to experience unsuccessful learning processes because of their deficiencies, it is essential that their transdisciplinary teachers mediate for the awareness and skills their learners with ADHD can use to modify their behaviour. While transdisciplinary teaching-learning is based on recognizing and dealing with new learning situations, learners with ADHD should mediate for their own cognitive flexibility and modifiability that provides the opportunity to learn efficiently. Therefore, while integrating the variety of learning challenges through the transdisciplinary teaching opportunities, the transdisciplinary mediators should also focus on the ability to cope with, rather than avoid, novel and complex challenges. 10. Mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity Following the previous mediation parameters, mediation of the awareness of the human being as a changing entity provides an opportunity to show learners with ADHD how to reflect on their learning processes and abilities. As mentioned earlier, this parameter of mediation presents the core belief that, as a result of the learning, both educators and learners alike will be cognitively modified. Throughout the transdisciplinary teaching and towards the end of learning each subtopic, transdisciplinary mediators should look for signs of change among their learners with ADHD and raise their awareness of the positive changes they have undergone, despite their challenges. Just as transdisciplinary teachers develop their teaching units as part of their teamwork, all teachers should also share their inputs regarding signs of changes they observed among all learners, as well as specifically among learners with ADHD. 11. Mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives While transdisciplinary teaching provides opportunities to consider a range of dilemmas pertaining to several domains of knowledge, along with proposing several solutions, this might be overwhelming and confusing for learners with ADHD. The mediation for optimistic alternatives among a variety of possible solutions may increase impulsive behaviour in learners with ADHD. Transdisciplinary mediators who are aware of the extreme impact that the mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives has on cognitive structure and on the modifiability of the individual’s behaviour should integrate it alongside mediating for control of behaviour for their learners with ADHD. Given the dynamic processes this parameter of mediation involves, it is absolutely relevant for learners with ADHD who tend to prefer studying through dynamic, active and creative approaches.

3.9

Summary and Possible Implementations. . .

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12. Mediation for the feeling of belonging One of the main reasons learners with ADHD prefer to work with others evolves from the need to be stimulated by different sources and be dynamically engaged with several things. Hence, their engagement in many social activities doesn’t necessarily lead towards their feeling of belonging. Therefore, an additional role of transdisciplinary mediators is to ensure that beyond the practical participation in all learning activities, their learners with ADHD will also develop their feeling of belonging. While conducting such mediation reinforces integration of all the parameters of mediation, for learners with ADHD, mediators should focus mainly on mediation for transcendence, meaning and regulation of behaviour.

3.9

Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 3.1 and 3.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Including Learners with ADHD

Understanding the core meaning and contribution of each of the 12 parameters of mediation serves as a foundation for planning efficient transdisciplinary teaching that integrates mediation and aims to cultivate thinking development among learners with ADHD along with all their classmates. The inclusion of learners with ADHD in mainstream schools is conducted almost automatically, unless they have additional

Fig. 3.1 Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching

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Fig. 3.2 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine

deficiencies that require special support. Consequently, some teachers choose to teach learners with ADHD as they do all others and do not implement the necessary strategies that might facilitate their learning. Understanding the diversity among learners with ADHD serves as a basis for effective inclusion both in school and later on as adults in society. Although most learners with ADHD do not have cognitive deficiencies, teaching them without implementing proper strategies or without focusing on specific learning goals that are relevant to them will not enable them to learn in an optimal manner. Given the myriad ways and circumstances in which ADHD is presented by different learners, it is essential for teachers to learn about each of their learners. One significant source of information is the parents. Teachers may learn from the parents about the challenges and successes they experience at home and implement some of the methods in their lessons. At the same time, parents may learn from the teachers about the challenges and successes their children experience at school in order to better mediate at home. As explained earlier and presented in Fig. 3.1, transdisciplinary teachers should refer to all factors relevant to their teaching and to the learning environment, in order to ensure efficient transdisciplinary learning among all learners. This figure presents how transdisciplinary teachers should integrate all sources of information in order to successfully plan their teaching while efficiently including learners with ADHD. In accordance with Fig. 3.1 and with reference to the comprehension of what inclusion of learners with ADHD requires, in general, below is a suggestion for

3.10

Main Learning Topic

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planning transdisciplinary teaching and learning, along with mediating for effective use of the thinking skill that promotes integrating several sources of information among learners with ADHD in sixth grade and their classmates.

3.10

Main Learning Topic

The Roman Empire (sub-topic of history and social studies)

3.10.1

The Learners with ADHD

A mainstream class with 32 sixth graders, 4 of whom have ADHD, and they have studied in mainstream programmes since kindergarten. From kindergarten and until the end of second grade, all four of them were treated by occupational therapists who promoted their writing skills and most of the executive functions necessary for better organizing their learning. Since third grade, they have been treated with medication which is effective during the school day and allows them to participate in most learning activities, but this is not effective during the afternoons, and therefore, usually they do not manage to complete their homework assignments. Additionally, also because of the lack of medication during the afternoons, occasionally they have difficulty controlling their impulsivity, so their classmates prefer not to play with them. These situations cause two main challenges: the learners with ADHD have developed low self-confidence regarding their ability to learn and have friends, and their classmates have developed the stigmatizing belief that learners with ADHD cannot be relied on to complete their home assignments and that they cannot be close friends because of their behavioural problems in the afternoon hours. Furthermore, even when the academic skills of the learners with ADHD are well developed, they need certain accommodations and learning strategies to ensure successful studying and exam-taking. The chosen learning strategies should be clearly explained in order to focus only on relevant information, a challenging process for learners with ADHD.

3.10.2

The Transdisciplinary Teachers

The transdisciplinary teachers must begin their planning by asking themselves what they know or do not know and how deep their understanding is about ADHD and its influences on learning behaviours. Additionally, based on their knowledge about ADHD, their acquaintance with their learners and their previous experiences of teaching learners with ADHD, educators should discuss and clarify with their colleagues which teaching strategies and methods will be the most effective at this

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3 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Attention Deficit. . .

stage of mediation. Following that, they must validate for themselves and for their co-teachers the core knowledge and principles that underlie the topic of study, i.e. keeping in mind that they are about to teach sixth graders about the Roman Empire. The next step relies on the transdisciplinary teachers’ reflective thinking after assessing their own strengths and challenges while implementing transdisciplinary teaching skills, in order to gather and lead their colleagues who will participate in teaching the theme of the Roman Empire during their classes. Another perspective they should reflect on refers to their strengths in regard to teaching this topic while efficiently including learners with ADHD and what type of collaboration they will need from their colleagues. Finally, as part of their role as mediators for thinking development among all learners, the transdisciplinary teachers must carefully plan how to implement the universal parameters of mediation, along with any of the remaining parameters that are relevant to the context and to the topic of the Roman Empire for all their learners, as well as to those with ADHD.

3.10.3

The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)

Gathering the teachers who wish to learn how to implement the transdisciplinary approach and are willing to work in collaboration with other teachers as well as enhance the inclusion of learners with special needs in their classes is the first stage of developing transdisciplinary programmes. In order to effectively include learners with ADHD throughout all school activities, all participants must learn about ADHD, the various possible sources of the deficiency, the different ways the deficiency may present itself in different learners and, most importantly, about the most necessary teaching and learning strategies needed to advance their learning skills. Although nowadays most teacher education programmes instruct teachertrainees on how to address this topic, the ongoing increasing knowledge about it means that it is essential to continue learning, practicing and sharing new methods of teaching strategies for learners with ADHD as part of the teamwork in schools. The main topic of this learning session – the Roman Empire – usually belongs solely to the domain of history, and all transdisciplinary collaborators need to learn the content and then to conduct brainstorming sessions that focus on the common topics and subtopics teachers share, for example, the concept of ‘empire’ and how it is used in different stories throughout the history (for the literature teachers), the social meaning of ‘empire’ and how it is conducted today when there are economic empires (for the social studies teachers), the influence of political empires on geographic issues (for geography teachers) or the related concepts of organizing empires and how to present it graphically (for math teachers). While doing so, the transdisciplinary teachers have to bear in mind that they are also about to teach all learners, including those with ADHD, and therefore they should focus on clear links

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and core issues that will allow the learners to follow the learning trajectory efficiently. In addition to the core knowledge about the studied topic, all transdisciplinary educators must learn how to promote the development of the chosen thinking skill: integrating several sources of information.

3.10.4

Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies

As mentioned above, the topic of the Roman Empire is usually related to only in history classes, and therefore developing a transdisciplinary learning process based on this topic is cognitively challenging for everyone. Because of the possible difficulties, it is essential to implement it (and other similar topics) though transdisciplinary and mediation processes. Beyond the challenges in choosing which domains of knowledge should be integrated and which should not at this stage of learning, transdisciplinary teachers must remember that some learners in the class have ADHD. This means that the transdisciplinary teachers should integrate learning strategies that will assist the learners with ADHD to focus on improving their cognitive ability to integrate all relevant information for better learning in general and specifically of the chosen topic. For example, learners with these types of challenges typically have difficulties with time orientation and absorbing historical concepts. This should be addressed via a variety of learning materials such as timetables, timeline, videos or animations, for better illustration of the contents. Furthermore, challenges in time orientation may occur among other learners who are not assessed as having ADHD, and therefore they will greatly benefit when transdisciplinary teachers integrate the different learning methods and materials that assist them. Additionally, the collaboration between the teachers who develop the transdisciplinary unit on the Roman Empire should be based on common goals that will be studied step by step, in order to logically facilitate the connections between the domains and allow learners with ADHD to focus better rather than rely on impulsive and associative learning behaviour. This method of transdisciplinary teaching is linked to the method of mediation for transcendence that promotes the implementation of one main idea in variety of domains among all learners. Educational goals should focus on expanding all learners’ knowledge and understanding regarding the Roman Empire and the possible contributions of this knowledge to the learners’ own life. These goals should be mediated mainly for intentionality and for meaning. Hence, the relevance of the topic to today’s world can, for example, be mediated for the awareness of the human being as a changing entity, because of the different ways we currently use the core meaning of the concept of ‘empire’. From the information collected about the four learners with ADHD in the class, the transdisciplinary teachers must integrate learning activities that promote the learners’ self-confidence along with eliminating the stigmas the other learners’ have attributed to them. Therefore, they must teach the learners the social skills they need along with how to complete their home assignments in order to better

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succeed in all social and academic activities. These processes should be mediated for regulation and control of behaviour, as well as for the feeling of competence and for sharing. When succeeding and achieving their goals, teachers need to mediate to everyone the awareness of the human being as a changing entity, in order to reduce and eliminate the possible stigmas held about learners with ADHD. In addition to the planning according to Fig. 3.1, in order to become efficient transdisciplinary teachers who promote inclusion of learners with ADHD, teachers must also adhere to their personal planning routine. Figure 3.2 below presents a routine that includes all the parameters that allow successful inclusion of learners with ADHD in transdisciplinary learning communities. Beginning with understanding the unique characteristics that lead to their attention challenges, transdisciplinary teachers may continue to define relevant learning goals along with focusing on the thinking skills and learning strategies they will teach. But educators must also remember that the spectrum of challenges among learners with ADHD is wide. Therefore, they should make sure not to overgeneralize the meaning of the deficiency while collecting information about their learners and not to compare between learners with ADHD just because they are diagnosed as having the same overall deficiency. Then, teachers can plan efficient transdisciplinary learning processes which include the necessary mediation parameters. Finally, transdisciplinary teachers should plan how they will monitor and assess their learning, considering their tendency to both impulsive and associative thinking. Planning and implementing teaching strategies through transdisciplinary teaching contribute significantly to the development of efficient teaching in general, while also helping to better manage the variety of learning activities and provide learners with ADHD the learning assistance they need. Thus, given their tendency to impulsively address several things at the same time, the transdisciplinary approach provides organized learning methods that allow them to overcome this challenge. Including learners with ADHD also requires transdisciplinary teachers to focus on strategies that will enable them to understand and internalize the core meaning of the main topic while logically organizing the relevant connections between different areas of knowledge they study, as well as defining and organizing the differences between them. Teaching these strategies must be followed by the mediation for transcendence, along with other parameters of mediation, in order to provide them with the skills they need to implement the organization strategies in other areas in their lives.

Chapter 4

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that generally affects the development of proper social communication and behaviour skills (Bennett & Goodall, 2016). Symptoms of ASD may occur across a wide spectrum of ages and life situations and may vary with age, where in different cultures the interpretations for the same symptoms may be different. While the warning signs are numerous and vary greatly between individuals, up to a decade ago, many people on the spectrum were not diagnosed because the symptoms they presented as children were not yet officially defined or were not recognized as challenges that needed to be addressed. As a result, these learners were not taught appropriate learning strategies that could have promoted both their learning skills in all areas and their social skills that are needed for better inclusion as adults (Bryson et al., 2003). Nowadays, many researchers from around the world not only aim to find the factors that cause the development of ASD, in order to try to prevent it from one perspective, but also want to learn what interventions should be used to optimally promote their learning for inclusion in society. Nevertheless, as explained later in this chapter, understanding the main obstacles most learners with ASD experience together with recognizing their strengths allows educators to suitably prepare for their inclusion, regardless of the reasons for the obstacles their students face. These preparations can significantly and pre-emptively help learners with ASD to avoid or to better overcome obstacles in the realms of social and academic skills and abstract thinking and mainly how to define logical links between different areas of content, which is one of the main challenges learners with ASD have to deal with. However, while transdisciplinary methods can contribute greatly to learners with ASD, transdisciplinary teachers must carefully learn about the various implications of the disorder along with the most efficient strategies for successful inclusion in mainstream classes.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_4

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4.1

4

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common neurological and genetic conditions found among both genders and people of all backgrounds and socioeconomic levels (Campisi et al., 2018). Since ASD was first recognized in the 1940s, much progress in understanding its effects on individuals and their surroundings has been achieved through the awareness and collaboration among researchers, scholars, educators, therapists, parents and caregivers. The accumulation of information over time provides a clear understanding that ASD has many different expressions and that heterogenous factors have created a broad spectrum in which the symptoms vary greatly both in type and severity among those diagnosed as having ASD. Furthermore, people may present the same symptom but in different severity in response to different triggers. Nevertheless, the main elements affecting the majority of people with Autism are social and behavioural in nature. Having other neurological conditions in addition to autism is very common; anxiety, epilepsy, depression and ADHD are only a few of the concurrent conditions mentioned in the literature (Lord et al., 2020). Although several researchers continuously study the factors that characterize ASD, the two factors that consistently reoccur are the neurodevelopmental foundation and poor social communication and interaction (Kodak & Bergmann, 2020). Nevertheless, research on ASD continues to discover new relevant information, and the definition accepted today by the majority of scholars, therapists and educators used to determine a diagnosis of ASD is that of the American Psychiatric Association – DSM 5 (2013). This definition, which organizes all factors related to ASD, determines five main criteria that must exist in order to diagnose someone as having ASD: A. An ongoing regular lack of social communication and interpersonal interaction in several contexts. This lack is expressed in the present or can be learned from the developmental history and is evident in the following three areas: (1) a lack of social and emotional reciprocity, for example, difficulty managing a conversation, limited emotional sharing and lack of ability to initiate or respond to social initiatives; (2) a lack in nonverbal communication for the purposes of social interaction, for example, difficulties integrating verbal and nonverbal communication, flawed eye contact, abnormal use of gestures even to the point of no facial expression or nonverbal gestures; and (3) a lack in the development, maintenance and understanding of emotional ties that match the level of development, for example, difficulty matching behaviour to context, difficulty sharing in an imaginary game, lack of ability to form friendships and lack of interest in the peer group. B. Limited and repetitive areas of interest, activities and behaviours expressed in the present or according to past reports for at least two of the following four descriptions: 1. Appearance of stereotypical repeated motoric movements such as waving, repetitive stereotypical use of objects, such as arranging things in rows, use of speech routines such as echolalia, quoting and memorizing;

4.1

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

61

(2) fixed behaviour and adherence to routines and to certain routine utterances and resistance to change, such as difficulty with transitions, rigid thinking and rituals; (3) limited areas of interest that are exceptional in their intensity and focus, such as exaggerated interest in part of an object or in a particular object, endless repetition of the same behaviour or the same story; (4) overreaction or lack of reaction to sensory stimuli or unusual interest in a certain sensory stimulus, such as lack of response to pain or temperature, being annoyed by a particular sound or texture, smelling and touching a particular object, addiction to light stimuli or repeated movement. C. The signs must exist for a period of time in early childhood, even though not all of them may be evident at the time of diagnosis and some may change through learning over time. D. All the signs cause clear clinical, social and functional disabilities that will impact future employability. E. The disability cannot be explained by any intellectual deficits, medical issues or global developmental delay. The social difficulties are more severe than expected according to the global level of the subject’s development. The definition of ASD in this official American Psychiatric Association (APA) document also refers to measures of three levels of severity of autism; low, mid-level, and high functioning. When a child is ranked at level 3 (low functioning), extreme and significant support, along with daily supervision, is required, since there is a serious lack of verbal and nonverbal communication skills that lead to severely impaired functioning. A child ranked at level 2 (mid-level functioning) requires significant support because of obvious difficulty using verbal and nonverbal communication skills which are apparent even when there is support. A child ranked at level 1 (high functioning) needs a certain amount of support in order to prevent the appearance of social and communication difficulties that might lead to obvious disabilities. In addition to the official APA definition, researchers agree that ASD is often related to sensory and intellectual impairment, which can, in some cases, be accompanied by anxiety and depression (Lord et al., 2020). The challenge is not to be confused by the symptoms and to be able to identify those that are the core elements of ASD. Moreover, Bryson et al. (2003) stress that symptoms of ASD vary with age and the warning signs vary greatly between individuals, a fact that should warn researchers from overgeneralization of ASD. This important warning has led to another challenge, which is that many people on the spectrum are currently not diagnosed because they display symptoms that are yet to be tested for ASD. Hence, even deeper research and understanding of all of the signs of autism are needed, since only then will children be able to receive a proper diagnosis in a way that will noticeably mitigate erroneous negative results. In other words, there is a need to continue the reciprocal processes that promote further research along with examining the implications in order to allow better understanding of the disorder. As time passes, there has been a dramatic rise in the occurrence of children with Autism in the world, and only in the past decade prevalence has dramatically tripled

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worldwide, which led several researchers to define the disorder as an ‘epidemic’ (Baxter et al., 2015). While some researchers claim that this increase of cases is a result of the expanded research on the meaning of the disability and the search for explanations, others claim that the need to diagnose and have specific definitions for the disabilities, rather than develop efficient interventions, has led to overdiagnosis of ASD. Thus, for example, estimations at the start of the twenty-first century (Hallahan & Kauffman, 2006) indicated that among mainstream school students and those receiving special education services for autism, the occurrence was 0.15% (15:10,000). However, according to the WHO, the numbers are much higher, and the frequency of autism has increased and is about to be quadrupled. The WHO claims that currently the frequency of children that are assessed with ASD is estimated at 0.62% (1:160). Moreover, since ASD was first assessed and defined, it is estimated that the frequency of autism among boys is four times greater than among girls, although researchers do not know the core reason for that (Magnée et al. 2011). The above increase of number of learners with ASD also raises the question among many researchers and scholars, as to whether there is a general tendency to overdiagnose children as having ASD or may have the updated and necessary knowledge for such diagnosis (Hadders-Algra, 2021). One way or another, the fact is that the number of learners with ASD has risen, and educators must find ways to develop and implement teaching methods that will promote the development of their thinking and social skills for efficient inclusion in school and in their living environment and later on, in the adult world. The important studies regarding the components, definitions and proper ways of diagnosing ASD revealed that some of the symptoms of the deficiency occur already during the first year of life. This is probably because some of the symptoms are genetic, environmental or both (ibid.). Nevertheless, educators and scholars emphasize that while early intervention is essential, this should be done without conducting any official diagnosis since during the first year of life, tremendous developmental changes are happening as a result of neuroplasticity and the significant reduction of some of the symptoms. Following that, early assessments and diagnosis might cause other obstacles that evolve from stigmas regarding the lack of social and learning abilities among children with ASD, and thus their inclusion will be much more challenging.

4.2

Inclusion of Learners with ASD

In light of the above, given the wide spectrum and the complexity of ASD that require individual treatment, as well as the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with some level of ASD, their inclusion as learners challenges the school environment more than the inclusion of learners with other special needs. Nevertheless, learning environments and society must undertake to develop all the necessary adaptations that can promote their inclusion while focusing on both the challenges and the advantages, in order to implement all relevant interventions effectively.

4.2

Inclusion of Learners with ASD

63

Moreover, there is no doubt that reaching an accurate assessment and diagnosis of ASD is complex and should be conducted carefully by professionals, taking a variety of factors into account. The fact that nowadays the core symptoms of ASD allow early interventions, even when an official diagnosis is not conducted (HaddersAlgra, 2021; Kodak & Bergmann, 2020), facilitates the social and academic inclusion of children with ASD in schools. During such inclusion, it is also important to learn what intervention, if any, was given previously in order to continue or expand on it by including relevant school goals for greater improvement of functioning (Bryson et al., 2003). The example of cooperation between kindergarten teachers, schoolteachers, caregivers and therapists resembles a core element in the transdisciplinary approach: the development of cooperation between all educational staff. Kodak and Bergmann (2020) also emphasize in their study they conducted on adolescents with ASD that the contribution of adaptive intervention for learners with ASD never ends. For example, Barak-Levy and Flavian (2022) found in their study that during a ten-session dance workshop for adolescents with ASD, the participants significantly improved their understanding of the behaviour norms required of them and applied them gradually while learning new materials. Despite the challenges that educators, caregivers and all learners need to confront while including learners with ASD, the humanistic approach to the inclusion of people with special needs is guiding educators to create new opportunities for them to improve every aspect of those abilities that will promote their inclusion. Moreover, educators can be motivated to continue their search for better inclusion of learners with ASD, based on the results of previous studies which emphasize that mainstreamed learners with ASD have better social and academic skills than those who study in segregated settings (Yang et al., 2003). Moreover, the definition of the deficiency guides educators towards an optimistic perspective regarding learners’ ability, and this is based on the term ‘spectrum’. Thus, there is a wide range of abilities that can be improved in reference to a wide variety of contents. Following that, when challenges regarding the inclusion of learners with ASD arise, it is essential for educators and caregivers to bear in mind the main goal of inclusion, to allow the learners to become independent and active members of society as adults and to focus on the necessary skills these learners require to achieve this goal. Although some educators claim that the inclusion of learners with ASD is too complicated and may fail, harming them or their classmates, Starr and Foy (2012) present their perspective after studying the attitudes and perspectives of parents for children with ASD. They claim that the main reasons for unsuccessful inclusion of learners with ASD are the lack of proper teacher education, the lack of teachers’ updated knowledge about ASD and the lack of teachers’ proper preparation and understanding of the meaning of inclusion of these learners. After being assessed, learners with ASD usually participate in a variety of treatments to improve their communication, behaviour and academic skills. All necessary support programmes and treatments must be aligned with schools’ goals and activities to allow learners with ASD to develop the fundamental perspective of a continuum and the logical links between activities and thereby prevent the perception of events in life as merely episodic. The desire to include learners with ASD in

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mainstream schools and later as adults in society motivates scholars and educators worldwide to look for effective treatments and programmes for these students. However, while developing individual learning programmes for learners with ASD, educators must also look for the differences among them and focus on their particular strengths and challenges. Additionally, assessment of the success of the inclusion should also take into consideration the primary goal of future inclusion as adults and not only the school goals, even though in most cases schoolteachers will not be the ones to see the fruits of their hard work. Another significant dilemma educators face with the inclusion of learners with ASD relates to the fact that their main deficiencies and challenges are their lack of the proper social and emotional skills and not lack of academic skills, even though educators now have better training regarding the methods they should apply to help learners improve their academic skills. While educators recognize that social and emotional skills are needed for inclusion in the future and that they can be dramatically improved only through inclusion among learners without ASD, currently, they are not usually trained to implement emotional and social interventions. Nevertheless, parents still often prefer to send their children with ASD to mainstream schools, where they can receive the support they may need (Starr & Foy, 2012; Uziely, 2018). Nowadays, according to Starr and Foy (2012), there are three main methods for the inclusion of learners with ASD in educational settings: (1) placing them within regular classrooms and including them in all academic and social activities with their classmates, with the necessary individual support, (2) placing them in resource rooms or in special education classes within the mainstream school and including them only in selected social or academic activities they can cope with and (3) placing them in separate special education schools, while providing them with significant and intensive intervention programmes. In separate special educational schools, which may well be most appropriate programmes for a child’s complex needs, the opportunities for inclusion are limited and usually occur during specific preplanned activities in which learners from other schools come to the special education school, or, when learners with ASD are invited to attend special activities in the mainstream schools. As mentioned above, achieving efficient inclusion of learners with ASD can be done only by promoting both their academic and social skills. According to Yang et al. (2003), all programmes in which learners with ASD are included should encompass three main perspectives: (1) providing all the necessary treatment and support learners with ASD need to acquire the social and emotional skills for the norms of the society they live in, (2) developing the academic skills that will promote opportunities to become independent workers as adults and (3) emerging social opportunities that will allow both learners with ASD and their schoolmates to interact. These three perspectives can be simply integrated in transdisciplinary schools, precisely because of the holistic perspectives of inclusion along with the cooperation between the staff members that serve as the basis for successful inclusion according to these perspectives.

4.3

Advantages of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools

4.3

Advantages of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools

65

The complexity of ASD, along with its different manifestations, indicates the need to develop a range of intervention programmes while coordinating among professionals and caregivers. Thus, one common faced of both transdisciplinary teaching and inclusion of learners with ASD is the need for cooperation among educators, therapists, and the later caregivers. Because transdisciplinary teaching is relevant for all learners, the fact that it is based on social interaction and communication is yet another reason to implement it with learners with ASD, despite the fact that this might constitute some serious challenges for everyone involved. Nevertheless, successful inclusion of learners with ASD will not happen automatically just because of their physical integration in the school. Since the essential need for social interaction must be mediated to all learners in various ways, educators must be armed with teaching strategies that allow them and the learners to overcome the obstacles. Therefore, the norm of teamwork inherent in transdisciplinary teaching should be used as the basis for developing successful inclusion programmes for learners with ASD. While educators have continued to debate over the past two decades whether and how to include learners with ASD, several studies have highlighted the contribution of the inclusion both to the learners with ASD and to the rest of the school community. Robertson et al. (2003) claim that the main evidence that reappears in most of the studies shows that mainstreamed learners with ASD are more likely to integrate better into their society as adults, thanks to the intensive intervention they experience in terms of social and communication interactions with their schoolmates without ASD. While communication is the main challenge for learners with ASD, it is also an essential skill for all school activities and later for all activities as adults. The need to practice their communication helps them improve it because, on a daily basis, that is their only viable option at school and in school-related activities. Moreover, as shown later in the section of this chapter that presents some practical transdisciplinary teaching strategies for learners with ASD, some of the ASD characteristics that are defined as deficiencies may be used to elaborate their successful inclusion. From another perspective, while providing learners with ASD the support to be included, their classmates learn from an early age how to include others and thus will be more comfortable with implementing inclusion in their environment as adults. The influence of successful inclusion in general also specifically impacts teachers’ attitudes towards their learners, and this effect continuously influences the learning environment. Robertson et al. (2003) conducted further investigation, focusing on the teachers’ role in the inclusion of learners with ASD. They discovered that teachers’ positive relationships with their learners with ASD significantly reduce behaviour problems, thereby promoting better communication with the rest of the learners. In addition, their relationships affected the extent to which other learners

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imitated their teachers’ behaviour with the learners with ASD and began interacting with their peers in the same way. The culture of cooperation among all factors at the schools that is an integral part of the transdisciplinary approach actually enables better preparation of learners with ASD for their integration into society as adults. Thus, for example, the transdisciplinary mindset can address very effectively one of the significant difficulties of learners with ASD – that of coping with changes. The transdisciplinary approach plans integration while imparting cognitive tools appropriate for changes in learning experiences and, principally, learning by understanding different perspectives. Once learners with ASD internalize this learning culture, it is simpler for them to cope with changes outside school. In addition, learners with ASD like fixed routines at school, such as having each discipline taught on its own or not changing the routines of the activities they participate in school, so that having very clear routines of what they are studying at every stage of the day and which teachers are responsible for each discipline. For learners with ASD, the need to know which teacher teaches what and when not only organizes their schedule but also provides them the understanding of who to approach to in case they need help. While these routines make things easier for learners with ASD because they help structure their environment, these habits do not align with the demands of the society around them, and as adults they will have great difficulty with them. In contrast, learning from a young age according to the transdisciplinary approach enables internalization of the principles according to which disciplines are interconnected and are taught through collaboration with different professionals. Thus, learners in general, as well as those with ASD in particular, can learn that everything around them is connected in some way to something else and that each event around them has a cause that derives from another event and that the event will also affect what happens next. Regardless of other advantages of transdisciplinary teaching, this approach, by definition, reduces the episodic perception that is typical of students with ASD and constitutes another obstacle to their integration into society. The cooperation among the entire teaching staff at transdisciplinary schools promotes better recognition of all learners, including those with ASD. This core element of daily teaching actually offers another advantage for learners with ASD, since learners with ASD tend very often to be anxious in a way that affects their behavioural and cognitive functioning. However, if all the teachers are aware of the commonly seen challenges of learners with ASD, they will be able to plan their teaching in ways that will minimize the learners’ anxiety. They will also be able to reduce panic attacks and will know how to act when an attack does occur. From the point of view of learners with ASD, from the daily transdisciplinary learning at school, they will get to know more of the staff and will not be afraid if one of them approaches them and offers help.

4.4

4.4

Challenges of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools

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Challenges of Inclusion of Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Schools

While there are several advantages for including learners with ASD in mainstream education systems that apply transdisciplinary teaching, there are also challenges that must be taken into consideration and addressed. Whereas learners with ASD are provided with the emotional and cognitive support they need, the same cannot be said for the teachers, parents and classmates, i.e. all those who are performing the inclusion, and thus have to deal with a variety of challenges on a daily basis. The complexity of the disability only highlights the need to prepare everyone involved, and this preparation itself is a complex challenge. Moreover, if those involved are not properly prepared, their cooperation in the inclusion will be limited, leaving it at the academic and physical levels with no social facet, which is the most important for the future. Furthermore, given the core characteristics of people with ASD, their challenges in social communication, most of them require plentiful mediation regarding expected social norms throughout their life, and not only during school time. The challenge of social integration is both meaningful and extensive, especially in light of the typical social and emotional difficulties found among learners with ASD. Moreover, the most important agents of socialization are the classmates, the peer group of the learners with ASD, who are the same or similar age but are not trained to promote efficient inclusion. Hence, the leaders of inclusion at school must explain the features of the disability, emphasizing the social difficulties, alongside explanations about the withdrawn and sometimes antisocial behaviour that is an inherent part of it. Furthermore, they should clarify that learners with ASD do not misbehave in certain ways intentionally towards any child but as a result of their objective challenges. Though the above explanation may seem simple, for the learners who have to engage with a peer with ASD, it is not, because in any case, they should not be hurt, emotionally or physically, by doing so. The teaching staff is rightly perceived as the significant factor responsible for developing the learning skills required for all learners in general and for those with ASD in particular. Teacher education indeed includes learning how to convey disciplinary knowledge but also training in planning learning procedures adapted to the learners and the study material. Despite this professional training, there remains a considerable gap between the theoretical knowledge teachers acquire and the actual needs of learners with ASD – a gap that derives mainly from the broad range of features and needs of the various learners diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum (Strain et al., 2011; Starr & Foy, 2012). The fact that this disability has several criteria and ranges across a broad spectrum also impacts the diversity of teachers’ knowledge. Teachers who learned about ASD from various sources comprehend its meaning in different ways, and when teachers meet, there is often disagreement about its significance and the most appropriate ways to cope with

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it. The gaps in knowledge and understanding make the teamwork for transdisciplinary teaching even more challenging, since beyond sharing their knowledge in order to build a teaching plan that will engage all learners in the class while also being suited to learners with ASD, they have to integrate the learners into the transdisciplinary approach which includes social collaborative teaching principles – a key challenge for these learners. Hence, transdisciplinary teachers working with learners with ASD must understand the need to develop flexible teaching plans according to the range of the learners’ diversity, while also accepting the fact that ASD is still a subject of research and that they must continue to learn about it on future occasions and from other sources. As mentioned, the ultimate aim of inclusion is, essentially, integration into the surrounding society in adulthood, and so it is necessary to relate to the broader circle of the learners’ agents of socialization. As in any inclusion process, the parents of learners with ASD and of the other learners are a significant factor in promoting the inclusion. However, when including learners with complex deficiencies such as ASD, the including parents and learners might be reluctant because of the behavioural problems of those with the disability, claiming that they might harm their children. In a variety of studies, researchers (e.g. Flavian & Uziely, 2022; Levine, 2002) have found that relevant knowledge can promote positive attitudes. Thus, if the including parents understand more about the meaning of ASD, they may also encourage their children to include their classmate in their activities. Nevertheless, this adds other teaching activities for the teachers who may have to develop methods to teach the parents as well. But the responsibility for providing all the necessary support for the learners and their families must not be on teachers alone. Building inclusive communities refers also to all educational leaders and educators who are part of the school districts, the local authorities, the national ministry of education or regional school board, etc. All participants must share any knowledge they feel will promote inclusion along with providing teachers with the daily support they need. It is also important to emphasize that the teaching staff at school can introduce enrichment activities for the including of learners, so that everyone can understand the meaning of the disability, but the staff cannot oblige the parents to take part in such activities. Hence, another challenge the teaching staff faces is the need to help change the perceptions of the surrounding society in order to enable all parents to play a lead role in the meaningful social inclusion processes.

4.5

Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ASD

As explained earlier in Chap. 2, teaching strategies are the processes educators use to achieve their teaching and learning objectives, while promoting learners’ thinking skills. Obviously, this planning process is far more complex when educators include learners with ASD with their wide spectrum of manifestations and learning styles.

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Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with ASD

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However, this complexity and challenge for the educators can be simplified, thanks to the range of learning possibilities the transdisciplinary approach offers. Thus, to promote inclusion of learners with ASD and avoid any feeling of exclusion, transdisciplinary teachers should mediate carefully for individuation and psychological differentiation together with the other parameters of mediation. But conducting effective teaching strategies should be based on understanding any previous interventions provided since early childhood, as well as which strategies were mediated up to now and which of these proved to be the most or least effective. Following are the main teaching strategies that transdisciplinary teachers may integrate on a daily basis while including learners with ASD: – Transdisciplinary teachers wishing to promote social inclusion of their learners with ASD can assign tasks containing elements of competition. This is because learners with ASD are often competitive and more likely to want to control, lead and work alone rather than in a team than other learners not on the spectrum (Boutsika, 2014). Moreover, this characteristic can be used positively only through inclusion and may also promote the learning of social norms for which learners with ASD require careful mediation. Integrating assignments which are based on competitive elements may also motivate other learners to learn individually. Additionally, after all learners completed their assignments, teachers summarize the learning session by comparing all learners’ work and the strategies each of them used in order to achieve the goal. Such comparisons significantly promote both the thinking skill of comparing and the inclusion teachers are aiming for. – Learners with ASD tend to become stressed and anxious when facing new experiences and activities. While transdisciplinary teaching often encourages such learning situations, it is important to prepare learners with ASD as much as possible for any change that may occur and to mediate that these changes are part of regular transdisciplinary learning. Furthermore, any changes in learning schedule, educational staff or school activities should be mediated to all learners with ASD, while using mainly the parameters of mediation for meaning and competence. – Organizing scheduled opportunities for pre-teaching in small groups that prepare learners with ASD for new types of class activities are recommended, in order to allow them to elaborate the social skills they need during transdisciplinary learning, along with developing the feeling of competence while learning with their classmates. – Learners with ASD need as much exposure as possible to social interactions, acknowledgement of body language and the variety of voices used for communication (Boutsika, 2014). Therefore, when planning transdisciplinary teaching, it is important to use educational games that promote both learning and fun, while reinforcing social interactions. – Many learners with ASD prefer to learn on their own. Although the goal is inclusion, as part of the mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation, and on the understanding that different learners study in different ways,

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transdisciplinary teachers should allow learners with ASD some opportunities to learn individually as well. This can be done while mediating for sharing at the end of the individual learning. For example, implementing technology and e-learning programmes which have become an integral part of education allows learners with ASD to overcome their challenges while learning with others. Moreover, while transdisciplinary learning integrates knowledge from several sources, the relevant learning technology can be one of these sources. – Another characteristic of ASD is the need for repetitive activities. Planning such activities may develop these learners’ feelings of competence and thus motivate them to participate in the dynamic activities of transdisciplinary teaching. Once the learners feel confident enough, the transdisciplinary teachers could also plan how to change the processes step by step and lead them out of their comfort zone. – Regarding the essential component of proper planning, Strain et al. (2011) developed a five-step teaching model that focuses on successful inclusion of learners with ASD, based on the collaboration between transdisciplinary teachers: 1. Teaming: a team within the school that includes teachers, learners’ parents (parents of learners with ASD and other parents as well), the school psychologist and any other therapist or facilitator who may be working with the students with ASD in the school. 2. Goal setting: to be conducted with all members of the team. The goals will be the academic and social behaviours to be acquired or changed. 3. Assessment: once the goals are set, they are assessed by team members according to a given timetable. 4. Intervention: following the assessment, the team members should intervene or develop a plan for moving forward to continue enhancing the learners’ success. 5. Evaluation: once the intervention has been completed, the learners’ progress is evaluated. This step serves to check the extent to which behaviours have actually changed and goals have been accomplished. – Another practical strategy that may promote the inclusion of learners with ASD may evolve from their deficiency. For example, while these learners present challenges in adapting to changes around them, they can significantly contribute to their classmates by overseeing and maintaining the organization of the environments they study or making sure all learning materials are in place. Thus, they can also be responsible for reporting when things are not as they should be. From the behavioural perspective, although it is challenging for learners ASD to follow behavioural and social norms, they can take an active part in deciding and declaring the norms expected in their class.

4.6

4.6

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation Among Learners with ASD. . .

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Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation Among Learners with ASD in Transdisciplinary Inclusive Schools

The following examples serve to provide educators with some ideas for how to implement the 12 parameters of mediation with learners with ASD. Even though these examples focus on learners with ASD, they are also relevant to all learners. Thus, mediation performed in inclusive learning environments enables all participants to gain from the mediated interactions. Consequently, the mediated interactions can and should be planned and implemented both for individual mediated sessions and while teaching the whole group of learners together or in small groups which include different learners. Moreover, the mediation approach should become one of the teaching tools all educators use in their lessons and not only the transdisciplinary project leader. 1. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity The need of learners with ASD for advanced knowledge of the logical order of things obliges the teaching staff to mediate for intentionality in every teaching process. The intention is the overall goal of the mediation, and defining it enables learners to understand the expected learning process. Defining the intention for learners with ASD prevents the uncertainty that often causes them anxiety and enables them to cope with the learning. Moreover, if there are changes in the process, understanding the overall intention will enable them to refocus on the original goal without becoming concerned. Hence, teachers must define their intention for themselves in advance and then share with all the learners the intention they have chosen. Thus, the including learners will both receive effective mediation and, when necessary, be able to mediate the intention of variety of activities to their classmates with ASD. This latter element may be an important confidence builder for all learners in the class, while at the same time developing empathy and flexibility, essential tools for adult life in the twenty-first century. 2. Mediation for transcendence One of the main difficulties of learners with ASD is transcendence from one situation to another or from one discipline to another. However, transdisciplinary teaching is based on transcendence and creating links between different disciplines. Hence, the mediating teachers must carefully plan how they want to teach transcendence between the main intention they defined and the additional disciplines to be included in the teaching process. After defining the connections between the subjects, the teachers must clearly mediate to the learners with ASD why these are the logical connections and how they can be used in these and other contexts. This mediation is important both to prevent the development of episodic thinking in learners with ASD and in order to reduce anxiety about what is unfamiliar and unknown in advance. Any such mediation given to the

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whole class will concurrently provide additional modelling of the concept of transcendence for any other learners in the class who may still be struggling with it. 3. Mediation for meaning The aim of mediation of meaning is to clearly connect the main intention of the mediator and the learners’ world of knowledge and needs. While this kind of connection is significant for all learners, it is an opportunity to fully include learners with ASD in the learning setup. Learners with ASD whose disability makes them tend to be withdrawn and focused on their inner world can fully exploit the cognitive and emotional connection between what is learned in class and themselves. Through the mediation of meaning, they will harness the motivation to participate and cope with transdisciplinary methods which require them to move out of their egocentric and episodic mindset and make connections between different events. Similarly, other learners who will gain from mediation for meaning because of their need to increase their internal motivation to study, or because they also tend to have an egocentric and episodic mindset for many reasons such as having emotional difficulties or simply because they are adolescents live through a period of their lives in which such elements are typical. 4. Mediation for the feelings of competence Every person’s sense of competence constitutes the basis for coping with learning and challenges in all areas of life, and it develops mainly through receiving feedback from one’s surroundings. This perspective of feeling is even more important for learners with special needs and particularly with ASD, who have difficulty learning in many areas and as a result tend to develop the feeling of a lack of competence. Moreover, learners with ASD have an objective difficulty in understanding social communication norms from those around them, and so even when the environment does give them positive and encouraging feedback, very often they will not internalize it properly, and will not develop the necessary sense of competence. When learners with ASD are included in a system based on transdisciplinary teaching, the staff must mediate for competence overtly and in a focused manner so that the learners can cope with complex learning from different disciplines and integrate this with different social activities. The mediation for competence must emphasize the skills they use in order to succeed in this kind of learning. 5. Mediation for regulation and control of behaviour Learning the behavioural norms required in society is a serious challenge for learners with ASD. Including them in transdisciplinary teaching provides an opportunity to teach them the norms of social learning while building flexibility in moving between learning activities for which different kinds of behaviour are required. In those different situations, teachers must focus the mediation on recognizing the expected behaviour in general in all learning situations and in particular, which unique behaviours are appropriate for each of the different activities.

4.6

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation Among Learners with ASD. . .

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6. Mediation for sharing behaviour Sharing behaviour is one of the underlying principles of transdisciplinary teaching, and it must not be ignored, even when it comes to learners with ASD, for whom social sharing is the most significant challenge. Mediation for this stage must be combined with the contribution of the sharing to the learners with ASD as well as its contribution to all learners. Educators must mediate to the learners with ASD the two complementary perspectives of sharing in learning: they are sharing their knowledge, their feelings and anything else they wish to share with their surroundings, while at the same time accepting whatever their surroundings choose to share with them. Nevertheless, through this stage of mediation, transdisciplinary teachers should also mediate what is not appropriate to share along with explaining the reasons for that. This should be done while highlighting the advantages of dynamic collaborative learning that takes place as part of transdisciplinary teaching. 7. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation While collaborative learning presents the importance of a group learning together, this does not mean eliminating the individual learner. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation within transdisciplinary teaching should emphasize the contribution of the individual in shared learning. Drawing analogies between different disciplines and reaching new learning outcomes can take place only when all partners express their opinion and present their point of view. Hence, during their disciplinary teaching, the mediators must develop among all their learners, including those with ASD, deeper understanding of themselves. Learners must better develop their self-knowledge to allow better presentation and reasoning of their opinions, so that they will contribute to everyone’s learning. At the same time, we should remember that learners with ASD tend to be rigid in how they perceive themselves, and so this parameter must be mediated with special care not to encourage an egocentric view but rather more self-knowledge in order to share. 8. Mediation for goal seeking, goal setting, and goal-achieving behaviour As part of the inclusion of learners with ASD at school and to prepare them for integration into society, they need regular mediation in and outside of school to define their own goals while planning ways to achieve them. In transdisciplinary teaching, these cognitive skills are essential since combining different areas of study invites goal setting for various kinds of learning and exploration. A further important kind of mediation in this parameter should focus on the range of possible goals and the various paths to their attainment. This should be done while coping with one of the core challenges of learners with ASD, which is expressed in conceptual fixation and lack of flexibility in finding alternatives. 9. Mediation for challenge: the search for novelty and complexity The fact that learners with ASD are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone and confront challenges around them often prevents them from optimally integrating into the society of their peer group and thus from optimal inclusion.

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However, transdisciplinary learning invites creative complex thinking that differs from what is accepted and known. While the tendency is to allow learners with ASD to study in a way that is comfortable for them, here, disciplinary teachers must mediate to them how this creative thinking will contribute to their learning, their independence and their social integration and how it will enable them to lead new processes and not only participate in ones that others initiate. 10. Mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity Humans are a species that learns, changes and develops. The ability to recognize and understand this change is not to be taken for granted among learners with special needs, and it is connected to their sense of competence. Opportunities to know oneself as a developing and changing learner within the framework of the transdisciplinary approach are plentiful, but learners with ASD tend to learn in a particular way and their difficulty with reflective thinking prevents them from recognizing themselves as people who are changing and developing. Transdisciplinary teachers must mediate this to learners with ASD while developing their reflective thinking, showing how transdisciplinary learning processes have contributed to their change and development while demonstrating particular learning situations they can use to help them with learning in the future. 11. Mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives The mediation that has been expressed so far in seeking learning goals and methods, creativity and recognition of the abilities of learners with ASD to change and succeed constitute the basis for mediation that is even more complex for these learners. Part of their challenge is the difficulty in coping with changes, and so they tend to choose what they know they can do. Thus, mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives must highlight the need to look for an effective solution that suits a particular problem rather than settle for a simple familiar solution. Here, too, the transdisciplinary mediator leads the learners with ASD beyond their comfort zone in order to cope with seeking new ways to find solutions. 12. Mediation for the feeling of belonging The feeling of belongingness includes all the previous parameters of mediation and represents the heart of the integration and inclusion of learners with special needs. However, for learners with ASD, this sense is a significant challenge since their disability often leads them to prefer being isolated rather than coping with their environment. Like the goal of inclusion, one of the aims of transdisciplinary teaching is to structure collaborative learning and hence the importance of mediating the feeling of belonging, which will contribute to the success of transdisciplinary learning particularly for these learners. While the efficiency of the mediation for the feeling of belonging can be promoted significantly with the cooperation of parents and caregivers, there is no intention to overload teachers’ or parents’ assignments. Therefore, ongoing communication can be developed via any technology that is available and convenient for all, such as WhatsApp or email.

4.7

4.7

Summary and Possible Implementations. . .

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Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 4.1 and 4.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Mediating for Inclusion of Learners with ASD

Integrating the knowledge regarding effective learning strategies and the use of mediation for effective implementation of transdisciplinary teaching while including learners with ASD and promoting all learners’ thinking skills is the core goal of inclusion. The holistic and humanistic approaches to the inclusion of people with special needs relate to the reciprocity among all members of society, and thus these approaches should guide society in creating new opportunities to improve their abilities for better inclusion as children and as adults (Barak-Levy & Flavian, 2022). Therefore, inclusion must be promoted, no matter what the challenges are or the deficiencies people have to cope with. ASD is recognized as a neurodevelopmental disorder that consists of a variety of deficits in social communications and interactions, repetitive behaviour, activities and interests (Kodak & Bergmann, 2020). Learning about and understanding the complexity of the deficiency can serve as a basis for successful inclusion of learners with ASD in mainstream education which will prepare them for their inclusion later on as adults in society. Thus, as explained earlier and presented in the following Fig. 4.1, transdisciplinary teachers need to integrate information about all their learners and

Fig. 4.1 Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching

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Fig. 4.2 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine

specifically about those with ASD, about themselves, about their colleagues and about the educational goals they wish to promote, in order to successfully plan their teaching while including learners with ASD efficiently. In accordance with the above figure and with reference to the comprehension of what inclusion of learners with ASD should generalize, below is a suggestion for planning and conducting transdisciplinary learning with fourth graders with ASD who are included in a mainstream class.

4.8

Main Learning Topic

Recycling (subtopic of social studies)

4.8.1

The Learners with ASD

A mainstream class of 28 fourth graders, 3 of whom have ASD, and this is the first year they study full time in the mainstream class. Until now, they attended segregated special education programmes with special education teachers as well as

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Main Learning Topic

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speech and occupational therapists, who focused on teaching basic academic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic. Although all three can use these academic skills properly and similarly to most of their current classmates, their challenges that result from the ASD hinder their inclusion in mainstream educational programmes. One of the learners with the ASD has extremely episodic perception that hampers understanding of possible links between events, and the other two are developing good social interactions with their homeroom teacher but not with any of the other educational staff or their classmates. Understanding the cognitive needs of these learners with ASD leads to the suggestion to focus on the output stage of thinking and strengthen their ability to express the results of their learning in coherent ways. Such a cognitive skill is essential for all learners, given its relevance to all learners in fourth grade.

4.8.2

The Transdisciplinary Teachers

To begin with, the transdisciplinary teachers must verify for themselves the core knowledge they have and the main principles that construct the topic of recycling, relating only to the information relevant for fourth graders, while focusing on the logic of the process in order to cultivate learners’ thinking skill to express their answers clearly. Moreover, the teachers should acquire updated information about ASD in order to better adapt their teaching. Following this, they must apply their reflective thinking to assess their own transdisciplinary teaching skills in order to gather and lead their colleagues who will participate in teaching the theme of recycling in their lessons. During this reflection, teachers also need to clarify for themselves what their strengths are in regard to teaching the topic alongside teaching learners with ASD and what type of collaboration they will need from their colleagues. They must also define how they will support their colleagues and what help they will need while teaching about recycling, following the transdisciplinary methods in a fourth-grade class that includes learners with ASD. Finally, as part of the preparations, teachers must carefully plan how they will implement the 12 parameters of mediation and everything that is relevant to recycling, to all their learners as well as to those with ASD, in order to promote inclusion on the basis of transdisciplinary teaching.

4.8.3

The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)

Gathering together teachers who wish to implement the transdisciplinary approach, mediation and inclusion is an essential step. Moreover, while including learners with ASD in mainstream educational environments, all participants must learn about

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ASD and take an active part in the inclusion of these learners in their school despite the complexity of this dysfunction. The collaborators should also agree to continue learning about ASD and relevant teaching strategies, given the dynamic ongoing research in the field. The next step includes brainstorming sessions that focus on the common topics and subtopics all the participating teachers share, in order to develop the transdisciplinary programme for recycling. Whereas the main topic – recycling – is usually related solely to the domain of science, all transdisciplinary collaborators should learn the core knowledge about recycling in order to conduct brainstorming sessions among themselves and with their learners that will allow efficient transdisciplinary learning of the topic. For example, while fourth graders study how to identify the raw material during science lessons, the math teacher can teach how to organize the data in comparison tables or graphs and how to calculate the amount of refunds the learners may receive if they return relevant products such as cans, plastic materials or glass bottles. During literature classes, transdisciplinary teachers may integrate stories about recycling, while in social studies the teachers can lead learners through discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of recycling. As an integrated transdisciplinary project, all learners may be asked to present their ideas for efficient recycling, while focusing on the clear communication methods they use to allow everyone to understand their projects. Through their transdisciplinary teaching, which may follow the above example or be based on any other path, the teachers should bear in mind that they are also about to teach learners with ASD, and therefore each link between the recycling theme and other disciplines should follow with logical perspectives that simplify the transcendence between the topics. In addition, social interactions that will be part of the transdisciplinary learning should be also accompanied by explanations regarding the benefits learners with ASD will gain, in order to motivate them to confront their challenges.

4.8.4

Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies

Although the concept of recycling is commonly known and widely applied, understanding its meaning along with practicing it as a social norm is a totally different process that requires a broader perception that develops by linking different sources of information. Moreover, given the challenges people with ASD have regarding their socialization process, presenting the concept of recycling should be carefully presented together with all its social components. Since learners with ASD are often challenged with thinking flexibility, they might have difficulty understanding that a product may be used in variety of ways at different times. Likewise, other learners in the class may also find the same thinking skill hard and, because of the age and lack of opportunities, struggle to perform transfer and implement the same information from one field to another. Furthermore, while including learners with ASD, who are characterized, among other things, with episodic perception, mediating the theme of

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recycling is a key challenge. Therefore, the collaboration between the transdisciplinary teachers who are developing the unit on recycling should be based on common goals that will be studied step by step, in order to logically facilitate the connections between the episodic perceptions. Educational goals should focus on expanding all learners’ knowledge and understanding regarding recycling and its contributions to their own life. These goals are related to the mediation of intentionality, of meaning and of individuation. Additional goals should focus on the social perspectives which are key challenges for learners with ASD. These can be searching for the relevant domains in life where they might implement recycling, defining similarities and differences between these domains, sharing ideas about how each student may promote recycling or even developing a programme through which they communicate to their families and community how to better recycle. Planning transdisciplinary learning activities according to Fig. 4.1 serves as basis for effective inclusion of learners with ASD, but using this figure separately for each learning activity may not be sufficient for the long run. Becoming transdisciplinary teachers who facilitate inclusion of learners with ASD and at the same time promote learning among all classmates requires teachers to plan their transdisciplinary learning activities through a daily routine. Figure 4.2 below offers educators a routine that includes all the parameters that support the inclusion of learners with ASD in transdisciplinary learning communities. Assimilating such a routine allows all educators to plan all their transdisciplinary activities well, while focusing on the changes that occur among their learners and the relevant differences of the content they mediate. Beginning with understanding learners’ unique characteristics that lead towards the challenges learners with ASD face daily, transdisciplinary teachers may continue to define relevant learning goals along with focusing on the thinking skills and learning strategies they will teach, while also focusing on all learners’ needs and the goals of inclusion. The following stage refers to the relevant and necessary parameters of mediation. Finally, according to the transdisciplinary approach, educators should plan how they will monitor and assess the learning of those in the class with ASD, considering their tendency to avoid social interactions, experience new activities or look for creative solutions. The planning and use of teaching strategies contributes in general to effective management of transdisciplinary teaching and, therefore, also to achieving the academic, social and other objectives defined by the teaching staff who know the learners and the curriculum. When including learners with ASD, one must focus mainly on strategies that enable understanding and internalization of the meaningful connections between different areas of life in order to enable them to cope with their typically episodic perception. Beyond that, one must prepare the learners for any change in the routine setup of teaching: a change in the structure of the lessons, in the teaching staff or in the school’s daily timetable. Specifically, when including learners with ASD, adapting the teaching strategies mentioned earlier allows transdisciplinary teachers to prepare the included learners in advance by providing them with the knowledge needed to integrate in all social and academic activities during the learning with their classmates in ways that will

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reduce anxiety about seeking and finding connections between disciplines and so that they will be ready mainly for the changes expected during the learning. Moreover, sharing with all the learners the teaching strategies selected and the reasons for choosing them, based on mediating for meaning, is a social model for the school community regarding what should be done to include learners with various special needs.

Chapter 5

Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments and Challenges

Sensory development plays a crucial role in the overall development of young children, shaping their understanding of the world around them, their perceptions, their cognitive and emotional development and their interactions with the environment. Sensory processing promotes the integration of sensory information, along with the internal organization of sensory input; it results in successful execution of adaptive responses to situational demands and, thus, meaningful engagement in daily occupations (Gal et al., 2010). From birth, infants engage with the world through their senses, a process that not only influences their immediate sensory perception but also has profound implications for their cognitive, emotional, social and academic growth. Moreover, during early childhood, the brain undergoes rapid growth and development, resulting in the refinement and maturation of sensory systems. The five primary senses, namely, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, become increasingly sophisticated, allowing children to gather information and make sense of their surroundings. Sensory experiences provide the building blocks for cognitive development in young children, for instance, proper development of their executive functions that are responsible for good learning organization (Hudson et al., 2020). Thus, as children explore their environment, their sensory encounters stimulate neural pathways, fostering connections between different areas of the brain. Similarly, when a child grasps and examines a toy, they integrate tactile sensations with visual cues, developing hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. These foundational sensorimotor skills lay the groundwork for more complex cognitive processes such as problem-solving, critical thinking and language acquisition. Thus, in many cases when a child has deficiencies in one or more of the senses, some cognitive challenges may develop because of the comorbidity of sensory impairments. Furthermore, the quality of sensory development in early childhood has far-reaching implications for academic success and school outcomes. Research has demonstrated a strong connection between sensory processing abilities and various educational domains, while impairments to or absence of sensory development and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_5

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5 Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments. . .

integration can impact attention, concentration and learning abilities and thus affect a child’s overall academic performance (McGuire, et al., 2019). Sensory development may also influence fine and gross motor skills, which are essential for tasks such as handwriting, using scissors and participating in physical education classes. Moreover, adequate sensory integration supports the development of motor coordination, balance and body awareness, enabling children to actively engage in school-related activities and sports (Hudson et al., 2020). Because of the significant influence of the development of senses has on one’s leaning, assessing lack of sensory development should be conducted carefully, while bearing in mind the comorbidity that has evolved from different sources of dysfunctions, in order to enable effective intervention (Grigorenko et al., 2020). While the codevelopment of all senses is important for suitable academic advancement of learners of all ages, the two crucial senses that significantly impact our perception and learning capabilities are vision and hearing, both of which are the main senses used while learning and interacting with others. Therefore, learners with functional challenges with one or both of these senses must apply different learning strategies than their classmates. While preparing teaching and learning activities for heterogeneous classes that include learners with vision or hearing impairments, educators should bear in mind that, apart from the different ways these learners need to experience their environment and learn, their intelligence and thinking abilities most likely resemble those of their peers. Whereas oral and written languages are the main sources of information and communication, teaching learners with vision impairments alternative languages such as sign language or Braille is essential, while also implementing interventions for learners with hearing deficiencies that will allow them understand the sounds letters present. If they are not taught these alternative languages in their early years in school, their abstract thinking will be harmed as well, and it will be much more challenging to promote the development of the high-level thinking skills in the future (Thurston, 2014). Additionally, language is used not only for learning but also for daily communication. Therefore, all learners could benefit from learning these alternative languages in order to encourage communication among learners with vision or hearing impairments and their peers. It is important to remember that usually only people with severe vision impairments or with blindness need to learn how to use braille on a daily basis. Therefore, inclusive learning environments should also use technologies that transform from braille to word type and back or from written texts to audio recording and text-to-speech apps, to promote communication among everyone. Beyond the realm of learning, impaired vision or hearing influences the feeling of competence to move independently in the environment, which also prevents learners with such impairments from experiencing and learning as others do. This means that while mediating for these learners, educators first need to apply strategies that will allow them to learn the same knowledge content and develop their thinking skills through transdisciplinary learning, despite their challenges. Understanding the challenges impairments in these senses can pose, particularly in the realm of academic learning, this chapter focuses on the implications of vision and hearing impairments for academic successes.

5.1

Vision Impairments

5.1

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Vision Impairments

Vision impairment is a condition in which a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected with the use of any type of aid. Such impairments are categorized into two main types: loss of visual acuity, where the eye does not see objects as clearly as usual, and loss of visual field, where the eye cannot see as wide an area as usual without moving the eyes or turning the head. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), vision impairments may stem from a variety of factors, also differentiated by culture and age. For example, among children in middle-income countries, it is more likely that vision impairment will be premature retinopathy, whereas in low-income countries, congenital cataract is a leading cause. Among children and adults, uncorrected refractive error remains a leading cause of vision impairment in all countries. Nevertheless, the leading causes of vision impairment in the world are mainly uncorrected refractive errors, cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, corneal opacity and trachoma. The WHO defines a normal field of vision as the ability to see about 160–170 degrees horizontally. The assessment of ‘low vision’ refers to a visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/400, with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. Practically, this definition means that people with a visual acuity of 20/70 can see at 20 feet what others with normal sight can see at 70 feet. In the same way, a person with a visual acuity of 20/400 can see at 20 feet what someone with normal sight can see at 400 feet. Along this continuum, ‘blindness’ is defined as a visual acuity worse than 20/400, with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 10 degrees or less. ‘Legal blindness’ is defined as a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse, with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. Beyond the official medical definitions, when examining the severity of a vision impairment in order to define the aids needed, in some countries the term ‘legal blindness’ is also used to indicate eligibility for acceptance into certain education or state-run programmes. Although the definitions for vision impairments are accurate, the degree of visual acuity alone cannot indicate to what extent people’s lives will be affected by their vision loss. Thus, although two people may have the same visual acuity, they may use their vision differently to perform daily tasks. Therefore, professionals should also assess how well these people use the vision that they have. The treatments for vision impairments also vary according to their source and severity, and in many cases, there may be no effective treatment. Understanding the sources for the vision impairments along with the ways learners with vision challenges use their vision is fundamental for educators who wish to promote their thinking development, their learning and mostly their inclusion in schools and in the environment in which they live.

5.1.1

Inclusion of Learners with Vision Impairments

The importance of improving the inclusion process for learners with vision impairment derives mainly from its prevalence and from the fact that over half the learners

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with such impairments study in mainstream schools (Davis, 2013; Morris & Sharma, 2011). While such inclusion necessitates specific teacher training and cooperation among all school staff and parents, the degree of success in these processes is documented mainly in higher education institutions, where more and more learners come to study despite their sight challenges (Hewett et al., 2020). Nowadays, many learners with a range of vision impairments study in mainstream schools since their cognitive skills allow them to advance their knowledge like other learners, but they must be provided with proper support (Argyropoulos et al., 2019). However, many learners with vision impairments in mainstream schools do not always receive the help and accommodations they need, which then hinders their social and academic success. Adapting the learning environment for any learner with special needs is always challenging, and when considering the inclusion of learners with vision impairments, the challenges differ from several perspectives (Cain et al., 2021). These challenges were highly emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic, when teachers around the world began teaching online and learners with vision or other disabilities could hardly participate (Aljedaani, et al., 2023). Educators who aim to overcome these challenges should include parents from the first step, while they begin planning how to implement educational and social inclusion of learners with vision impairments. Thus, the challenges these learners have in schools are similar to those they deal with at home, where their parents look for a variety of solutions. For example, the way parents organize their homes can be used to organize their learning environments. Moreover, the variety of therapists who treat the children after school may also be able to contribute updated knowledge and tools to the teachers. Prior to any academic adaptation, it is essential that schools maintain their environments safe and accessible for learners with vision impairments. Otherwise, these learners will have to depend on others to get from one place to another and will not develop the essential feeling of competence that is important for their academic development as well. The feeling of competence to move independently and safely also allows these learners to develop social interactions and communicate with their schoolmates and become truly included in their learning community (Debska & Zawadzka, 2018; Lourens & Swartz, 2016). Another significant challenge common in schools worldwide is the fact that most learning materials are in written form, a fact that requires all educators to prepare alternative sources and individual supports for learners with vision impairments. Moreover, our sense of vision uses half of our brain, and the majority of the brain’s sensory capacity is dedicated to sight. Therefore, educators need also to know that beyond the vision challenges, these learners also exert much more energy in learning through alternative methods than other learners (Davis, 2013; Debska & Zawadzka, 2018). Nevertheless, Argyropoulos et al. (2019) found that despite the challenges, learners who use alternative mediums for studying, such as braille, enlarged print or the option to use one of the text-to-speech apps, enjoy their literacy lessons and are motivated to learn materials based on written languages. Beyond the practical learning adjustments, a significant challenge that must be addressed before inclusion begins is, of course, appropriate teacher education. Teachers claim they do not know how to develop proper learning resources for learners with vision impairments,

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although some of them do believe these learners can benefit from learning in mainstream schools (Hewett et al., 2020). As always, without the teachers’ belief in inclusion, it will never be optimally effective. Another essential issue that must be understood is that the inclusion of learners with vision impairments is not a fixed process, mainly because the learners differ one from another in how they understand their environment and function in their world. Moreover, impaired vision can affect learners’ cognitive, emotional, neurological and physical development by possibly limiting the range of experiences and the kinds of information they are exposed to. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the children with vision impairments also have one or more other developmental disabilities, such as cognitive and intellectual developmental delay, cerebral palsy, hearing loss or epilepsy. These additional disabilities are more common among children with severe vision impairments than with milder ones, who, unfortunately, are less included in mainstream schools. Davis (2013) and McGuire et al. (2019) also emphasize the importance in overcoming all these challenges, on the basic understanding that children with early onset severe vision or any other sensory impairment can experience delayed motor, language, emotional, social and cognitive development, all of which lead to potential lifelong consequences. Nowadays, despite the variety of pre-school screening programmes around the world, there are still children who enter school with undiagnosed vision impairments that were thus not corrected or treated as needed (Thurston, 2014). These school-age learners with vision impairment who do not receive the intervention they need can also experience lower levels of educational achievement, where the main challenge will be reading (among some other challenges that require the use of visual information). When teaching reading, educators usually focus on the relations between the letters and sounds they present. But, reading occurs by means of the integration of variety of visual and brain activities, the main ones begin: the focus of image on the retina, disease-free retina and the optic nerve, efficient eye movements, good eye convergence, integration of images in the brain and use of minimal effort while conducting the necessary fusion (Thurston, 2014). The functioning of some of these significant elements can be improved with proper interventions, and therefore, when teachers experience reading challenges among learners, they should suggest to the parents that they might have their children’s vision checked. From another perspective and looking to the future, treatments and inclusion of learners with vision impairment are the key to their inclusion as adults, since vision impairment severely impacts quality of life among adult populations. Adults with vision impairment often have lower rates of workforce participation and productivity and higher rates of depression and anxiety. In the case of older adults, vision impairment can contribute to social isolation, difficulty walking, a higher risk of falls and fractures and a greater likelihood of early entry into nursing or care homes. Parents of learners with vision impairment also play a significant role with regard to the inclusion of their children in schools and in the society they live in. These parents must always advocate for their children in order for them to receive the extra help they need in schools along with providing a proper learning environment that allows them to overcome the difficulties stemming from their vision impairment. In

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order for parents to properly advocate, they themselves must be educated in sight impairment and the differences between learners with such impairments, and everything that they can potentially affect, as well as the extent to which their children are affected socially, physically and academically (Cain et al., 2021). Parents and researchers stress that the key to successful inclusion of learners with vision impairment is the collaboration of educators and parents as a team who share the goals of inclusion and support all participants through the difficulties emerging during the process (Cain et al., 2021; McGuire et al., 2019; Sharma et al., 2010; Morris & Sharma, 2011).

5.1.2

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges

During the planning and assessment of teaching according to the transdisciplinary and mediation approaches, it is customary to relate to the preparation of the study content and to the cooperation and coordination among the educators. At the same time, the implementation of transdisciplinary principles requires a learning environment that allows optimal learning in class for those with special needs. Nevertheless, preparing the learning environment for those with vision impairments provides quite a meaningful response to the demands of the transdisciplinary approach for everyone, thanks to the variety of learning tools developed to overcome their challenges which, at the same time, allow all learners to integrate a variety of knowledge sources. Following Gardner’s theory (2000, 2011), which emphasizes that different learners develop their learning skills and intelligence through different methods of learning, learning environments for learners with vision impairment allow opportunities for all other learners to learn in different ways. Moreover, adjustments in the learning methods and environments require teamwork involving teachers, therapists, parents and all the learners – the kind of teamwork that is, in any case, essential to the concept of transdisciplinary teaching. The physical and structural organization of the school to make it accessible for learners with vision impairments may require a rearrangement of the learning spaces, e.g. adding or combining learning spaces, improving lighting, using updated technological devices as well as adding concrete teaching aids and so forth. Interestingly, not only do these important changes allow learners with vision impairment to study more effectively, but they are likely also serve all the other learners as an opportunity to advance their thinking and learning because of their tendency to learn differently (Gardner, 2011). In other words, learners without vision challenges can gain significant benefit from more varied teaching methods. The language of instruction in schools is usually based on the official spoken language of the country, and in many countries, an additional language is studied. Language is learned by acquiring and strengthening reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. However, learners with severe vision impairments or blindness learn

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to read and write in braille and/or by using technologies such as text-to-speech applications and thus may not be able to acquire all the accepted communication skills. But other learners can learn sign language or braille to enlarge and enhance their options for ways of communicating. Furthermore, while promoting inclusion, collaboration between vision-impaired and typical learners might involve having other learners to read aloud to the vision-impaired, which is a very authentic way in which to encourage reading automaticity. In this manner, all the learners can communicate effectively and develop stronger social ties that will greatly contribute to transdisciplinary learning. This method of teaching all learners the basic language with which different learners communicate is strongly encouraged because of the need to develop intercultural learning communities, as presented in Chap. 6 in this book. Nowadays, the addition of smart devices can help people with vision impairments improve their quality of life and communicate better with people with no visual impairment (Shokat et al., 2020). Additionally, and beyond the joint learning processes and social ties that develop among all learners, acquiring an alternative language in and of itself contributes to learners’ thinking development. Hence, the learners without vision impairments will personally benefit from learning other languages they can use in the future. The learning aids supporting effective inclusion of learners with vision impairments should include up-to-date technologies that facilitate learning. These technologies can be advantageous in transdisciplinary teaching, and thus, the entire community of learners at the school will acquire valuable, up-to-date learning skills. However, the introduction of innovative technologies should be gradual. One option would be to first teach the learners with vision impairments how to use them and then make them the technology instructors for their peers and even for their teachers. Giving learners with special needs agency by enabling them to contribute to the learning community rather than remaining on the receiving end may optimize the inclusion process and render it more meaningful. Improved lighting intended particularly for the learners with sight impairments actually constitutes a great advantage for all learners and particularly within the framework of transdisciplinary learning and teaching, in which they often engage in group study and research. This is the case since some learners or even teachers whose mild vision impairments might be undiagnosed deserve an optimal learning environment. For example, improved lighting facilitates visual learning for everyone. There are those who claim that standard lighting in education institutions is often accompanied by flashes of light or darkness that prevent continuous visual learning, or, for example, light reflection on boards and computer screens. Lighting suited to learners with vision challenges significantly reduces these obstacles for the entire class. While various scholars indicate great investment of energy for learning among learners with vision impairments, they do not relate to the investment of energy by learners without these disabilities, even though all learning requires the investment of energy. What is important is discovering how to invest the required energy in the most efficient manner, so that the objective will be attained without expending unnecessary energy. Adapting the physical environment so that the lighting

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contributes to learning rather than hampers it can optimize the learning experience for all learners and educators.

5.1.3

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Vision Challenges

The arrangement of the learning environment in preparation for the inclusion of learners with vision impairments in mainstream classes indeed contributes to all learners, but the inclusion of these learners also involves certain challenges that should be taken into consideration. First of all, the planning and execution of the changes and adjustments to the learning environment must be conducted with the cooperation of vision professionals and environmental designers, along with educators, pedagogues and the learners’ families, in order to allow proper transdisciplinary teaching for learners with sensory impairments. Sometimes quite costly adjustments are made ostensibly for only a small number of learners, and thus the surrounding community might object. The main claim of the objectors is that there is no justification for investing so much for such a small number of learners and that perhaps it would be better to move these learners to another school catering specifically to their impairments. In these cases, one must refocus on the general goals of inclusion, while highlighting the contribution of such changes to all learners at the school. Including parents of learners with vision impairments in the team responsible for the inclusion of their children is very important. However, this team should consider the methods for all learners with special needs, in order to support successful inclusion in schools. Thus, at the same time, allowing parents to participate in such a team is a major challenge because of parents’ tendency to advocate for their own children’s needs, which are at times very specific and are not relevant or beneficial for everyone. In order to develop those parents’ overall perceptions and allow them to understand all learners’ needs alongside those of their own children, teachers must learn how to share their goals and pedagogical considerations, without seeming overly critical. From another perspective, teachers may feel stressed when parents are involved in certain learning and social activities, because parents might criticize their work. To reduce the feeling of stress and promote cooperation between parents and teachers, proper preparation and coordination of approaches should be implemented. Another significant challenge relates to developing the sense of belonging among learners with vision impairments. Throughout all stages of learning, these learners are dependent on others and need help, support and adjustments that mainly address their physical rather than their cognitive or emotional needs. However, these actions designed to promote academic inclusion often cause a sense of social differentiation. This is especially true with transdisciplinary teaching. Compared to traditional teaching, these learners need more mediation from their teachers and the education

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staff in school, who can help with understanding the abstract concepts while providing appropriate teaching aids. Hence, the additional challenge linked to the need to develop these learners’ social and academic independence. However, throughout the inclusion process, transdisciplinary teachers must develop their awareness of how much accompaniment and support they provide, in order to ensure they are not unintentionally hampering the development of independence because of their well-intended desire to motivate the learners with vision impairments to participate in all learning activities.

5.1.4

Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Vision Challenges

Recognizing that learners with vision impairments can learn like other learners only if they get the support they need to better assimilate the information around them (Argyropoulos et al., 2019; Lieu et al., 2020; Tomblin et al., 2020), transdisciplinary teachers’ unit and lesson plans for these learners should be geared to help them achieve the goals just as well as their classmates. Such planning must begin with applying relevant teaching strategies. Unlike mainstream learners or ones with other special needs, planning for those with vision impairments requires understanding the practicalities of their specific level of disability, while relating to any differences among them. For example, it is essential to learn about the level of vision impairment by asking the learners themselves if they can find someone or something by quickly scanning the room, which lighting is best for them to perform different academic or social tasks, how they use vision to move around the classroom or outside, etc. Evidently, this planning is far more complex when educators include in school several learners with vision impairments, who need different types of accommodations. However, this challenge can be addressed thanks to the wide range of learning strategies and possibilities that the transdisciplinary approach offers. Following are suggestions for the main teaching strategies transdisciplinary teachers may integrate on a daily basis, once they understand the specific needs of their included learners with vision challenges: – Since transdisciplinary teaching environments should allow opportunities for moving around and interacting with others, the first strategy is to create a learning environment that caters to the particular needs of the learners with vision impairments, so that they don’t choose to study on their own, missing core transdisciplinary learning opportunities. Although transdisciplinary learning can be done individually, it is not always as efficient as peer learning. – Transdisciplinary methods require integrating a variety of sources of information, using several learning tools and communicating with peers. These are very energy-consuming for learners with vision impairments. As Davis (2013) and Thurston (2014) emphasize, learners with visual challenges exert more energy than regular learners while reading material in braille or any other kind of written

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language. Bearing in mind that learners with vision challenges enjoy learning literature via suitable mediums (Argyropoulos et al., 2019; Lieu et al., 2020); teachers should plan how and when to allow short breaks for those learners. In reference to teaching time management, Krishnan et al. (2020) explain that learners with vision impairments can learn how to organize their time efficiently, but they should be offered minor accommodations because of their challenges. Accommodation for learners with vision impairments, such as having longer time to complete exams, should also be followed by having teachers read assignments aloud or use any other technology that will provide audio information. At the same time, other learners that process audio information better than the written may also benefit from this type of audio support. The inclusion of learners with vision impairments obliges transdisciplinary teachers to address the issue of written sources of information. When essential content is found in textbooks, or written on classroom white boards, teachers should provide alternatives and technologies, e.g. transfer the written language into voice. Likewise, the accommodations during exams, these alternatives may also be useful to other learners with no vision impairments, but whose best learning style is based on auditory channels. Understanding abstract concepts and using them properly is a challenge for all learners, and it is essential to overcome the challenges because these concepts are fundamental for the development of higher-order thinking skills. Since learning concepts are studied from concrete to abstract thinking, for learners with vision impairments, these processes are not natural, and the challenges of learning abstract concepts can become extreme. Such challenges may appear while teaching these learners colours, distance or any other concepts that describe items visually. Therefore, while transdisciplinary teachers aim to include lerners with vision chllenges, they need to plan and implement learning activities that will include concrete experiences that allow understanding and proper use of the abstract concepts that may be relevant to the topic they teach, for example, teaching colours with their link to temperature such as red with heat or teaching geography with contoured maps. Vision impairments harm the proper development of spatial orientation. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should be aware of this additional challenge and define specific learning goals and strategies that might enhance spatial orientation. For instance, for better development of thinking skills that refer to collecting data and organizing it according to a defined aim, after mediating the meaning of core spatial concepts, educators must integrate them through their instructions, discussions, etc. This might mean using contoured graphic models that explain the assignment to help learners with vision impairments or use tactile instruments that can allow better demonstration of the spatial environment and geometric shapes. One of the main challenges that learners with vision impairments confront on a daily basis is conducting social interactions with others. Transdisciplinary methods, which are also based on peer learning and communication among learners, provide a unique opportunity for educators to help their learners with vision challenges to practice their social skills in a safe but still demanding environment. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should integrate strategies that develop social skills and

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interactions. For example, teachers may prepare in advance specific instructions that will promote social interaction among all learners, such as ‘ask one of your classmates about the reasons that led them to a particular conclusion’. These instructions should obviously be prepared in several modalities that will allow each learner to understand the instruction independently. – One other strategy that transdisciplinary teachers may implement also refers to the need to encourage social interactions in order to prepare learners for their inclusion in society as adults. As mentioned earlier, parents of learners with vision challenges argue that developing a learning community that also includes parents can enhance the inclusion of their children and advance their academic skills. While preparing transdisciplinary teaching and learning programmes, integrating these learning communities will also allow access to more sources of information, better peer learning and implementation of the core studied knowledge in daily activities, just as the transdisciplinary approach aims to do.

5.2

Hearing Impairments

Hearing impairments and their effects on the wide variety of life events have been studied over many years, and potential implications and actions to better the status of people with these impairments have proven to be of the utmost importance. Hearing impairment and deafness refer to physical conditions. According to the WHO, while normal hearing is determined with values ranging from 0 to 25 decibels, hearing loss can range from 26 to 80 decibels, and values above 80 decibels are defined as deafness or complete hearing loss. Those described as hard of hearing suffer from a range in the severity of loss of hearing that can be ameliorated, though not eliminated, by the use of different hearing aids, while individuals with deafness usually need to communicate through sign language, lip reading or texting, as hearing aids do not help them (Berger & Maly, 2018). According to Ching et al. (2018) and Armstrong et al. (2020), hearing impairments often coexist with other health impairments, a fact that researchers believe should incentivize society to understand how these impairments can be minimized or, at least, properly treated. Therefore, several researchers study the correlation between hearing impairments and other diseases among children in order to better include them in school, although there are still not enough of these studies. For example, the exact correlations between hearing impairment and cognitive impairments among the elderly are yet to be fully comprehended, and more research is needed to understand how the two affect one another. Many impairments are being studied and reported in professional literature, and although hearing impairments are included in this, findings show that they are less dealt with and less socially accepted than other impairments, for example. This requires prioritizing accommodations for people with hearing impairments, since the world is largely lagging behind in this field (Brown, 2020). One of the basic types of support people with hearing impairments of any age need is proper hearing aids. Ching et al. (2018) claim that although

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their importance and their effect on individuals appear in multiple articles throughout the literature, a study that followed children over 5 years in Australia showed that not only were children often not diagnosed properly but that once diagnosed, many were not supplied with proper hearing devices that combat falling behind academically and, even more importantly, help overcome basic speech impairments later in life and gaps in their abilities to develop social and communication skills. The adoption of adapted hearing aids or any other hearing rehabilitation as soon as the hearing difficulties are diagnosed is significant in order to provide the opportunities to acquire adequate language skills for the uses of both written and spoken mediums (Lieu et al., 2020; Tomblin et al., 2020). Furthermore, learners’ progress in language and communication is of utmost importance for academic, social and career success later on in life. Without the ability to properly communicate with family, peers and teachers, learners’ needs cannot be met or addressed by the surrounding community, and they are doomed to succeed less than other individuals of the same status without hearing impairments.

5.2.1

Inclusion of Learners with Hearing Impairments

While society speaks largely about vision impairments and the use of glasses, contact lenses and seeing-eye dogs for the blind, which are becoming more common and societally understood and accepted, as well as accommodated for, society still has much to learn about hearing disorders and how to promote the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments. According to the WHO, approximately 5% of the world suffers from some type of hearing impairment, but under 10% of those in need of hearing aids actually receive them in reality. This is a sign that countries across the world are not allocating proper funding to people with hearing impairments and that the damages caused by not supplying those in need with hearing aids are probably not fully understood by professionals worldwide (Brown, 2020). Additionally, Dalton (2013) argues that over 10% of learners suffer from mild or moderate hearing loss, but while the difficulties of learners with deafness can easily be tracked, noticed and addressed by teachers or other school staff members, learners with mild hearing impairments are often overlooked. The nuanced level of their impairment makes it hard for educators to understand what they experience and the extent to which even the slightest background noise in a classroom might affect their ability to comprehend a lesson, or when other people talk during a family meeting, and cause them not to participate. Moreover, among young children or learners who do not develop enough confidence to use alternative communication methods, or if they are not aware of their hearing deficiencies, social situations prevent them from developing any confidence to ask for help, as well as develop positive feeling of social inclusion and academic success. Learners with mild hearing impairments who are not yet tracked exert great amounts of energy to learn alongside their classmates, even though they could have proper accommodation tools that would ease academic and social learning processes.

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Exactly how little is known about hearing impairments and their effects on individuals can be seen in improper diagnoses and inadequate assistance to young children with hearing impairments, which can directly affect cognitive functioning and academic and social success and also lead to permanent damage, all of which can be pre-emptively mitigated through early detection and treatment (Brown, 2020; Dalton, 2013). Since hearing impairments affect the ability to learn properly, such learners’ social, academic and economic success later in life in the workplace are negatively affected to a large extent. Helping learners with hearing impairments while they are in school is necessary to ensure that the impairment does not prevent them from achieving success in the future. Moreover, several studies have emphasized learners’ motivation to learn the same contents as their classmates, if only the information they study is delivered by the mediums of communications they need (Lieu et al., 2020; Tomblin et al., 2020). However, the support learners with hearing impairments need goes beyond daily teaching and learning in class. This issue was further stressed when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions suddenly changed the way learners around the world of all ages were required to learn (Aljedaani et al., 2023). Following the changes that education systems worldwide underwent, Krishnan et al. (2020) claimed that adjustments should be made, particularly after much of the material presented was shared via WhatsApp, Zoom synchronous lessons and online lectures delivered on platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet and others. Learners who had hearing deficiencies were not always provided with written notes, PowerPoint presentations to follow or reading materials before class, so that they could follow what their classmates were learning during class time, and thus both their academic achievements and social inclusion were harmed. Furthermore, those who were independent learners before the pandemic had to depend again on their parents in order to study (Blank et al., 2020; & Aljedaani et al., 2023). The academic and technological difficulties teachers needed to deal with reinforced the need to accommodate different types of learners and making sure that those with impaired hearing were not excluded from academic success or fell between the cracks because oral delivery via technology platforms had suddenly become a fundamental component in all levels of education. As mentioned earlier, the absence or delay in providing proper hearing aids causes challenges in the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments in schools, and such learners have reported having social difficulties (Ching et al., 2018) which can also lead to psychological stress, failure in school, and a lack of success in communicating in later life. Once teachers are exposed to the difficulties that learners with hearing impairments face, they can learn several ways to accommodate these learners’ needs appropriately while continuing to cater to the rest of their class. By implementing minor accommodations such as organizing a suitable learning environment, learners with hearing impairments will be able to succeed as well as their peers. Seeking a better understanding of teachers’ feeling of competence in using new technology while including learners with hearing impairments, Guiberson and Crowe (2018) focused on the use of digital tools in teaching. Findings reveal that teachers feel they need specific training regarding the proper use of digital tools, their possible implementations in the classroom and how to use them efficiently when

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attempting to provide the necessary accommodations for individuals with different disabilities, including hearing impairments. Thus, although technology is now implemented in school systems as a format for learning in all subjects and although teachers are more digitally proficient than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a gap in teachers’ knowledge of how to adapt the technology for learners with special needs and specifically for learners with hearing challenges. Those with hearing impairments face many challenges; since they cannot always hear things shared in online lectures, for example, and cannot hear narrated video clips shared in class, they need subtitles or closed captions in order to follow along. Therefore, promoting efficient inclusion of learners with hearing impairment can be done by adjusting curricula, teaching and learning tools to accommodate everyone, alongside developing proper cooperation between educators and training staff, to enable equal opportunities for success for all. There is no doubt that successful inclusion of learners with hearing challenges can be achieved, but it must involve all participants: teachers, other educational staff, learners with and without hearing deficiencies and their parents. On the basis of this approach, Weiserbs (2001) studied the contribution of classmates to the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments. Encouraging all learners to communicate via email or any other texting app helped individuals with hearing impairments integrate both socially and academically with learners without hearing impairments. Those with hearing impairments were paired with unimpaired peers and with the guidance of their teachers and parents were encouraged to collaborate via email, taking turns being the learner and the instructor, thereby empowering all learners in a low-risk environment to learn from each other and significantly improve communication, knowledge organization and writing skills. While learners greatly enhanced their social skills, the teachers benefited from helping facilitate the email collaboration during school hours, as they shared how each teacher coped with their learners and the different ways in which they handled the materials taught and accommodated the learners’ various needs. While Aljedaani et al. (2023) examined the overall challenges learners with hearing deficiencies and educators deal with, they emphasized that although written information contributes to learning processes, it is not enough for all those with hearing challenges. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should learn to adapt up-to-date technology tools for deciphering a variety of meanings of materials taught in class while encouraging the expression of opinions, promoting creative and critical thinking and supporting the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments in both social and academic areas of life.

5.2.2

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges

Efficient implementation of transdisciplinary education and mediation approaches while including learners with special needs, and specifically those with hearing impairments, is based on educators’ collaborations while preparing the main topic

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they are going to teach. These collaborations, which aim to implement a variety of adjustments for better learning, also promote the development of the essential teamwork of teachers, therapists, families and all learners, just as needed in all transdisciplinary environments. However, these preparations must be carefully planned when learners with hearing impairments are included in school, and educators need to plan the learning environment in addition to the content they want to teach and mediate. Nevertheless, developing learning environments adapted to the needs of learners with hearing impairments aligns with the core elements of the transdisciplinary approach which should be relevant to all learners, in other words, the variety of learning opportunities and methods that provide all learners with opportunities to develop their cognitive skills based on a range of knowledge sources. Gardner (2000, 2011) emphasizes that different learners present their cognitive strengths and intelligence through different methods of learning. Through his theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner motivates educators to provide all learners with the opportunities to learn through different processes and by using different methods. Making content and tools accessible to all learners obviously necessitates organization of the physical and structural environment of the school, especially when learners with hearing impairments are included, given their need for quiet learning spaces, particular acoustic improvements and technological devices as well as concrete teaching aids and so forth. It is especially important to understand that such changes allow learners with and without hearing impairment to study more effectively, because of their tendency to learn in different ways (Gardner, 2011). As noted earlier, the language of instruction in schools is usually based on the official language of the country, and in many countries, at least one additional language is studied. Language is learned by acquiring the receptive skills of reading and listening and the productive skills of writing and speaking. However, learners with severe hearing impairments and deafness often communicate in sign language and/or by using technologies such as speech-to-text applications. While for learners with hearing impairments it is extremely challenging to acquire the accepted communication skill of listening, and in some cases, also speaking, non-hearingimpaired classmates may contribute to the inclusion process by learning sign language. By doing so, these classmates also broaden and enhance their own skills and their options for ways of communicating in the future. Learning different languages, in general, opens a variety of opportunities to communicate with others while also developing social skills that are essential when meeting people from different cultures, an issue that is further referred to in Chap. 6, which discusses the development of transdisciplinary teaching in intercultural learning communities. When learning alternative languages that help to communicate with people with different disabilities, this significantly promotes inclusion both in school and in society. Therefore, beyond the joint learning processes and social ties that develop among all learners, acquiring an alternative language in and of itself contributes to learners’ thinking development. The necessary up-to-date technologies that support and facilitate learning, along with promoting effective inclusion of learners with hearing impairments, are

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significantly advantageous in transdisciplinary teaching, and thus, the entire community of learners at the school will have the opportunity to acquire valuable, up-todate learning skills. Implementation of innovative technologies can also be used as an opportunity for learners with hearing impairments to become the leaders and instructors of the technologies. This can be done if these learners are the first to learn how to use the up-to-date technologies and then become the ones who guide the rest of the transdisciplinary community members how to use them appropriately. Conducting such a process will emphasize the strengths learners with hearing impairments have, rather than only the challenges they deal with. While transdisciplinary teaching methods encourage the engagement of learners in group study, the improvement of acoustics intended particularly for the learners with hearing impairments actually constitutes a great advantage for all learners. This is because some learners, or even teachers, who may have hearing impairments that are undiagnosed, will enjoy a better teaching and learning environment. This is because, in areas of study with acoustic insulation, it is not only the learners with diagnosed hearing impairments that are able to study better. For all learners, acoustic insulation enables the separation of background noise from the voices that are meaningful for learning, which is particularly important during peer learning and group work in transdisciplinary teaching. In addition, acoustic insulation contributes greatly to improved attention among learners with attention deficits, for whom this insulation is not installed (further explanations about teaching strategies for learners with attention deficits are presented in Chap. 3). Learners with hearing impairments invest greater amount of energy to learn. Therefore, it is important to understand how to balance the energy these learners use and to allow them efficient learning in school. Therefore, adapting the physical environment with better acoustics and other aids designed to reduce background noise can optimize the learning experience for all learners and educators.

5.2.3

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching Learners with Hearing Challenges

Preparing the learning environment in preparation for the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments in mainstream educational setting contributes to all learners but also involves certain challenges that educators should be aware of and consider how they might be addressed. The first step of planning and execution of the changes and adjustments to the learning environment should be based on collaboration between hearing professionals and environmental designers, together with educators, pedagogues and parents. Given the fact that such preparations consume much time and energy, not to mention expense, there might be objections, or at least demands for an explanation that might justify such an investment for what is ostensibly a very small number of learners. In order to overcome these objections, educational leaders must refocus on the general goals of inclusion, while highlighting that, in fact, such

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changes actually contribute to improved learning environments for all learners at the school. Families are part of all learners’ lives, even more so for learners with hearing impairments. Therefore, it seems obvious that parents should be part of the school team that is responsible for the inclusion of their children. However, this team has to take into consideration the use of methods and tools that will benefit all learners with special needs, in order to support their successful inclusion and not only those with hearing challenges. Thus, the challenge transdisciplinary teachers may have is the need to balance between the wish to allow parents to be part of the team and the tendency parents have to advocate exclusively for their own children’s needs, without seeing the needs of other learners, with or without special needs. In order to develop those parents’ overall perceptions and allow them to understand all learners’ needs alongside those of their own children, teachers must learn how to share their goals and pedagogical considerations, without criticizing parents’ perspectives. Furthermore, teachers may feel uncomfortable and may think that parents might criticize their teaching and mediating, if parents are involved in certain learning and social activities. One way to reduce the feeling of stress and to promote cooperation between parents and teachers is to develop proper preparation and coordination of approaches step by step. As mentioned above, recruiting parents of learners with hearing impairments to be part of the inclusion team in schools is highly important, mainly because it contributes to the mutual understanding of the learners’ needs at home and in school and to the implementation of an optimal intervention programme. Nevertheless, while parents recognize their children’s strengths and challenges since they were born, in many cases the inclusion of their children causes them to be stressed and overprotective (Blank et al., 2020). Sharing information with the parents regarding their children’s inclusion processes along with offering them clinical support may reduce their feeling of stress and anxiety and will allow them to better cooperate with their children’s teachers and school staff. Another significant challenge concerns the sense of belonging among learners with hearing impairments. Throughout all stages of learning, these learners are hardly independent. They are used to depending on others and asking for help, and they receive support and adjustments that mainly address their physical rather than their cognitive or emotional needs. However, actions which are designed to promote academic inclusion often cause a sense of social differentiation. This is especially true with transdisciplinary teaching. Compared to traditional teaching, learners with hearing impairments need more mediation from their teachers and the staff in school, who can help by providing appropriate teaching aids. Hence, the additional challenge linked to the need to develop these learners’ social and academic independence. However, throughout the inclusion process, transdisciplinary teachers must develop their awareness of how much accompaniment and support they provide, in order to ensure they are not unintentionally hampering the development of independence because of their well-intended desire to motivate the learners with hearing impairments to participate in all learning activities.

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments. . .

Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies for Learners with Hearing Challenges

Educators in general and specifically transdisciplinary teachers should understand that learners with hearing impairments can learn like other learners only if they get the support they need to better assimilate the information around them (Argyropoulos et al., 2019; Lieu et al., 2020; Tomblin et al., 2020). Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers need to plan their teaching units and lessons, in a manner that can help these learners achieve the goals just as well as their classmates. Such planning must begin with applying up-to-date relevant teaching methods, teaching strategies and teaching aids. Unlike mainstream learners or ones with other special needs, planning for those with hearing impairments requires understanding the practicalities of their specific level of disability, while relating to the differences among them. To collect this important basic information, transdisciplinary teachers may approach their learners or their parents and ask questions regarding to the level of deafness, whether the learner can lip-read and whether or not certain lighting should be available, whether a certain type of noise completely prevents hearing, etc. Evidently, planning appropriate learning processes for learners with hearing impairments is far more complex when educators include several learners with hearing impairments, who need different types of accommodations, because they should not overgeneralize the type of adaptation learners may need. However, coping successfully with this challenge can be done thanks to the wide range of learning strategies and learning opportunities the transdisciplinary approach offers. Following are suggestions for the main teaching strategies transdisciplinary teachers may integrate on a daily basis, once they understand the specific needs of their learners with hearing impairments: – Since transdisciplinary teaching environments should allow opportunities for moving around and interacting with others, the first strategy is to create a learning environment that caters to these learners’ particular needs, so that they don’t choose to study on their own because of the noises around or because they missed some of the audio instructions. Although transdisciplinary learning can be done individually, one of the goals of the transdisciplinary methods is to promote efficiency peer learning, and therefore individual learning in isolated areas should not be encouraged. – Transdisciplinary methods require integrating a variety of sources of information, using several learning tools and communicating with peers. Integrating several sources of information is very energy-consuming for learners with hearing impairments. As Davis (2013) and Thurston (2014) emphasize, learners with hearing impairments exert more energy than regular learners while reading material because they need to imagine in their mind the sounds of the words. In other situations, when their classmates read aloud, they often translate the texts to sign language in order to allow the other learners with hearing impairments to

5.2

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understand. Moreover, bearing in mind that learners with hearing challenges enjoy learning in general, via suitable mediums just as their classmates (Argyropoulos et al., 2019; Lieu et al., 2020), teachers should plan how to monitor learning energy so the learners will keep their motivation to read and learn. In reference to teaching time management, Krishnan et al. (2020) explain that learners with hearing impairments can learn how to organize their time efficiently, but they should be offered minor accommodations because of their challenges. Because learning to read is a challenging process for learners with hearing impairments who do not have the audio representation of the letters, these learners should have additional support to promote their reading comprehension. Therefore, accommodations such as translating for them to sign language written texts during exams, or having a visual support for main concepts, may reduce their anxiety and will provide them with the opportunity to express their understanding. While understanding abstract concepts is essential for the development of higherorder thinking skills, it is challenging for all learners. Since learning concepts are studied from the concrete to the abstract, for young learners with hearing impairments, these processes are even more challenging. Such challenges may appear while teaching young learners with hearing impairments the meaning of sounds in general and specifically in order to teach them to read in their first or a second language. Therefore, while transdisciplinary teachers aim to include lerners with hearing chllenges, they need to plan and implement learning activities that will include concrete experiences that allow understanding and proper use of the abstract concepts that may be relevant to the topic they teach, for example, using technologies that translate sounds to vibrations. One of the main challenges that learners with hearing impairments confront on a daily basis is conducting social interactions with others. Transdisciplinary teachers who also base their teaching methods on peer learning and communication among learners provide a unique opportunity for educators to help their learners with hearing challenges to train their social skills in a safe but still demanding environment. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should integrate strategies that develop social skills and interactions. Transdisciplinary inclusive environments welcome teachers and parents to prepare learners with hearing impairments for their inclusion in society as adults. Therefore, another strategy that transdisciplinary teachers may implement refers to the need to encourage social interactions among everyone. For that, the inclusion of parents and the community of the learners is very important (Blank et al., 2020) while preparing transdisciplinary teaching and learning programmes. Reading is an essential skill for learners. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should look for variety of ways to motivate their learners with hearing impairment to cope with the challenges of connecting between the letters and the sounds they symbolized. Aljedaani et al. (2023) offer to integrate through teaching proper adaptations, such as videos with translations to sign language.

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments. . .

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with Vision and Hearing Challenges

Given the low numbers of learners with vision or hearing impairments that are included in mainstream schools, in comparison to the inclusion of learners with other special needs and given the similar mediation approaches that may contribute to their cognitive development, the following section refers to the inclusion of both populations of learners. The examples given aim to provide educators with some ideas for how to implement the 12 parameters of mediation with learners with either hearing or vision impairments. As always, it is important to remember that mediating to these learners who study in inclusive learning environments contributes to all participants. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers can and should plan and implement the mediated interactions while teaching the whole group of learners together or in small groups which include different learners. Moreover, the mediation approach should become one of the teaching tools all educators use in their lessons and not only the transdisciplinary project leader. 1. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity The need of learners with either hearing or vision impairment to compensate for the lack of those essential senses while learning obliges all educators to clarify the learning objectives and the upcoming learning activities. This is especially true for transdisciplinary activities that involve the integration of several sources of knowledge, the co-teaching of teachers of different disciplines and the frequent peer-learning activities, all of which require significant use of both senses. Additionally, such clarifications will allow those learners to perceive their impairments as challenges they can deal with. While the teaching staff mediate for intentionality, which is the overall goal of mediation and learning, those learners must be prepared so they can be included properly in the learning activities. Moreover, defining the intention for learners with hearing or vision challenges reduces their dependence on others. While mediating for intentionality for all learners, transdisciplinary teachers have to include the possible changes, in order to allow them to easily reorganize in new situations. While such explanations help all the learners, they contribute particularly to those with hearing or vision challenges. Hence, transdisciplinary teachers must define their intentions for themselves in advance, planning ahead of time ways to overcome the hearing and vision challenges, along with sharing with all the learners the intention they have chosen. Thus, the including learners will both receive effective mediation and, when necessary, be able to support their classmates. 2. Mediation for transcendence Studying one domain of knowledge is significantly challenging for learners with either hearing or vision impairment, and yet another challenge they have is performing transcendence from one context to another or from one discipline to another, since they are used to integrating fewer sources of information than others. The reason for this is that because of their objective challenges in

5.3

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with Vision. . .

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collecting information, they develop learning strategies based on concentrating on one subject at a time. However, transcendence is the core parameter of transdisciplinary teaching, and therefore explaining the main links between different disciplines and looking for others is part of the teaching, but it may not occur without proper mediation and preparation. Hence, transdisciplinary teachers must keep in mind that these learners can integrate several sources of information and accordingly carefully plan mediation processes, and not be held back because of their learners’ challenges. After defining the connections between the subjects, transdisciplinary teachers must clearly mediate to the learners with hearing or vision impairments why these are the logical connections, by providing alternative learning processes that allow the learners to look for other connections independently and use the knowledge they studied in school in other fields as well. This mediation is important both to prevent the development of discontinuous thinking among these learners and their peers and to reduce concerns about studying unfamiliar topics in the future. 3. Mediation for meaning Deficient information collection resulting from a vision or hearing impairment often causes an unclear grasp of reality, and therefore mediation for meaning is essential for these learners. Mediation for meaning aims to clearly link the main intention of the mediator to the learners’ world of knowledge and needs, while also providing logical meaning for the effort they need to invest due to their impairments. While this kind of individual connection is significant for all learners, it is an opportunity to fully include learners with hearing or vision impairments in the learning setup. Since learners with hearing or vision impairments usually study by using tools such as gestures, sign language or braille, their thinking skills tend to be concrete, as often occurs among young learners who study new languages (Andrä et al., 2020). Accordingly, the mediation for meaning offers opportunities to fully exploit the cognitive and emotional connection between themselves and what is learned in class. Through the mediation for meaning, they will harness the motivation to participate and cope with transdisciplinary methods which require them to move out of their individual mindset and make connections between different events. 4. Mediation for the feeling of competence While learners’ feeling of competence constitutes the basis for coping with daily challenges and it develops mainly through receiving feedback from their surroundings, for learners with hearing or vision impairments, this mediation is essential because of their dependence on assistance from their environment. These learners have difficulties with all learning experiences and as a result tend to develop the feeling of a lack of competence. Moreover, because their daily expressions of language (through braille, lip reading, sign language, etc.) is different from the local spoken and written ones, learners with hearing or vision impairments may have objective difficulties in fully understanding social messages from those around them, and in many cases their interpretations are wrong. Thus, when such learners are included in a mainstream class applying transdisciplinary teaching, the staff must teach them how to present themselves

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and their communication methods to their classmate and by doing so to mediate for competence overtly and in a focused manner so that the learners can cope with complex learning from different disciplines and integrate this with different social activities. Likewise, mediators should mediate to all learners that while they communicate, they must make sure all their classmates understand them. 5. Mediation for regulation and control of behaviour Learning the behavioural norms required in society is a serious challenge for learners with hearing or vision impairments, given their challenges in collecting relevant information from several sources and adjusting their behaviour accordingly. Including them in transdisciplinary teaching provides an opportunity to teach them the norms of social learning while building flexibility in moving between learning processes for which different kinds of behaviour are required. For example, for those with hearing impairments, it is essential to mediate the proper level of sound while speaking, and for those with vision impairments, it is important to mediate how and where it is appropriate to collect information with the sense of touch. 6. Mediation for sharing behaviour Sharing behaviour is one of the underlying principles of transdisciplinary teaching, and it must not be ignored, even when it comes to learners with hearing or vision impairments, for whom understanding social sharing norms is a challenge by itself. Mediation of this stage must be combined with the contribution of the sharing to the learners with hearing or vision challenges as well as its contribution to all learners. While educators and learners assimilate mediation perspectives and then mediate to the learners with hearing or vision impairments the environment around them, learners with hearing or vision impairments can present their reciprocity and share with their teachers and classmates how they perceive the same environment without seeing or hearing well. All teachers and learners can reciprocate in sharing their knowledge, their feelings and anything else they wish to. This should be done while emphasizing the advantages of the dynamic collaborative learning that takes place as part of transdisciplinary teaching. 7. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation While collaborative learning presents the importance of a group learning together, this does not mean eliminating the individual learner. This perspective is important to implement among all learners and educators, especially when learners with hearing or vision impairments use sign language or braille while their classmates do not. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation within transdisciplinary teaching should emphasize the contribution of the individual in shared learning. Drawing analogies that emphasize what is common to different disciplines and reaching new learning outcomes can take place only when all partners express their opinions and present their point of view. In many cases, the fact that they use different modalities of languages for learning leads them to process information differently and come to different

5.3

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9.

10.

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Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation with Learners with Vision. . .

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conclusions. Hence, the mediators in each discipline must develop the selfcompetence of the entire class to have different perspectives and opinions and then allow them to present their ideas in a way that will contribute to everyone’s learning. Mediation for goal-seeking, goal-setting and goal-achieving behaviour. Included learners with hearing or vision impairments need regular mediation in and outside of school and must define their own goals while planning ways to achieve them. In transdisciplinary teaching and learning, goal seeking and goal setting are conducted through sharing ideas and developing collaborative learning. These goals should be realistic, given the challenges the learners deal with, while not reducing their motivation to achieve new ones. The role of the transdisciplinary mediators is to lead their mediatees towards better understanding of their skills and abilities and then to focus on the range of possible goals and the various paths to their attainment. Mediation for challenge: the search for novelty and complexity The fact that learners with hearing or vision impairments are challenged with any new learning activity and specifically with social ones often stops them from even trying to be included in the society of their peer group. However, transdisciplinary learning invites creative complex thinking that differs from the familiar, and the use of alternative methods of communication can significantly contribute to this process. While the tendency is to allow learners with hearing or vision impairments to study in a way that is comfortable for them, here, disciplinary teachers must mediate to them how this creative thinking will contribute to their learning, their independence and their social integration and how it will enable them to lead new processes and not only participate in ones that others initiate. Mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity Although both hearing or vision impairments cannot be completely cured, while focusing on thinking and learning development, people with these impairments can definitely learn, change and develop. The ability to recognize and understand this change is not to be taken for granted among learners with special needs and is connected to their feeling of competence. It is up to the transdisciplinary teachers to develop the opportunities for each learner with hearing or vision challenges to see themselves as developing and changing learners. Transdisciplinary teachers must mediate this for all learners, but especially for those with hearing or vision challenges while developing their reflective thinking, showing how transdisciplinary learning has contributed to their own development in a variety of fields, while demonstrating particular learning contexts that they can use to help them learn in the future. Mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives The mediation described so far for seeking learning goals and methods, creativity and recognition of the ability to change, succeed and develop better thinking skills among learners with hearing or vision impairments is significantly complex. Even though their learning may be based on different tools,

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mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives must highlight the need to look for an effective solution that suits a particular problem rather than settle for a simple, familiar solution. Here too, the transdisciplinary mediator can lead the learners with hearing or vision impairments beyond their comfort zone to seek new ways to find solutions. 12. Mediation for the feeling of belonging The feeling of belonging includes all the previous parameters of mediation and represents the heart of the process of integration and inclusion of learners with special needs. However, for learners with hearing or vision impairments, this feeling is a significant challenge since their disability often leads them to study in separate spaces, using different learning tools and different language modalities that their classmates are not familiar with. Like the goal of integration, one of the aims of transdisciplinary teaching is to structure collaborative learning processes and hence the importance of mediating for the feeling of belonging, which will contribute to the success of transdisciplinary learning processes particularly for these learners.

5.4

Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 5.1 and 5.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning while Mediating for Inclusion of Learners with Vision and Hearing Challenges

There is no doubt that developing transdisciplinary teaching while promoting inclusion of learners with vision or hearing impairments is a challenge that educators everywhere should know how to address. Furthermore, it would seem that developing the necessary learning community based on the teaching strategies and mediation approach presented earlier is the most efficient path to succeed in such a mission. Sensory development in young children lays the foundation for their cognitive, social and emotional growth. By providing a window to the world, sensory experiences shape children’s perception, cognition and interactions. Understanding the significance of sensory development allows educators, parents and caregivers to implement appropriate interventions and strategies that support optimal development and promote positive school outcomes. Among the different senses one develops, this chapter focused on the challenges learners with vision or hearing impairments deal with on a daily basis. Visual impairment refers to the loss of or damage to vision, leading to difficulties in perceiving visual stimuli. It can range from mild to severe, including conditions such as near-sightedness, farsightedness and restricted field of vision. Similarly, hearing impairment refers to a diminished ability to perceive sounds, which can range from partial to total hearing loss. When it comes to academic learning, vision and hearing impairments can significantly impact learners’ educational advancement. Visual impairments can affect the acquisition of reading, writing and visual

5.4

Summary and Possible Implementations. . .

Fig. 5.1 Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching

Fig. 5.2 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine

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comprehension skills. Students with visual impairments may face challenges in reading printed text, interpreting visual aids or perceiving nonverbal cues from their teachers and peers. However, with appropriate accommodations and assistive technologies such as braille materials or screen readers, these challenges can be mitigated, enabling visually impaired learners to actively engage in learning. Hearing impairments, on the other hand, can hinder language development, communication and social interactions. For learners with hearing impairments, understanding and interpreting spoken language can be challenging, which can adversely affect their ability to comprehend lectures, participate in classroom discussions and engage in group activities. Assistive devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants can provide significant support in amplifying sound and enhancing auditory perception, enabling learners with hearing impairments to fully participate in academic settings. Following the above summary, the complexity learners with hearing and vision impairments experience requires transdisciplinary teachers to deal with a variety of challenges while preparing successful inclusion in mainstream classes that will support meaningful inclusion later in society. Thus, as explained earlier and presented in Fig. 5.1, transdisciplinary teachers need to collect and integrate relevant information from a variety of sources in order to successfully plan their teaching, so that all learners will benefit while learning together with peers with hearing and vision impairments. In accordance with the above figure and with reference to the comprehension of what inclusion of learners with hearing and vision impairments should encompass, inclusion processes that expand the thinking development everyone in the class are essential. Below is a suggestion for planning mediated transdisciplinary learning in a mainstream second-grade class that contains learners with hearing and vision impairments.

5.5

Main Learning Topic

Seasons of the year (subtopic of science studies)

5.5.1

The Learners with Hearing and Vision Impairment

A mainstream class of 30 second graders, 1 of whom has severe hearing impairment and uses hearing aids along with sign language and 1 of whom has vision impairments which prevent her from using any visual information efficiently. She has just begun learning braille and the use of text-to-speech technology. Since kindergarten, both of them have been accompanied by assistants who are responsible for mediating learning processes and working with them at school. As a result of the intensive

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supervision, these two learners have no feeling of competence to move around independently or to communicate with their classmates without adult mediation. Academically, they have no difficulties learning like their peers, but they do not initiate participation in any class activity. Additionally, regarding the differential among their classmates, some of the other learners have not yet completed their acquisition of the basic principles of reading. Therefore, both the included learners and all their classmates will benefit if transdisciplinary teachers focus on collecting and organizing data as the central thinking skill while studying this topic.

5.5.2

The Transdisciplinary Teachers

Transdisciplinary teachers have to begin planning by verifying for themselves the core knowledge and principles underlying the topic of seasons, relating only to the information relevant for second graders. Beyond the scientific information, teachers must find the links and analogies between this topic and other areas they study in school and the main cognitive skills needed to best understand this domain. For example, orientation in space and time that are essential for understanding the permanent routine and order of the seasons, along with the abstract concepts that describe the weather and the temperature of each season, plays a significant role in this topic of study. These concepts are also significantly challenging for learners with either hearing or vision impairments, because of the wide perception that is needed. Moreover, the understanding of these concepts is the basis for efficient data collection and proper organization for all learners. Following the initial preparation, educators must reflect on their own transdisciplinary teaching skills along with their understanding of the mediation approach, in order to guide their colleagues co-teaching the theme of seasons. Reflection should allow teachers to clarify their strengths in regard to teaching the topic alongside accommodating their teaching to the needs of the two included learners. Additionally, the leading transdisciplinary teachers should define the type of collaboration they will need from their colleagues. They must also plan how they will support their colleagues and what help they will need while teaching the topic, following the transdisciplinary methods and principles that are relevant for a second-grade class that includes learners with hearing or vision impairments. Finally, as part of the preparations, the transdisciplinary teachers must carefully plan how they will implement the 12 parameters of mediation and everything relevant to the main topic to all their learners as well as to those with hearing or vision impairments. In reference to the information they have about their learners, the main parameters of mediation they will need to use are mediation for intentionality and reciprocity, mediation for transcendence, mediation for meaning, mediation for competence, mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity and mediation for the feeling of belonging.

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Transdisciplinary Teaching for Learners with Sensory Impairments. . .

The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)

Promoting transdisciplinary teaching methods requires schools to guide and gather together teachers who wish to implement the transdisciplinary approach through their daily teaching. Hence, while including learners with hearing or vision impairments in a mainstream class, teachers and other colleagues in school must also learn about these challenges in order to promote their inclusion efficiently, despite the complexity of their dysfunctions. The collaborating teachers should also agree to continue learning about these types of impairments along with learning new teaching strategies, given the ongoing research and development of relevant supportive technologies. The next step includes group-thinking sessions, in which all transdisciplinary teachers learn about each other’s disciplines in order to focus on common topics and subtopics, while also emphasizing the unique contribution of each one. The topic – seasons of the year – is usually related in second grade mainly to the domain of science, although all learners and educators experience it daily. Therefore, all transdisciplinary teachers and colleagues should learn how to share core contents of knowledge in their lessons, along with emphasizing their unique contribution. Additionally, all transdisciplinary teachers should conduct their lessons while presenting relevant strategies of collecting and organizing data. For example, the first session every morning can integrate a discussion about the weather that day and some concrete materials that present the type of clothes or the type of the precipitation in each season. This could also be accompanied by a song about the season of the year and along with visual sign language and pictures, to allow all learners to participate. The math teacher may provide opportunities to count and follow the days according to criteria of weather, while also teaching how to organize and present the information in a variety of ways. Since the topic contains several concepts, the literature teacher can be the one to integrate stories, songs, poems, etc. that include those concepts for better implementation by the students. While teaching and mediating according to the transdisciplinary approach, teachers should bear in mind that they are also about to teach learners with hearing and vision impairments, and therefore each link between the theme of seasons to other disciplines should be addressed accordingly, with alternative language formats and simplification of the main abstract concepts. In addition, social interactions that are part of transdisciplinary learning should be mediated to reduce the need for assistance, which will also develop feelings of competence and belonging.

5.5.4

Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies

Although ‘seasons of the year’ is a common topic and may be studied since kindergarten, understanding its meaning from a broad perspective that links it to other subjects relevant to the learners’ life involves higher-order thinking skills that

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require deep learning of a wider spectrum of knowledge. Teaching and mediating towards the higher-order of thinking development of all learners requires transdisciplinary teachers to know their learners’ strengths and challenges. Therefore, when including learners with hearing or vision impairments, who often have poorer abstract thinking and social skills than their classmates, as well as communication challenges, educators must integrate a variety of teaching methods in their transdisciplinary teaching, based on also understanding their learners’ strengths. To begin with, all educators who collaborate to conduct transdisciplinary teaching on the theme of the seasons must include experiences that encourage development of abstract thinking based on the core relevant concepts chosen by the team in advance. One recommendation is to have a learning centre for the seasons of the year, where learners with or without hearing or vision impairments will be able to come during the breaks and continue learning, through play or other activities, about the meaning of the concepts and how to use them properly. By routinely using alternative language modalities and learning methods based on more tactile opportunities or translating visual information to audio, learners with either hearing or vision challenges will develop the feeling of competence and belonging and, following the success in understanding, will develop the essential social communication they need. Furthermore, the other learners, who will be aware of the efficient use of these alternative language modalities and may learn how to use them, will be able to learn well together and ‘translate’ when needed into the alternative modality. Moreover, these learners will also develop their feeling of competence to use the alternative modality and thus will initiate social interactions with learners with hearing and vision impairment. From another perspective, while meeting people with such challenges outside school, they will have all the cognitive, social and emotional skills to communicate with them as well. However, social interactions will not occur by themselves, and therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should carefully plan how and where to mediate and integrate them while ensuring assimilation of the content of the selected theme. While learners with either vision or hearing impairments, their parents and their assistants focus on ways to deal with daily challenges in school, the educational goals should focus on promoting their inclusion while expanding all learners’ knowledge and understanding of the cycle of seasons and its contributions to their own life. Studying this theme allows better understanding of the environment they live in, the meaning of climate and its influences on their lives and the development of nature around the world. Therefore, while integrating between different domains to plan the transdisciplinary teaching, defining similarities and differences between the domains should be followed by mediating the intentionality of the theme, along with mediating for transcendence, meaning, competence, individuation, sharing behaviour and for the feeling of belonging. Following the information in Fig. 5.1 and implementing it through lesson planning serves as a basis for transdisciplinary teachers who wish to advance the inclusion of learners with vision and hearing challenges. However, this is not enough for educators who wish to impart this perspective effectively on a daily basis, without investing too much energy in understanding the transdisciplinary mediation

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processes in inclusive environments. As it was also explained in Chap. 2 and thereafter Fig. 5.2, educators are given the opportunity to assimilate routines of planning transdisciplinary teaching that promotes the inclusion of all learners, and in the case of this chapter, the inclusion of learners with vision and hearing challenges. Beginning with understanding the unique characteristics of their learners with vision or hearing challenges, educators and transdisciplinary teachers may continue to define relevant learning goals while focusing on the thinking skills and learning strategies they will teach. However, educators must also remember that the challenges learners with vision or hearing impairments have to deal with vary from one another. Therefore, they must understand the needs of each of their learners and not overgeneralize the strategies they choose to integrate in their teaching. Then, teachers can plan successful transdisciplinary learning which includes the necessary mediation parameters, while planning both individual and group mediation. Finally, transdisciplinary teachers should plan how they will monitor and assess the learning of those in the class who have vision and hearing impairments, considering their challenges in collecting data and in presenting their understanding. The inclusion of learners with vision and hearing challenges demands that educators carefully plan and implement their teaching strategies, while following both transdisciplinary and mediation methods. Proper planning of teaching procedures and strategies that will contribute to all learners significantly promotes efficient management of transdisciplinary teaching that includes a larger number of collaborating teachers. This planning also promotes the achievement of a variety of academic, social and other objectives defined by the teaching staff who know the learners’ strengths and challenges. Nevertheless, when including learners with hearing or vision impairments, transdisciplinary teachers should focus mainly on strategies that enable understanding and internalization of the meaning of the concepts along with the connections between areas of life with the intention of enabling them to cope with their challenges using alternative language modalities. Beyond that, learners with either vision or hearing impairment should be prepared for any change in the routine setup of teaching, in order to be better oriented in the environment. Specifically, when including learners with hearing or vision impairments, adapting the teaching strategies mentioned earlier allows transdisciplinary teachers to prepare the included learners in advance and provide them with the knowledge and skills needed to integrate in social and academic activities in school and in their living environment. Moreover, sharing the alternative language modalities, communication mediums and teaching strategies selected, with all learners and educators, along with sharing the reasons for choosing them, is a social model for the school community regarding what should be done to include learners with various special needs in society.

Chapter 6

Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Learning Communities

Nowadays, given the globalization in various domains of life, many people are moving from one country to another every few years, and there is a crucial need for further study and teaching methods to accelerate the growth of interculturalism in schools in order to facilitate the development of intercultural communities that are ready to include everyone in all areas of life. Furthermore, relating openly and honestly to the cultural differences among learners and teachers is the basis for intercultural education that firmly relates to all learners, thereby promoting their selfawareness and self-identity while they live and study with learners from cultural backgrounds that are different from their own (Paul-Binyamin & Reingold, 2020). While using the term ‘interculturalism’ throughout this chapter, it is important to mention that some scholars also use the term ‘multiculturalism’ when referring to communities composed of people from different cultures. The main difference between these concepts is similar to the difference between integration and inclusion discussed in previous chapters. Thus, while multiculturalism is expressed by placing different learners in the same educational setting and providing them with differential learning programmes (integration), interculturalism aims to encourage both co-learning and social engagements based on commonalities and allow the promotion of inclusion by implementing individual and group interventions that provide the basic skills for communication and learning together. Nevertheless, each term evolved from a different perspective (Taylor, 2012). Their commonality is the vision of creating a society in which people from different cultures live together and retain their cultural identity while developing reciprocal relationships. According to Banks (1997), intercultural education developed on the understanding that teachers must relate to their learners’ cultural origins from a wider perspective rather than simply placing learners from different countries in one shared educational environment. Additionally, implementing an interculturalist approach in schools helps mitigate racism within the educational setting, because of the reference to learners’ cultural roots from a broad perspective that emphasize their strength and their different learning skills, rather than focusing only on their ethnic backgrounds that is usually © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_6

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overgeneralized and based on stigmas and lack of knowledge. Since both the environment and the culture people live in influence thinking development (Flavian, 2017), learning in an environment where several cultures come together is challenging for both teachers and learners, mainly due to the different languages and cultures that influence learning and teaching processes (Figueredo-Canosa et al., 2020). These possible challenges relate directly to the core approach of transdisciplinary teaching. This chapter explores how integrating transdisciplinary teaching with intercultural education provides innovative mediated opportunities to overcome those challenges, while providing all learners with learning activities that will improve their thinking development. Furthermore, the transdisciplinary approach, by definition, encourages educators and learners to share their cultural knowledge, learn about the history of their culture and search for similarities and differences in order to develop a new concept of knowledge that is relevant to all. Promoting such learning goals has a direct influence on the development of successful intercultural communities and therefore schools have an important role to play.

6.1

Intercultural Education

Every society is a collection of individuals who differ one from another in many ways. These differences increase when individuals come from different countries and cultures which influence the development of their thinking and their behavioural norms, in addition to their use of different languages, which influences how they communicate. Despite the many definitions of culture, all researchers and scholars share references to religion, beliefs, social norms, languages, core values and also educational approaches and opinions, while detailing the factors that influence people’s development in many ways (Alsubaie, 2015; Hajisoteriou & Sorkos, 2022; McConachy & Spencer-Oatey, 2021). Over a century ago, in 1897, Dewey claimed that schools mirror a culture, and therefore those in charge of educational policies must address everyone and ensure that the various curricula truly teach learners the tools they need to succeed later in life. Although at the time Dewey published his pedagogical approach communities were homogeneous and people usually did not change their country of residence so dramatically, his claim is still relevant today. Additionally, until a few decades ago, the issue of needing different social skills in different cultural environments or understanding the influence of cultural differences on learning was hardly mentioned, given the lack of understanding of the link between these factors and individuals’ learning development. It is essential to remember that until a few decades ago, young families rarely moved or immigrated from one country to another (Carlson, 1997). Therefore, studies regarding the possible links between learning processes, thinking development and cultural differences began only after more widespread migration began. Nevertheless, although nowadays educators around the world agree that schools must prepare learners for the dynamic and unknown future by preparing them to be effective

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thinkers (Flavian, 2020), discussing the issue of intercultural education reveals a different picture. Gorsky (2009) argues that our conceptualization of intercultural education varies, because as educators from different cultures ourselves, we develop different values, beliefs and education goals. Additionally, he explains that the interculturalism approach originally evolved from political movements and processes promoting social justice among diverse learners who study together. Maddux et al. (2010) summarize this approach by emphasizing that learning in an intercultural environment significantly helps mitigate cultural barriers and makes it easier to facilitate teamwork amongst individuals from different places while learning how to associate statements and actions with cultural tendencies and then move forward in order to achieve goals together in the best way possible. Nowadays, educators’ treatment of interculturalism is expressed on a continuum, one end of which has learners from different cultures physically studying together, while the other end has educational processes designed to prepare learners for the construction of their environment to meet the needs of the full diversity of humanity. This approach is based on democratic perspectives and awareness and nurturing of the critical examination of injustice in relation to learners’ lives and the planning of proper actions as needed. Like any other educational development, the success of intercultural education can be achieved through several steps. To better understand, plan and monitor them, Banks (1997) defined five dimensions of implementation of intercultural education: introducing information about different cultures into the school curriculum; conducting educational activities to promote learners’ understanding, investigating and presenting the implicit cultural frames and perspectives in relation to the domain they study; a pedagogy of equity that guides educators how to change their methods in order to enable learners from diverse groups to achieve academic goals; prejudice reduction and cultivation of positive racial attitudes; and expanding interculturalism outside the classroom by empowering schools to adopt intercultural education as their school culture. Creating a high-quality intercultural school that also affects the environment obliges all members to recognize their cultural roots (McIntyre, 1977) in order to develop their own cultural identity while learning about other cultures. This approach, along with Banks’ (1997) fifth dimension of interculturalism, emphasizes the need to develop intercultural learning communities that evolve from the powerful influence education has on promoting social and cultural change. Transdisciplinary teachers also need to learn about their own culture and roots, while demonstrating for their learners how they respect and accept other cultures and yet continue to maintain their own cultural identity. Like their learners, teachers will not be able to understand other cultures if they do not reflect on their own and then compare and contrast it with others. Once teachers recognize their own culture and how it is reflected in their thinking and learning, they should also make sure that school culture allows all participants to explore and develop their cultural identity. Moreover, developing pedagogy with an intercultural education approach and the belief that schools must prepare learners for real life requires all educators to develop flexible and transdisciplinary curricula to accommodate the needs of all their learners, including cultural ones (Flavian, 2021b, c).

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Interculturalism and Thinking Development

Teaching and learning methods, wherever they may be, are based on the understanding of the development of human thinking. Additionally, beyond the social belief in interculturalism, for over a century, researchers have claimed that both the social-cultural perspective and growing up in an intercultural environment have a significant positive influence on people’s thinking development (Flavian, 2021b, c). This claim was published in the early twentieth century by Vygotsky (Kozulin, 2015), who was the first psychologist to emphasize the link between people’s culture, their thinking development and their learning processes. Since then, researchers from different countries have continued to examine this approach, and nowadays it is clear that efficient learning that is useful in a variety of domains and outside of school hours should be related to one’s cultural background, an approach that is even more of a challenge in intercultural learning communities. Feuerstein, who founded the cognitive modifiability theory (Feuerstein et al., 2015), strengthened this approach by claiming that the quality of human interactions, together with environmental and cultural influences, significantly influence learners’ thinking development, far more than the influence of the genetics they were born with. Therefore, educators’ main role is to develop competent thinking among all their learners. Following this approach, teachers in intercultural schools must bear in mind that while their learners may think differently and may have different thinking skills as a result of their cultural backgrounds, this should never be a reason for not promoting learning among everyone in the class. Furthermore, while planning their teaching, transdisciplinary teachers should also integrate their understanding of their learners’ culture, while allowing learners to integrate their cultural background through their learning. For example, many teachers tell their learners that they may raise their hand or use any other signal, whenever they have a question regarding the subject matter being taught. While this usually encourages learners to ask and become involved in learning processes, in some cultures this is forbidden, since interrupting a teacher with a question might be understood as suggesting that their teachers do not teach well. Similarly, some teachers ask their learners to maintain eye contact with them for clearer communication, while in some cultures it is considered disrespectful for a young person to look directly at an adult. These examples present how simple cultural norms that promote learning in some cultures may prevent learners from other cultures from optimal learning. Understanding cultural norms is critical when learners from different cultural backgrounds study in the same class and may perceive and elaborate knowledge differently. From this perspective, towards the end of the twentieth century, Gardner (2011) added the concept of ‘multiple intelligences’ to the discussion about the influence of culture on thinking and learning. He sought to rethink how educators refer to intelligence by dividing it into seven basic intelligences and presenting how people engage in thinking according to how they were taught to think. Although during the twentieth century, people were sceptical about the theories regarding the influences of culture and environment on thinking and learning,

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Interculturalism and Thinking Development

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nowadays, researchers agree with the general claim that exploring and understanding learners’ cultural differences in intercultural environments encourage learners’ thinking development. Maddux et al. (2010), who searched for the thinking skill most influenced by interculturalism, found that creativity was the one which significantly improved. This enhancement of creativity is generated through reciprocity. While creativity helps one adapt to environmental changes and thrive, despite a lack of constant behaviour and patterns, it develops over time by being exposed to a variety of cultures. Furthermore, being among learners from other cultural backgrounds and understanding the social context in which what they say is delivered contributes to one’s flexibility and creative thinking. Another influence intercultural education has on thinking development, which also evolves from enhanced creativity, is improved problem-solving skills. This results from peer group studying, which shows learners that for the same question, there can be many answers. These multiple answers lead the individual to be more open to change and to trying different ways of solving a problem. This, in turn, can encourage them to integrate information from different sources into their ideas and theories. Once again, this also helps enhance learners’ creativity. Additionally, growing up and studying in an intercultural environment and being exposed to different languages also affect the development of learners’ open-mindedness, empathy towards people of other cultures, emotional stability and personality (Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven, 2009). Understanding the enormous influence that culture and environment have on thinking development, we should not overlook the significant role teachers play in thinking and social development, given the amount of time learners spend in school and other educational settings. Although teachers’ efforts to understand, accept and respect their learners’ diversity encourage the motivation to learn, they may also cause the opposite effect. For example, when any cultural misunderstanding occurs between teachers and their learners, the latter often feel isolated from their teachers and classmates, which may lead to lesser academic success (Alsubaie, 2015). Moreover, in such cases, learners usually do not explain their culture to their teachers and classmates, and the misunderstanding may reoccur with no awareness of the problem. Another parameter that plays a significant role in thinking development in an intercultural environment is the increase in the variety of languages people use (Rehm, 2008). While acquaintance with different languages people use for learning and communication may enlarge their vocabulary and significantly enhance their high-level thinking skills (Kozulin, 2015), it is not simple to teach in a multilanguage group of learners, since language is much more than vocabulary and grammar and translating from one language to another may lead to misunderstanding an idea or concept. Consequently, transdisciplinary teachers in intercultural learning environments should use similar concepts that are translatable without specific content very carefully. Returning to the Dewey’s fundamental claim that schools reflect a society’s goals, and that educators must prepare the young for their future adult life, there is no doubt that a properly implemented intercultural approach together with transdisciplinary methods can be beneficial to all parties involved.

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Intercultural Education, Inclusion and Transdisciplinary Teaching

It is important to note that globalization and an increase in migration to other countries mean that more young people will be taken from their home culture, language and place of residence to another location with different cultures, values and, potentially, languages. These individuals need to adapt to the expectations of the new country in order to succeed and advance both at school and in the workplace, without losing their own cultural identity and roots. The aim to include in schools learners who have different cultural backgrounds come from different countries, use different languages and require educational leaders around the world to promote the development of quality education systems, based on paradigm similar to that of the inclusion of learners with special needs (Hajisoteriou & Sorkos, 2022). This is because of their epistemological emphasis on similar issues such as equal participation, social and learning interactions and catering to the needs of each of the learners while viewing them from holistic perspectives. Given the above theories regarding cultural influences on thinking development and understanding that nowadays schools are rarely culturally homogenic, it seems almost natural to implement the transdisciplinary approach in intercultural learning environments and communities. Interculturalism offers tremendous opportunities for transdisciplinary teachers to invite learners to share their cultural knowledge as part of their collaborative learning. Throughout transdisciplinary learning activities, learners can be challenged to look for similarities and differences around them, thereby emphasizing the uniqueness of each culture. For example, since different cultures celebrate New Year at different times, transdisciplinary teachers might choose ‘celebrating New Year’ as the knowledge content for a class, while motivating all the learners to share when and how they celebrate this occasion in their families and communities. Thus, while developing the core thinking skills that relate to temporal orientations, learners also have opportunities to learn about the reasons different cultures organize their calendars differently. For this, the transdisciplinary teachers must make proper preparations, but this can be done only if teachers are informed before the school year begins about the various cultures of their learners and the unique features of each one. This information will enable the teachers to guide their learners through proper interactions with classmates from different ethnic backgrounds (Vittrup, 2016), as well as to develop dynamic curricula that fit the intercultural society we live in today (Flavian, 2021a). This type of sharing of relevant information regarding learners’ background is another way to develop collaboration among teaching colleagues. Furthermore, preparing transdisciplinary teachers for effective teaching in an intercultural environment should begin early during their initial preservice training. While transdisciplinary teachers can no longer focus only on teaching specific domains, they should also gain the knowledge and skills they need for intercultural teaching. Transdisciplinary teachers in an intercultural environment must become mediators who lead learners towards the development of their cultural identity, while

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Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools

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recognizing other learners’ cultural identities, and together creating a learning community in school. Nevertheless, mediation and teaching should evolve from and be based on the transdisciplinary teachers’ knowledge of the main domain they teach in order to have a solid basis for learning development that will prevent learners from becoming over-involved with other subjects being taught as part of the transdisciplinary method. The main professional goal that transdisciplinary teachers should aspire to accomplish in an intercultural environment is to move away from any egocentric perspective that they are the leaders who have all the answers and, instead, prepare their teaching in a way that will allow all their learners to express their knowledge and understanding on the basis of their cultural perspectives, with no exclusions (Carlson, 1997). While transdisciplinary teachers should aim to develop an intercultural school community, it is not their goal alone, and they should not undertake it on their own. As part of the transdisciplinary activities, teachers need to engage all learners and together find the bridge that emphasizes common denominators, while everyone still retains their own cultural identity. This should be done throughout all school activities, both in class and in extracurricular programmes.

6.4

Advantages of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools

Much research throughout literature suggests that helping individuals to develop social and cognitive skills that are useful in schools and for the future as well can be significantly promoted by exposing them in a concentrated manner to intercultural communities through education or living in a place with different cultures (Maddux et al., 2010), thereby developing their tolerance and adaptability. Among the advantages mentioned by researchers, scholars and theoreticians, the tremendous contribution to one’s thinking development is the core parameter that links all different perspectives. Implementing both intercultural and transdisciplinary approaches in schools can be done simply by way of the collaborative requirements, such as all participants work as a team, the need to look for innovative ways to cooperate and develop new curricula and defining core educational goals that will relate to all learners and to as many domains of knowledge as possible. The core advantages educators and learners can benefit from while combining both educational approaches are presented below. Integrating the transdisciplinary approach in general requires preparing both leaners and teachers in terms of understanding the meaning of efficient teamwork, the contribution of each team member to the success of the learning processes, the recognition of the rights of each learner to see things from different perspectives and the obligation to respect all learners and the ways in which they learn. While this preparation is important, it requires time, and teachers are often afraid of giving up what they consider to be meaningful teaching and learning time and thus do not

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choose to apply the transdisciplinary approach. In contrast in an intercultural learning environment, all the above principles already constitute part of the learning culture, and it is not necessary to reteach them. The need is simply to present them in the context of the transdisciplinary learning topics. Thus, combining the two teaching-learning approaches constitutes effective use of teaching time as they both contribute to meaningful learning. One of the core thinking skills people develop from the day they are born is ability to draw comparisons between objects or situations. Over time, the comparisons people draw in any situation are based mainly on finding similarities and differences on the basis of clearly defined criteria. Both intercultural and transdisciplinary education expand the use of this thinking skill while aiming to promote the efficacy of learning and decision-making through both these educational methods. This is because in both approaches the comparison is not the goal but rather a means of creating new knowledge; having defined what is similar and what is different, the learners must create a shared social relationship (while comparing cultures) or structure new integrative knowledge (while studying a particular discipline through integrating several sources of information), while at the same time retaining the particular characteristics of each entity and highlighting what they have in common. Transdisciplinary learning is based on integrating several domains of knowledge, defining the core commonalities they share, while also identifying the uniqueness of each. Conducting such a complex process demands higher-order thinking skills such as creativity and flexibility for efficient problem-solving. The use of these thinking skills on a daily basis promotes their cognitive development since thinking skills can be developed directly from being exposed to and participating in an intercultural environment (Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven, 2009). Additionally, the ability to examine a situation from different points of view, understanding that solving a specific problem may be achieved in different ways, or that the same problem may have several solutions, is also developed simultaneously from transdisciplinary and intercultural learning environments. Another higher-order thinking skill that both educational methods support is the development of learners’ critical thinking, which is essential for exploring multiple sources of information and deciding whether or not the information is relevant and reliable. As mentioned, learners who encounter different languages expand their vocabulary, improve their thinking skills and mainly enhance their ability to integrate and express themselves in various social situations (Albiladi & Alshareef, 2019; Maddux et al., 2010). In intercultural learning environments, the ability to express similar ideas via different syntactical constructs emphasizes the efficient use of high-level thinking. This is yet another important advantage of applying transdisciplinary teaching-learning in intercultural settings, since the exposure to multiple languages promotes enrichment and familiarity with additional languages, and thus learners will not be afraid to collect information from different sources that are not written in their native language. Nowadays, with the dynamic development of technology, learners may try to translate everything to their mother tongue automatically with computer programmes, but their exposure to different languages may increase their confidence to cope with new languages. From the social perspective of inclusion, the

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Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools

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exposure to different cultures may serve as a great opportunity to learn basic language-cultural norms of functional communication. For example, how people from different cultures greet each other, how do they invite friends to their home and so forth. From the social-emotional aspect, combining the two educational approaches also offers teachers and learners opportunities for meaningful personal development. Learning in an intercultural environment that exposes those involved to people with different opinions and feelings, together with transdisciplinary learning which offers peer learning, jointly contribute to the development of a sense of empathy towards people from other cultures with other opinions and, at the same time, contribute to learners’ stability of emotions (Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven, 2009). Moreover, the feeling of empathy towards others who are different is the basis for including people with special needs in schools and in society in general. Thus, by combining the two study approaches, learners are also given tools to promote the necessary changes and improvement of the society in which they will live as adults in the future. Another contribution of the combination of these two teaching approaches for the future is the development of collaborative learning skills, which are an integral part of teaching and learning. Collaborative learning develops significant social skills needed to build a community life based on sharing and inclusion as adults.

6.5

Challenges of Transdisciplinary Teaching in Intercultural Schools

While the advantages of integrating transdisciplinary teaching in intercultural schools appear numerous, there are also several challenges educators should be aware of and be prepared to cope with accordingly. The main one arises from the differences among learners. If learners have any emotional difficulties, cognitive challenges or other unexpected challenges, learning in an intercultural environment may not contribute to them as much as it does to others (Dewaele & Van Oudenhoven, 2009). Of course, such challenges can be addressed and overcome for the most part, as is shown in the previous chapters of this book by integrating relevant teaching strategies and mediation methods, but transdisciplinary teachers must be aware of the challenges and plan with their colleagues how to address them. Teaching in culturally heterogenous classes challenges teachers on a daily basis, while they claim that they are not equipped with the proper teaching strategies needed to make the teaching-learning beneficial and enjoyable for everyone involved (Rehm, 2008). The difficulties teachers describe mostly refer to language barriers and cultural conflicts resulting from misunderstanding cultural codes and norms. This means that transdisciplinary teachers are required not only to know about several cultures in general but also to learn specific nuances that are critical for proper communication. In reference to this challenge, the teachers must develop a

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high level of awareness that will allow them a better understanding of learning differences based on cultural and/or linguistic sources. In relation to the language differences, although transdisciplinary teachers are not required to know all the languages their learners speak, they are required to create a transdisciplinary intercultural learning community that is influenced by the languages they use. This can be simply developed by creating a multi-dictionary resource centre for the core concepts, by mediating the unique cultural perspectives of the core languages, or by any other creative way the transdisciplinary teachers decide to develop with their learners. But the influences of language differences on learning are way beyond vocabulary. For example, Hamayan et al. (2007) claim that often learners who study reading in a language other than their mother tongue present difficulties that are similar to those that learners with learning deficiencies present. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers need to cooperate with school counsellors in order to identify whether learners’ reading challenges are result of their cultural and mother tonguelinguistic differences or of any learning deficiency they might have. Likewise, with a culturally heterogenous group of learners, transdisciplinary teachers are expected to understand that one’s culture may influence learning process, even though they are not expected to possess in-depth knowledge about all cultures. They may relinquish their role as omniscient teachers from time to time in order to allow their learners to mediate their cultural uniqueness and cultural behavioural norms to their classmates. Nevertheless, creating mutual cooperation with parents can significantly contribute to teachers’ coping with the above challenges. Aiming to narrow the linguistic gaps, transdisciplinary schools may provide immigrant parents with information in their own language about schools’ activities, expected behavioural norms and core content of learning topics. They may also provide information about how learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dysgraphia might express themselves in the language of instruction and what help is available, if needed, so that parents might know when and how to obtain relevant help for their child. This may cause parents to feel part of the school community and will be more motivated to cooperate with their childrens’ teachers. Following that, teachers might ask parents to contribute to the multi-dictionary, while translating the core concepts along with explaining the nuances that differentiate one concept from another and sharing core elements that characterize their culture (e.g. in some languages there is one concept that includes the two words: house and home, although there is a subtle difference between them). Another educational challenge emerges from Alsubaie’s (2015) definition of culture, in light of his emphasis on one’s educational approaches, attitudes and opinions. Evidently, in both transdisciplinary and intercultural learning environments, the teachers enable mutual learning, through which they bring themselves as learners in addition to their role as teachers. While this motivates and enables all learners to express their own opinions, teachers should be particularly careful when expressing their personal opinions. This is because learners tend to look up to their teachers and may not feel safe expressing views opposing those of their teachers.

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Hence, transdisciplinary teachers should explore their own cultural background and acknowledge the patterns of their beliefs and values, in order to avoid situations in which they inadvertently prevent learners from expressing themselves freely. Just as learning processes differ among learners for a variety of reasons, so does the diverse manner in which different learners express their knowledge differently. The range of reasons that cause these differences is wide, and it is almost impossible to respond specifically to each of them when teaching a particular group of learners. Nevertheless, focusing on clear criteria allows teachers to both plan their teaching and assess the learning. As mentioned earlier, culture and language influence people’s thinking and learning development, and therefore, these differences are also part of the range of reasons that cause learners to express their knowledge differently. Therefore, in intercultural schools, in addition to the variety of learning accommodations teachers need to plan, they should also deal with the challenge of differential assessment procedures, based on cultural differences, if they deem this to be necessary. The advantage transdisciplinary teachers have is the professional collaboration they develop. This advantage is a significant factor that can help them deal with the need to develop culturally differentiated assessments, because the accommodations learners need are the same across all disciplines they study, and the cooperation among teachers will reinforce the development of more accurate assessment procedures. Nevertheless, such assessments should be carefully developed without lowering the standard of knowledge of thinking skills that are required from all learners. For example, it is common to ask learners to present their learning process and conclusion after completing studying a specific topic. While this type of assessment promotes sharing information among learners and may also develop learners’ self-confidence, the presentation can be done in a variety of formats. This is because, for example, in some cultures girls/women are now allowed to speak in front of group of boys/men, or, in other cultures, use of eye contact with others is considered impolite behaviour even though it is one of the basic elements that presenters should use. Therefore, while aiming to achieve the important goals of sharing and developing self-confidence, transdisciplinary teachers may offer different possibilities for presentations such as making the presentation in class, or sending all learners a PowerPoint presentation accompanied by recorded audio explanations, or any other creative format. While transdisciplinary and intercultural approaches encourage joint learning of different topics, another significant challenge teachers will face is developing cooperation among their learners, despite the cultural differences between them. For example, it often happens that for religious reasons, some learners might not be able to learn in a small group with other learners because of cultural norms regarding the integration of learners of a different gender, or because of differences in religious holidays and customs, they might not be able to participate in all the activities at the school. Thus, the challenge teachers face is how to create a sense of belonging among the learners while still giving them a sense of uniqueness.

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Practical Transdisciplinary Teaching Strategies in Intercultural Schools

Bearing in mind the importance of integrating an intercultural approach into transdisciplinary teaching-learning, it is of utmost importance that teachers use a sense of both humility and flexibility in their classrooms (Figueredo-Canosa et al., 2020), while providing all their learners with the most compassionate and effective environment in order to promote their success both in school and later in life. As mentioned earlier, including learners’ families in an intercultural environment will dramatically promote the development of a transdisciplinary inclusion community. Additionally, while the educational benefit of integrating interculturalism and transdisciplinary teaching is significant, without relevant strategies, teachers will not be able to implement either approach effectively. People cannot accept others who are different from them without knowing about themselves and about others. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers in general, and especially in intercultural communities, should begin by providing opportunities for all individuals to know themselves and their cultural background better. During these educational activities, the teachers will also be able to learn about their learners and their cultural needs and recognize some cultural challenges that may interfere with their learning. This important information will allow teachers to develop appropriate learning strategies and activities for the future. It is only once the teachers feel that their learners know themselves well and that they may include learning activities that gradually allow learners to learn about and recognize others. Figueredo-Canosa et al. (2020) claim that the three parameters that are fundamental to the promotion of inclusive education in intercultural environment should be transversal integration in curricula that allows teachers to develop learning units which are based on integrating different fields of knowledge along with different teaching methods, specific integration in the curricula to provide attention to cultural diversity and project-based curricular integration which aims to develop learning communities based on collaboration among all learners. For transdisciplinary teachers, the milestones that should guide them while developing effective strategies are as follows: – Prior to teaching any subject matter, transdisciplinary teachers must define the basic thinking skills, core knowledge and learning objectives that are essential for learning the current knowledge domain. Then they can explore the cultural meaning and influences of these parameters on the overall learning process. – While developing an intercultural learning environment, one must make sure the strategies are not being directed towards only one cultural group, since this will differentiate that group and prevent learners from integrating into the larger group. Hence, it is important that the strategies cater to a wide range of learners rather than to specific individuals. For example, a reading tip in elementary classes such as ‘always begin reading from the top-left of the page’ might cause a sense of exclusion among those children whose home languages are

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written from right to left. This can easily be avoided by rephrasing this as: ‘For English and most other languages, we always begin reading from the top left of the page. There are some languages which can be written from top to bottom, such as Japanese, or from right to left, such as Arabic and Hebrew’. The direct contact and impact between language, communication and thinking development (Banks, 1997; Kozulin, 2015) oblige teachers to use linguistic strategies that will enrich vocabulary knowledge and use in different situations. Thus, for example, teachers must explain the importance of proper use of language and register and the fact that they cannot progress with their learning if a particular concept is not clear. This should be done while teaching them how and where to look for the meanings of words they don’t know. All this can only be done once the class has developed an inclusive intercultural atmosphere that enables everyone to stop and ask the meaning of a word that they did not understand without feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed about it. Since this learning takes place in an intercultural environment, the meaning of concepts often goes beyond the literal meaning and so one should allow presentation of the cultural meanings of a concept if there are any. In this manner, the importance of the cultural knowledge that everyone has of their own culture is once again reinforced and reinforces the cultural identity of the learners. For example, the impression of the concept ‘the holy day of the week’ (often referred to as the Sabbath) may exist in all cultures, but in practice not everyone implements it on the same day of the week. While for Christians it is Sunday, for Muslims it is Friday, and for Jews it is Saturday. Teachers must include in the curriculum activities that will develop the learners’ creativity and mental flexibility, which at the same time will promote learners’ individual perspectives and interculturalism within their schools, for example, finding creative solutions to a problem, presenting information in a variety of ways and raising questions that have more than one possible answer. One of the most important strategies teachers should adopt refers to how they should express their feedback to learners’ responses. Since learning processes in different cultures are not the same, the manner in which they internalize and apply information may also be different. Hence, if a learner gives an incorrect answer, the teachers should ask themselves whether the error might derive from a cultural difference and explain it again accordingly. For example, it is common to draw Christmas images with snowflakes and fireplaces. But not all learners grow up in countries with snow at all. Likewise, if the teacher asks what season of the year Christmas is celebrated, many learners may answer winter; the answer the teacher was probably expecting to hear, but learners from the southern hemisphere might quite correctly say that it is celebrated during the summer. As mentioned and explained earlier, in order to properly assess the knowledge and skill acquisition among learners from different cultures, one should avoid the use of standardized tests as far as possible and apply alternative assessment that takes into consideration learners’ cultural background and mother tongue, wherever possible without detracting from the main purpose of the assessment.

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– Transdisciplinary teachers, like all teachers, should apply relevant integrative mediation in order to generate the desired cognitive changes among all their learners. When teaching in intercultural communities, they must place particular emphasis on mediation for meaning, transcendence, sharing, individuation and belonging. All these can be mediated during the initial stages, when learners are learning about themselves, their culture and about others. – Peer and community learning are the core characteristics of both transdisciplinary and intercultural education. Consequently, transdisciplinary teachers should develop learning strategies based on these core educational approaches. The learning strategies should be chosen so as to allow all learners to work together, challenging them to find bridges that emphasize the common denominators, while retaining their own cultural identity. This should and can be done throughout all school activities, as well as in some extracurricular programmes.

6.7

Implementing the 12 Parameters of Mediation in Intercultural Schools

The following examples of possible implementation of the 12 parameters of mediation aim to provide teachers and parents with some ideas for how to integrate mediation in an intercultural transdisciplinary learning community. Nevertheless, educators should bear in mind that all participants gain from the mediated interactions: mediators and mediates. Therefore, the mediated interactions can and should be planned and implemented while teaching the whole group of learners together or in groups which include different learners. Moreover, to promote inclusion in an intercultural environment, the mediation approach should become one of the main teaching methods all educators use in their lessons and not only by the transdisciplinary project leader. 1. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity The intention to modify and improve the mediatees’ cognitive and thinking skills is the basis for every mediation scenario. Nevertheless, in an intercultural environment, mediators must understand that thinking development is influenced by cultural experiences. Consequently, mediators should carefully define their intentions in order to avoid any conflict between mediatees’ cultural identity and the goal to modify their cognitive behaviour. The success of this parameter of mediation relies on mediatees’ willingness to take part in the learning, and they are expected to bring their experiences and insights to make it significant for everyone. While mediating through transdisciplinary teaching in an intercultural school, teachers should focus on the core knowledge the whole process will relate to and define the goal of the transdisciplinary learning in a way that will engage all learners, without excluding any group because of their culture. For example, when teaching about proper nutrition, the main intention mediators should aim to achieve will relate to the influence of proper

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integration of all major food groups on everyone’s health and proper growth. Nevertheless, although the topic is relevant for all, among intercultural learning groups, the examples the teachers use during mediation should be carefully chosen, since in some cultures there are restrictions regarding certain foods or food combinations. 2. Mediation for transcendence Transcendence is defined as the widening of the core learning beyond the specific context in which it was acquired. Whereas in most learning environments the mediators must create proper opportunities to demonstrate the meaning of transcendence, the intercultural environment naturally encourages such learning activities. Throughout transdisciplinary teaching, teachers can thus highlight examples from the various cultures, conveying how a certain principle can be transferred to other domains. For example, learning about the structure of a year, a core principle is the repetition of the number of days in each month and the number of months in each year. However, whereas the Gregorian calendar is based on the time it takes the Earth to circle the Sun, the Muslim calendar is lunar-based (thereby explaining why the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day, falls in a different Gregorian month every year). Through such mediation, the mediatees consistently broaden their cognitive and emotional repertoire, and the mediators’ role is to encourage them to look for new opportunities to apply what they have learned. In an integrated learning community, where intercultural education is inherent within transdisciplinary teaching, teachers must also mediate the reason for their choice of the main domain of knowledge, emphasizing the shared core knowledge of the disciplines involved and the differentiations that might exist among cultures, and motivate their learners to look for other domains to which these common principles might transcend. 3. Mediation for meaning Mediating for meaning is an inseparable part of the overall mediation for cognitive modifiability, and it is directed at specific needs of mediatees, while involving some emotional components. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should first know the mediatees beyond their academic achievements and develop positive communication and a trusting relationship with them. While mediating for meaning in an intercultural environment, the emotional aspects can be strengthened, because often the mediatees need to share their internal cultural perspectives in order to efficiently deliver of the core context of learning. Mediation for meaning increases the intrinsic motivation for reciprocity towards cognitive modifiability and thereby also strengthens the mediation for intentionality and transcendence. Furthermore, mediation for meaning strengthens mediation for intentionality. Thus, following the example of the mediation for intentionality, if teachers’ intentions are to promote knowledge regarding the relations between the correct integration of all major food groups and everyone’s health and proper growth, the mediation for meaning should relate to each of the learners and the food they eat at home and so forth.

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4. Mediation for the feelings of competence The feeling of competence is the key parameter that promotes learners’ ability to cope with cognitive and emotional challenges along with behavioural functioning. The feeling of competence derives specifically from the motivation to cope with situations where one is required to improve on one’s usual achievements. Given the subjective nature of the feeling of competence, mediators need to plan their intervention and mediation carefully, by also referring to the mediation for meaning. However, mediators should also mediate for competence without embarrassing the learners, as some of them might not feel comfortable being complimented publicly. While implementing new transdisciplinary methods in an intercultural environment may motivate many learners to cope with the new challenge, for others it may reduce the feeling of competence. Therefore, mediators must interpret each of the learners’ learning activities in a way that will help them understand the benefits to be gained by coping with new challenges. Moreover, they may also develop their awareness of ways to improve their coping with similar situations in the future. For example, learning new languages in intercultural communities is beneficial for all. But, for some learners, coping with such an academic challenge may cause a lack of the feeling of competence. Thus, transdisciplinary teachers may mediate the importance of this knowledge by incorporating in their lessons keywords from different languages to allow their learners to learn and use them as part of the daily learning process. Eventually, after learners develop a basic feeling of competence regarding learning new languages, specific learning options for different languages may be integrated into the school schedule. 5. Mediation for regulation and control of behaviour Regulation and control of behaviour promote one’s ability to conduct learning activities efficiently and therefore to succeed in a range of new learning challenges. Mediation for this type of cognitive behaviour in an intercultural classroom applying a transdisciplinary approach is essential in order to accelerate all learners’ orientation towards self-reflection and thus, to provide the necessary basis for teamwork, when needed, through learning. Teachers’ daily request to read an entire assignment before asking questions is a perfect opportunity to mediate for regulation and control of behaviour within an intercultural learning community. While this request is used as a general reading comprehension strategy, there are cultural and language perspectives that transdisciplinary teachers should consider. For example, learners who were taught that when they have an individual assignment, they should do it all on their own without asking anything as the assessment won’t be relevant for them will not ask their teachers anything. Another example refers to a learning strategy taught in many cultures such as when learners read a word they do not understand, they should stop and look for its meaning before they continue reading. For this group of learners, it will be frustrating to control their behaviour and not approach their teachers with questions. Additionally, this parameter of mediation offers opportunities to create the cognitive prerequisites needed to improve

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learners’ ability to learn and implement a new variety of thinking skills in an intercultural classroom according to transdisciplinary methods. 6. Mediation for sharing behaviour Becoming a member of an intercultural society requires willingness to reach out beyond one’s individual perceptions of cultural identity towards sharing with others one’s thinking and emotional processes. Additionally, this process aims to allow others to share their own cultural perceptions, thoughts and emotions. Since both transdisciplinary teaching and intercultural education are based on exchanging information, this is a perfect opportunity for mediating for sharing behaviour. Nevertheless, this process involves both cultural and psychological factors, and mediators should be aware of the processes their mediatees are undergoing at this stage. Moreover, they should be aware that some cultures do not encourage sharing behaviour and may even restrict it. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers and mediators in intercultural learning communities should not force sharing behaviour for thoughts and feelings, although they may mediate towards its advantages in specific social and learning situations. 7. Mediation for individuation and psychological differentiation Understanding your culture from a variety of perspectives and developing your cultural identity along with accepting others is the basis for developing a positive intercultural environment but is also the basis for mediating for individuation. This process is based on enhancing the mediation of sharing behaviour and the sense of competence, because of the feeling of trust and security learners develop towards their environment. Nevertheless, while learners develop their unique identity, the mediators’ role is to ensure they also mediate for the feeling of belonging that will promote efficient transdisciplinary learning. The learning scenario transdisciplinary teachers and mediators should aim for is the development of a learning group in which learners need to discuss together how to solve different dilemmas, while allowing every member of the group to express and explain their opinions while listening and learning one from another. 8. Mediation for goal-seeking, goal-setting and goal-achieving behaviour Seeking a goal is an integral part of intercultural and transdisciplinary learning environments, given the variety of opportunities one has to learn in such environments and develop the feeling of competence. Both teachers and learners are challenged while seeking the core learning goal during transdisciplinary learning in the disciplines involved, but these challenges can be solved in an intercultural environment when learners are mediated to look for goals that enrich their lives as learning entities. Nevertheless, learners who come from extremely religious environments or from dictatorial environments are not used to looking for innovative and creative goals, and they should be carefully mediated to do so, without harming the cultural norms in their homes. Strategies that promote better organization of information and time management can contribute to the efficiency of such mediation.

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9. Mediation for challenge: the search for novelty and complexity Both transdisciplinary teaching and intercultural education are based on recognizing and managing new learning situations, which obliges mediators to promote learners’ cognitive flexibility and modifiability. To succeed in such a cognitive modifiability process, educators should aim to promote their learners’ awareness that they can change and modify their own behaviour when needed, in order to achieve their goals. This can be achieved when transdisciplinary mediators focus on the ability to address rather than avoid novel and complex challenges in intercultural classes, while leading mediatees to become aware of the challenges they currently face and challenges that they might face in the future. Likewise the challenge through mediation for goal seeking, for learners who come from a very religious or dictatorial environment, this parameter of mediation may be also a challenge, because it requires people to find the power to change within themselves, and not according to outside authority. 10. Mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity Following the core aim of mediation for awareness of the human being as a changing entity, transdisciplinary teachers in intercultural classes should mediate throughout and towards the end of each session that modifiability is a uniquely human feature that allows for adaptation and flexibility through learning. The emphasis of the mediation process should be on the cognitive changes each learner goes through in order to promote their independent learning in the future. In an intercultural environment, these changes should be planned to occur as a result of social learning activities in order to emphasize how intercultural education contributes to everyone. Mediators should also look for signs of change among their mediatees and make them aware of how they have changed in order to help them make other changes on their own in the future. Whereas previous parameters of mediation referred specifically to learners’ feeling of competence and motivation to deal with a variety of learning challenges, this parameter of mediation refers to learners’ reflections on their learning abilities. It also presents the core belief that as a result of the learning, everyone will be cognitively modified – both educators and learners. 11. Mediation for the search for optimistic alternatives Transdisciplinary teaching implemented in intercultural schools provides opportunities to consider a range of dilemmas pertaining to several domains of knowledge that also derive from cultural differences, along with proposing several solutions. Mediation for the search for an optimistic alternative through learning requires learners’ cognitive ability to examine several options before making a decision and therefore also encourages modifying cognitive structure, creativity and flexible thinking. This parameter of mediation also motivates for dynamic, active and creative approaches that cause learners to continue to act that way independently later on in life. Following the challenges detailed regarding the mediation for goal seeking and mediation for challenge in intercultural communities, the mediation for optimistic alternatives should also be conducted with proper sensitivity to learners’ backgrounds.

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Summary and Possible Implementations. . .

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12. Mediation for the feeling of belonging Living and learning in intercultural environments can be efficiently and significantly promoted by the mediation for the feeling of belonging. Whereas this parameter of mediation stands on its own, it can be implemented only on the basis of all previous 11 parameters. Nevertheless, it mostly serves as a substantial link that strengthens mediation for transcendence and gives perspective to the regulation of one’s behaviour. The goal of this process of mediation is to promote learners’ readiness to broaden their views beyond the immediacy of their own experiences and motivate them to cooperate with all participants.

6.8

Summary and Possible Implementations of Figs. 6.1 and 6.2 for Planning and Conducting Transdisciplinary Learning While Mediating in Intercultural Learning Communities

Developing schools that promote and implement intercultural visions and values is a long and complex process that requires ongoing cooperation between all school staff, the community and the learners themselves. As a result of international migration, many schools have learners from different cultures, but this is not what makes the school intercultural. Having learners from different cultures in the same educational environment is merely the trigger for developing intercultural schools,

Fig. 6.1 Teacher preparation for transdisciplinary teaching

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Fig. 6.2 Transdisciplinary teachers’ planning routine

since interculturalism can be also implemented in almost homogeneous communities as well. Moreover, as explained in Chaps. 1 and 2, having learners from different cultures together and not implementing an intercultural teaching approach is similar to having learners with special needs integrated in mainstream schools but without implementing any methods of inclusion. Comparable to these processes, transdisciplinary teachers have to plan and implement their educational vision in order to develop their learners’ necessary thinking and social skills for daily transdisciplinary learning. Although, at first glance, integrating the above two educational methods may seem simple, educators need to explore them both, develop significant understanding of them and then plan ways to mediate the core learning processes as efficiently as possible. Moreover, transdisciplinary teachers must understand the cultural diversity among their learners and use that diversity as an opportunity to promote the transdisciplinary intercultural school they wish to develop. As explained earlier and presented again in Fig. 6.1 below, the overall perspective of inclusion in transdisciplinary schools, which refers to all factors that are relevant and influence transdisciplinary teaching, serves as a basis for any teaching preparations. This figure presents how transdisciplinary teachers can integrate all sources of information in order to successfully plan their teaching while efficiently including learners who come from different cultures. Planning general mediated interactions is the basis for mediated learning in relation to specific knowledge content. Additionally, mediators should focus on

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Main Learning Topic

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the thinking skills they wish mainly to impart through the transdisciplinary activities they plan. In accordance with Fig. 6.1 and with reference to the comprehension of what intercultural education means, alongside mediating for thinking development, below is a suggestion for planning and conducting transdisciplinary learning with learners in a ninth-grade class that contains a number of immigrants. Another perspective that transdisciplinary teachers should bear in mind is that nowadays, in mainstream schools around the world, in addition to learners coming from different cultural backgrounds, learners with special needs are also included, and it is the teachers’ role to promote their social and cognitive inclusion as well. Nevertheless, the example presented below refers only to the aspect of interculturalism, whereas reference to specific special needs is found in the previous chapters in this book.

6.9

Main Learning Topic

Interculturalism and the development of learning communities (subtopic of social studies)

6.9.1

The Learners (From the Perspective of Their Cultural Background)

A mainstream class of 34 ninth graders, 5 of whom immigrated with their families over the past 3 years from different countries, and they are able to read, write and communicate in the local language, 2 others arrived only a few months ago and are likely to stay for only 2 years as part of their parents’ work relocation. They speak the local language fairly well, while still needing some assistance with reading and writing, but have no difficulties doing so in their native language. Seven other learners were born in this country and are the first generation in their families to receive their citizenship automatically. From the religious perspective, none of the learners are particularly observant, but most of them keep the core elements of their holidays. Four of the learners are Muslim, three are Jewish, and the rest of the class belong to various Christian denominations.

6.9.2

The Transdisciplinary Teachers

The transdisciplinary teachers must begin their planning by asking themselves what they know or do not know, how deep their understanding is about the learners’ religious and cultural backgrounds and about the languages they use for learning and communication at home and at school. While collecting the above information,

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teachers also need to ask themselves how the learners’ thinking skills may differ, if at all, and what type of mediation they need in order to better integrate in school while retaining and developing their cultural identity. Following the above and bearing in mind that these are ninth graders, the teachers must outline the core thinking processes, knowledge and values that underlie the main topic they are about to teach from the transdisciplinary perspective: interculturalism and the development of learning communities. In order to mediate this topic effectively, focusing on comparison as the main thinking skill to be developed will allow learners better understanding of the uniqueness and the similarity among them and thus to develop intercultural communities. At the same time, transdisciplinary teachers should also check what they know about their own cultural and religious backgrounds while reflecting on their strengths and obstacles that evolve from their own cultural identity, in order to recognize what may support or hamper efficient learning of the main topic. Accordingly, they should gather and lead their colleagues who will participate in teaching the theme of ‘Interculturalism and the development of learning communities’ in their classes. Finally, as part of the preparations and throughout the teaching, the transdisciplinary teachers must carefully plan how to implement the 12 parameters of mediation and all that is relevant to the topic, to all their learners, no matter what their cultural roots are.

6.9.3

The Colleagues (Partners in the Transdisciplinary Teaching)

After gathering the teachers who wish to learn how to implement the transdisciplinary approach in their classes and work in collaboration with other teachers, the main topic to be studied must be introduced to all. Then, each participant must examine his/her own cultural identity in order to promote the interculturalism approach with no barriers. Next, all participants must learn about the cultural background of their learners, while making sure they understand relevant cultural nuances. Thus, when wishing to integrate learners from different cultures to build the intercultural community, all participants must learn about everyone’s cultural background and norms. The main topic – interculturalism and the development of learning communities – is usually related solely to the domain of social studies. Nevertheless, while aiming to develop learning communities with teenagers who study in ninth grade, all transdisciplinary collaborators should learn the core knowledge and philosophy related to interculturalism in order to brainstorm among themselves and with their learners. In this scenario, while the social studies teacher is the leader of this specific transdisciplinary process, the other teachers should follow the core ideas of the topic while cultivating the cognitive skills they all agreed upon. Additionally, the teachers must also follow the core goals of the national curricula. For example, all teachers can use the main concepts of the topic: culture, interculturalism, learning and

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Main Learning Topic

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community, during their lessons. While mediating for intentionality and meaning, the concepts of learning and learning in groups in all lessons, learners will apply and assimilate instances of transcendence from one domain to another. In addition, the literature teacher can integrate stories that allow learning about different cultures, while translating the main concepts into different languages and teaching the ‘synonyms’ to all learners. The science teacher, for example, may teach about cultural norms of behaviour among animals or plants, and the math teacher may refer to the ways statistical information about different cultural parameters are presented. All the above examples for teaching should be implemented with caution, while remembering the cultural differences among the learners and mediating for individuation, sharing and belonging.

6.9.4

Educational and Social Goals and Teaching Strategies

As mentioned above, the topic of ‘Interculturalism and the development of learning communities’ is usually taught as part of social studies; however, the topic invites transdisciplinary teaching just from the core concepts of ‘interculturalism’ and ‘community’ that cannot be implemented on the basis of one domain. Choosing this topic as the main learning project for transdisciplinary teaching derives also from the fact that these are ninth graders who are usually at a cognitive and emotional stage in which they investigate themselves and look for opportunities to develop their self-identity and independence. Therefore, while learning and investigating interculturalism in a class of learners from different cultures, there is a great opportunity to enhance their ability to compare, by leading them through a selfreflection process through which they will develop their own cultural identity along with their empathy towards other cultures. Additionally, the concept of community can also be studied deeply with meaningful mediation for these learners who are already looking at the future and aim to become independent in the community in which they live. Thus, the main educational goal should focus on developing deep understanding of a variety of cultures and recognizing the similarities and differences between them. Given the complexity of the topic and the emotional perspectives that may be followed, developing a transdisciplinary learning process based on this topic is cognitively challenging for everyone. From the examples above, it is evident that this topic can easily be studied from the perspective of a variety of other domains. Nevertheless, just because of the seeming simplicity of this integration, transdisciplinary teachers must carefully choose which domains of knowledge to integrate and at which stage of the learning. This is in order to avoid overwhelming learning processes that may cause overgeneralization and lack of internalization of principles and values for the future. Moreover, transdisciplinary teachers must remember that emotional aspects play a significant role among learners, and so they need to integrate learning strategies that enable monitoring of their effects while providing opportunities to express them. Dealing with such a challenge can be done in several

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ways. For example, at the beginning of the school year, the transdisciplinary teachers can present to their learners their plans for the community activities of the classmates, by integrating the holidays and the significant cultural dates of all learners. This can be done with additional links to how other cultures may celebrate the same values but in different ways and at different times. Through this process, teachers present how they considered each one of the learners’ cultures and the relations of this process for future communities. They can also ask the learners what other important dates they wish to integrate in this year’s planning. Moreover, as part of the mediation for individuation and for sharing, each of the holidays or any other significant date of any culture will be celebrated with all learners in the intercultural learning community they develop. Educational goals should focus on expanding all learners’ knowledge and understanding regarding the meaning of interculturalism and how it evolved from the dynamic population changes around the world. Considering the age of the learners, this discussion can also relate to economic changes around the world or even political perspectives. Efficient and meaningful understanding of interculturalism can be achieved by mediating for individuation along with sharing and belonging, while also providing opportunities for all immigrant learners to share why their families came to that country and how they feel with their unique culture. Additional mediation can address awareness of the human being as a changing entity, because of the different identity each one has but how they change as a learning community and what are the differences between their cultural identity and their class community identity. In addition to the comprehensive transdisciplinary teaching of a specific content, as explained earlier and presented again in Fig. 6.2, transdisciplinary teachers should plan their teaching using a routine that includes all the parameters that allow efficient inclusion of learners from different cultures in transdisciplinary learning communities. Moreover, this routine will allow all educators to be efficient through all their planning and implementing their transdisciplinary teaching. Beginning with understanding learners’ cultural characteristics, transdisciplinary teachers may continue to define relevant learning goals along with focusing on the thinking skills and learning strategies they wish to teach. Then, teachers can plan efficient transdisciplinary learning processes which include the necessary mediation parameters. Finally, transdisciplinary teachers should plan how they will monitor and assess their learners’ acquisition of knowledge and skills, considering their cultural differences and integrating relevant accommodations, when possible. To conclude, planning and implementing transdisciplinary teaching methods that aim to promote the development of inclusive environments while focusing on interculturalism may and should raise some social challenges in addition to the academic ones that refer only to pure learning processes. But, dealing with the challenges openly while respecting everyone’s point of view as all participants share the same goal of developing intercultural learning communities provides a unique learning process from which everyone will benefit in the future.

Chapter 7

Summary

Over the last two decades, both the transdisciplinary teaching approach and the desire of society to include people with special needs to a greater extent have developed through persistent efforts made by educators around the world. While those who push for the implementation of transdisciplinary teaching focus on new methods of teaching and learning, the awareness of the social need to include learners with special needs in mainstream schools has increased as well. Understanding the essential role that well-developed thinking skills play in learners’ lives led to the search for pedagogical methods that might assist educators to promote the development of these skills in class. Thus, beyond the important pedagogical theories, educators also looked for ways to practically implement such methods in different domains of knowledge among all learners. These efforts are also advanced through activities that accelerated social awareness from a variety of perspectives, education studies, scholars’ awareness and legislation. Hence, while each of them has been researched separately, this book derives from my belief that they should be integrated and implemented as one, a belief that has merged as a result of my years of practicing and researching these topics. My unique addition presented in this book is the essential need to integrate mediation procedures that will contribute to everyone’s thinking development, whether or not they are diagnosed with one or more special needs. The transdisciplinary approach refers to the dynamic relations or connections created between different disciplines or topics in order to solve different problems, create new knowledge or a new perspective of existing knowledge and enable effective learning (Laach et al., 2020). This is based on the conclusion that effective learning develops from collaboration among researchers, scholars and teachers of different disciplines and learners (Tarafdar & Davison, 2018). Given this information and the fact that knowledge is now accumulating much faster than it did a few decades ago, the role of educators should be redefined as focusing on teaching thinking skills and tools to help integrate and apply available information (Flavian, 2020). Nevertheless, although researchers and scholars consistently share the new © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 H. Flavian, Transdisciplinary Teaching in Inclusive Schools, Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52509-4_7

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knowledge with educators in order to promote updated and structured curricula, they should always leave opportunities to change these educational programs in light of unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic that may hamper and affect the possibilities to implement the conclusions of these studies (Aljedaani et al., 2023). Nevertheless, the range of perspectives of the advantages and challenges transdisciplinary teaching may encounter is based on teachers’ actual experiences, and it changes dramatically from one culture to another. Although everyone’s experiences are important and we can all learn from them, one should not be afraid of beginning the process, because no harm will come to learners if educators work as a team, recognize their learners’ strengths and challenges and adapt lesson content to all relevant factors that affect both the teaching and the learning. Parallel to these processes of understanding the restructured role of educators, larger numbers of learners with diverse special needs are being integrated into mainstream classes. Pushing integration towards inclusion, learners with special needs are being included in many classes, and educators, once again, need to manage their role as teachers of a specific domain along with being educators who can respond to all their learners’ needs. Therefore, the major challenge teachers face is the implementation of suitable teaching methods in a heterogenous class, while understanding the need to adjust their teaching strategies to address all their learners: those who include others and those who are included. Implementing transdisciplinary teaching as the core teaching method in general while including learners with special needs gives rise to several challenges for all participants. However, as presented in this book, carefully designed lesson plans and mediated interactions should provide the affordances to create enjoyable and interesting modes of interaction that boost learners’ motivation (Boutsika, 2014). Furthermore, this book offers a broader look at practical challenges encountered while trying to implement both transdisciplinary and inclusion methods for learners with different types of cognitive, sensory, emotional and social needs. For efficient implementation of my approach, in each chapter I focused on different challenges learners and educators deal with in schools, offering ways to develop a mediated inclusive environment in transdisciplinary schools and in the society in which the learners live. As presented in Fig. 1 (Preface), the fact that people with special needs live in a community does not necessarily promote their inclusion. Inclusion is a process in which both those with special needs and the rest of the community members modify their perspective and practical behaviour in order to enact reciprocal interactions. Moreover, inclusion is an ongoing process that dynamically changes according to the needs of the members of the community. Chapter 1 sought to clarify the meaning of the transdisciplinary approach, pointing out its main advantages and challenges. Recognizing these points of view, along with understanding the challenges educators deal with while wishing to promote learners’ thinking development and prepare them for their future, is the basis for this book. In Chap. 2, I presented different approaches to the meaning of thinking skills, along with the mediation approach and the meaning of teaching strategies. The 12 parameters for thinking development through mediation were presented, along with suggestions as to how to implement them as part of the

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transdisciplinary teaching. These parameters of mediation are the basis for all mediated interactions in all areas of life. However, in order to be able to integrate the mediation approach as a way of life, educators should continue learning and practicing implementation of the mediation parameters. Additionally, a key contribution of this book is that it provides an integrative model to allow transdisciplinary teachers to better prepare their lessons while focusing on their learners’ cognitive, social or other special needs (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2). Subsequently, each chapter reintroduces these figures while discussing and explaining how to efficiently include learners with different kinds of special needs. One of the core parameters that underlie the inclusion of learners with special needs in general and specifically through transdisciplinary teaching is educators’ understanding of the meaning of the learners’ special needs. Several scholars (Alsubaie, 2015; Rushton et al., 2019) point out that many veteran educators were not exposed to different types of learners during their preservice training, which took place before the trend of inclusion began, and thus need to acquire this knowledge ‘on the job’. To encourage such an important process of preparation and proper planning of teaching strategies, transdisciplinary teachers must use their collaborative community to share information about learners’ special needs and what efficient accommodations they can use. The sharing of such information is important beyond the basic knowledge about the disorders, since such learners present unique challenges for educators, while they themselves may suffer psychologically, socially and academically due to their unique and difficult circumstances; it is important, since these difficulties can only be overcome through efficient collaboration among everyone involved. Learners’ special needs discussed in this book are all in reference to the main aim of promoting implementation of transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive environments, based on mediating for thinking development. The main special needs that are presented in the book were chosen because of their frequency in mainstream education worldwide. Nevertheless, we know that other learners with other special needs are included in mainstream schools as well. Therefore, educators are welcome to learn from the examples I present throughout this book and have summarized in Table 7.1 below, in order to develop other practical methods to include all their learners according to their special needs and the educational inclusive community they live in. In the chapter on learners with ADHD (Chap. 3), I relate to the implications of the deficiency as a broad-spectrum disorder that affects a large percentage of young learners and adults, where some of the most common symptoms include hyperactivity, impulsive behaviour, inattentiveness and a lack of concentration (Kooij et al., 2019). Beyond their challenges in academic learning, learners with ADHD are also challenged when learning social norms, which often results in the presentation of some emotional difficulties. Due to the complexity of their disorder, teamwork and collaboration among their transdisciplinary teachers, their parents and their therapists may promote their social learning and thereby enhance both their social and academic inclusion (Rushton et al., 2019). Whereas transdisciplinary learning environments encourage educators to develop a variety of teaching methods and unique

Learners with ADHD should only have visual elements that are relevant to the domains they are studying

Minimum auditory stimuli and suitable acoustic environments contribute significantly to most learners with ADHD

It is important to focus on the core behavioural norms that are expected in class, given the difficulties most learners have with monitoring their behaviour. Gradually, teachers may add more required norms

Organizing the learning environment from the auditory perspective

Managing classroom behaviour norms

Learners with ADHD

Organizing the learning environment from the visual perspective

Transdisciplinary teaching strategy

Clearly defined behavioural norms provide a stable basis for the academic and social inclusion of learners with ASD. But, because of their difficulties implementing transcendence, teachers must mediate the meaning of each norm and where and how to implement it

Most learners with ASD need to learn in quiet areas in order to monitor the stimuli around them. Thus, when auditory information is needed, teachers should make sure to implement pre-mediation for meaning for the use of the auditory sources

Learners with ASD are characterized as being predominantly concrete thinkers. Therefore, educators should use visual elements that have clear links to the topic they are teaching

Learners with ASD

Having clear behavioural norms allows better adjustment for all learners, and no particular adaptations are required for learners with either vision or hearing impairments

For learners with severe vision impairments, visual elements must be created with clear colours and contain only the important elements. Learners with hearing challenges do not need any accommodations in the visual environment Learners with vision impairments need auditory sources of information, and therefore it is essential for them. For learners with hearing impairments, auditory information must be monitored according to their hearing challenges. Nevertheless, auditory stimuli are not relevant for deaf learners

Learners with vision or hearing challenges

There are no specific advantages or disadvantages for the use of auditory sources among intercultural learners. Nevertheless, while integrating music which is relevant to a learning topic, educators should mediate the logical links in order to avoid uncomfortable feelings among any of the learners Having clear behavioural norms allows better adjustment for all learners. For learners who come from different cultures, it is important to mediate the aim and meaning of each norm, in light of the differences among countries

Educators should learn about their learners’ cultural backgrounds and thus must pay attention that none of the visual decorations in class offend any of the learners

Intercultural learning environment

Table 7.1 Integrative summary of practical transdisciplinary teaching strategies for implementation in inclusive learning environments

138 7 Summary

Efficient organization of information is one of the major challenges for learners with ADHD, and therefore it is essential for teachers to mediate this strategy

Specific strategies for efficient organization of information

Sharing the core milestones of each lesson or unit of study

Understanding the main idea and goal of a lesson provides learners with ADHD with the knowledge of what to focus on and, thus, minimizes their tendency to deal with several issues at the same time. Additionally, if their impulsive behaviour has caused them to lose their focus, having a clear main goal will allow them to monitor their behaviour Learners with ADHD need to know the milestones of the lessons in order to efficiently organize their learning and monitor their cognitive behaviours

Presenting the main idea of the lesson

A well-organized schedule with concrete milestones is essential for efficient learning processes among those with ASD. These milestones should be mediated through clear mediation for meaning and integration of several sources of information to avoid an episodic grasp of reality While strategies for organizing information are essential for all learners, teachers should mediate them to learners with ASD while also emphasizing the need to apply the strategies flexibly, modifying them according to each particular situation. This is because of the tendency towards fixation that is typical of learners with ASD

Learners with ASD need a clear idea and understanding of the meaning of the learning process in order to cooperate with their teachers and classmates

Understanding the core milestones of a lesson promotes the efficiency of learning. But, for learners with vision impairments, mediating the milestones must be through auditory channels, whereas for learners with hearing impairments, they must be mediated through visual tools In order to allow learners with either vision or hearing impairments to use strategies for organizing information efficiently, they should be mediated and modified according to the learners’ needs and be presented in the most suitable modality

Having a clear understanding of the main idea and goal of the lesson allows better adjustment for all learners. Nevertheless, for learners with either vision or hearing impairments, this information allows them better learning while using accommodations through learning

Summary

(continued)

Organizing information using different methods is extremely important for all learners. In intercultural learning environments, teachers should make sure that the core elements and concepts of organization are understood by all learners

Learners from different cultures use milestones to promote their learning like every other learner. However, teachers must ensure that all the concepts related to those milestones are clearly mediated and properly understood by everyone in the class

Given that learners from different cultures often apply different learning processes they are used to, understanding the core idea of the lesson promotes their efficient learning in an intercultural environment

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Mediating the meaning and implementation of abstract concepts

Integration of several sources of information

Transdisciplinary teaching strategy

Table 7.1 (continued)

While integrating several sources of information is one of the core elements of efficient learning in general and especially for transdisciplinary work that is based on researching one topic from different points of view, developing such a skill among learners with ADHD is essential because of their tendency to skip to many sources of information in parallel but without any logical process. For example, when learning about the effects of weather on agriculture, they may investigate different types of weather or agriculture but will not make the integration to conclude the links between them Since learners with ADHD tend to look at small details and use concrete concepts, this often causes them to use complicated sentences that are not well organized or express themselves unclearly. Thus, understanding the meaning of abstract concepts, how they efficiently organize concrete

Learners with ADHD

Learners with ASD are characterized with concrete thinking and expression that actually limit their thinking and communication. Therefore, teachers must use strategies to promote the development of abstract thinking that will promote their ability to look for similarity between concrete

One of the main characteristics of learners with ASD is their tendency to focus on one thing at a time. Therefore, it is important to mediate to them how to use learning strategies that will allow them to refer to several sources of information in order to achieve a goal

Learners with ASD

The lack of access to information that either learners with visual or hearing impairments experience may limit the understanding and use of language among these learners. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should mediate the meaning of the abstract concepts through a variety of

Learners with either vision or hearing impairments experience difficulties when they need to refer to more than one source of information. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers should encourage them to face this challenge while providing relevant strategies once they are modified to the learners’ needs

Learners with vision or hearing challenges

Using language properly is one of the main challenges learners from different countries and cultures deal with. Therefore, transdisciplinary teachers need to mediate the meaning of the abstract concepts, where possible, referring specifically to the mother tongue of each learner

In addition to the fact that all learners need to learn how to efficiently collect and integrate data from different sources, it is essential to mediate and promote the development of this skill among learners who come from different cultures. Thus, in many cases, learners tend to translate everything to their mother tongue or to compare the use of core concepts, and they need strategies that will lead their way in integrating only the relevant information

Intercultural learning environment

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Promoting creativity

Expressing knowledge in writing

Thanks to their associative thinking, learners with ADHD tend to be very creative. Thus, integrating learning strategies that aim to develop learners’ creativity allows these learners to use their strengths and even to support others who are challenged in this area.

concepts and how to use them properly provides learners with ADHD the tools to deal with their challenges in monitoring the use of language Because learners with ADHD tend to have associative thinking, organizing the knowledge they have acquired in the form of coherent writing is extremely challenging. Thus, providing them with explicit strategies for structured writing will allow them to better express their knowledge both while learning and answering open-ended questions in exams. An efficient way to mediate this strategy is to provide a general pattern of written texts to demonstrate acceptable formats for various types of writing

In order to overcome the concrete thinking that characterizes learners with ASD, educators should integrate assignments that will encourage learners with ASD to think ‘out of the box’. This can be done by asking learners to give several possible solutions for

Sharing and expressing knowledge are challenging skills for learners with ASD who are characterized with egocentric perspectives and lack of motivation to express their knowledge. By mediating how to clearly express knowledge, thoughts, etc., in a variety of situations, transdisciplinary teachers can motivate them to overcome these challenges

concepts and organized events and express themselves properly

Expressing knowledge in writing is an essential thinking skill all learners need to acquire, including learners with vision impairments. This can be based on the use of braille or any other adaptive technology. For learners with hearing impairments, their challenges in learning language affect their writing skills, and therefore they should be mediated how to use writing skills efficiently. One key strategy might be to encourage those learners to ask other learners to ‘read aloud’ their written texts, in sign language, and then to reflect whether or not this was what they wanted to express Although learners with either vision or hearing impairments are probably born with the ability to develop creative thinking, their sensory impairment might hamper the development of this ability. Thus, their teachers should specifically mediate for the

modalities that will compensate for the sensory impairment

Summary (continued)

Creative thinking is essential for the development of higherorder thinking skills, and although intercultural learners may experience some challenges as a result of their cultural differences, educators must look for creative methods to mediate for

The need to mediate to learners from different cultures and the use of strategies to express knowledge in writing promote their thinking skills along with their use of the language that is the medium of instruction. Moreover, in reference to the goal of promoting inclusive intercultural learning environments, teachers may encourage learners to refer to a variety of perceptions while expressing their own in writing

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Although learners with ADHD are challenged with individual learning, their teachers should promote this teaching strategy in order to develop this important skill these learners will need in the future

Promoting individual learning

Learners with ASD like to learn on their own, mainly because of their limited social interaction skills. Therefore, their teachers should provide them the opportunities to study individually in order to promote their learning. Nevertheless, this should not be offered

Developing social interactions is one of the core challenges for learners with ASD. Looking at their need to be included in society in the future, their educators should integrate as many learning activities as possible that promote peer learning and social interactions

one dilemma, while learning individually. Alternatively, it can be done by encouraging group work which allows all learners to express their different perspectives

Nevertheless, these assignments should be followed by strategies for efficient organization of information, in order to better monitor their work

Working with others is another strength of learners with ADHD. Therefore, implementing this teaching strategy will allow these learners to become leaders and organize their peers in learning groups and activities that will emphasize their strengths and also promote their feeling of competence

Learners with ASD

Learners with ADHD

Peer learning and group activities while promoting social interactions and communication skills

Transdisciplinary teaching strategy

Table 7.1 (continued)

Having either vision or hearing impairments is a source of challenges when it comes to social interactions and thus the ability to learn in groups. Aiming to efficiently include them in society, educators should integrate learning activities that promote peer learning and social interactions, while providing all learners with the relevant skills and means for effective communication Learners with either hearing or vision impairments are usually dependent on others in order to overcome their sensory challenges. Therefore, it is essential to also promote their selfconfidence to become independent and integrate step-by-

development of their creative thinking skills by encouraging them to study with other learners, where all learners share different ways to reach a certain goal

Learners with vision or hearing challenges

Even though inclusion processes are essential in intercultural communities, it is also important to promote individual learning in order to strengthen everyone’s learning and thinking skills

creative thinking. For example, sharing different perspectives that evolve from learners’ cultural backgrounds not only promotes learners’ creative thinking but also strengthens the feeling of belonging of all learners Peer learning is one of the most effective teaching strategies that can promote inclusion of learners from different countries. But, prior to the implementation of this strategy, teachers must make sure that all learners have the basic communication tools and that they all respect the cultural differences among them

Intercultural learning environment

142 7 Summary

Promoting the thinking skill of comparison

Comparison requires one’s thinking ability to collect information systematically from several sources according to specific criteria and draw conclusions regarding the information gathered. Learners with ADHD are easily distracted by irrelevant elements and thus are challenged when they need to make comparisons. Therefore, it is essential that their teachers promote this strategy as much as possible by mediating all the steps they need to implement

as the only option for learning but as a basis for peer and group learning Given the concrete thinking typical of learners with ASD, they find it challenging to use abstract concepts and find links between events, both of which underpin efficient comparison processes. To promote their abilities to make comparisons, their teachers should offer relevant learning opportunities for a variety of content In order to conduct an efficient comparison process, learners should collect relevant information from a variety of perspectives, using abstract concepts. For example, even when learners with vision impairment are asked a question regarding to what they would like to wear, they need to understand the concept of weather, structure of the clothes and colours they wish to adopt, in order to dress appropriately. For learners with hearing impairments, the most challenging abstract concept is sound, which, for example, is relevant when comparing the strength of rainfall. Because learners with either vision or hearing impairments are challenged when required to use abstract concepts and collect information based on those concepts, they should be mediated as to how to conduct comparisons in a manner that will eventually enable them to do so independently

step individual learning activities Learners from different cultures may refer to the same concept differently partly as a result of the differences between mother tongue and the language of instruction. Thus, in order to promote efficient use of comparison procedures, teachers should mediate the differential meaning of the core abstract concepts along with their core common meaning

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learning spaces, for learners with ADHD, it is essential, precisely because of their different needs when it comes to focusing their attention on learning. Learners with ASD are an additional issue addressed from the integration of the transdisciplinary, mediation and inclusion approaches. In Chap. 4, I focus on how to conduct effective transdisciplinary teaching with learners with ASD, based on the understanding of the challenges learners with ASD face. This entails practical perspectives to allow schools to promote the success of these learners while maximizing their potential and eliminating or lessening their challenges in the classroom that can be problematic from academic, emotional or social perspectives. Learners with ASD are characterized mainly with having social difficulties, since their behaviour can be interpreted incorrectly as problematic by teachers and classmates alike (Robertson et al., 2003). The transdisciplinary approach, as presented in this book along with parameters of mediation, offers educators ways in which they can relate positively and connect to their learners with ASD as well as improve classmates’ perception of them, thereby promoting their academic and social successes in mainstream education. Chapter 5 is dedicated to learners with sensory impairments, focusing on hearing or vision challenges. Proper sensory development plays an essential role in shaping people’s understanding of their environment and in ensuring acquisition of all the basic executive functions and thinking skills they will need for learning throughout life (Hudson et al., 2020). Of the five senses, the two crucial ones that have a significant impact on learning capabilities are vision and hearing. While learners with vision and hearing impairments have been included in schools for many years, educators often lack the knowledge of how to teach them effectively so that they can advance both academically and socially and will be able to study with their classmates throughout the school day. Nevertheless, although these impairments may lead to severe social, academic and psychological challenges compared to their peers, with slight accommodations in teaching techniques, classroom supplies and setup and teamwork between teaching assistants and teachers can mitigate many of these difficulties (Brown, 2020). Furthermore, the variety of learning spaces transdisciplinary teachers develop can enable efficient inclusion of learners with vision or hearing impairments, compared to regular schools. Interculturalism is a parameter that now characterizes many schools around the world, given the many reasons that allow and motivate people to change their country of residence. Recognizing the fact that culture and environment impact learners’ ways of thinking and learning, as presented in Chap. 6, led to the understanding that learners from different cultures must be approached differently with the intention of efficiently developing their thinking skills. Thus, educators should adjust their teaching through the use of a variety of strategies that will facilitate thinking development, peer learning and interculturalism for all their learners (PaulBinyamin & Reingold, 2020). Thus, the special attention educators must pay while planning their lessons in intercultural schools led me to decide to dedicate a chapter to interculturalism in a book that deals with transdisciplinary teaching and inclusion of learners with special needs. Furthermore, learning and recognizing the uniqueness of learners from different cultures alongside looking for the commonalities among

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them within transdisciplinary schools that emphasize the uniqueness of each domain along with the commonality to others highlight the need to have this chapter in the book. As mentioned earlier, each chapter in the book is dedicated to a different group of learners with special needs. But, in practice, transdisciplinary teachers will probably discover that their classes contain learners with more than one type of special needs, or some learners with different deficiencies. Understanding and accordingly planning interventions that will advance the inclusion of learners with comorbidity is a complex challenge, but it can be conducted more simply with educators’ ongoing learning about the various deficiencies that learners have. This significant challenge can be optimally solved when teachers assimilate the transdisciplinary and the mediation approaches as their integral professional identity and constantly look for strategies that can promote learning among all their learners, including, of course, those not defined with any special need. Indeed, transdisciplinary teachers will find that the emphasis they choose to support their learners with special needs will invariably be of great benefit to the other members of the class. Additionally, integrating these topics throughout teacher education programs, along with guiding practice in a variety of learning environments, will promote educators’ feelings of self-efficacy, so that they will continue to look for opportunities to implement the transdisciplinary approach in inclusive schools. Furthermore, all examples presented throughout this book aim to provide the basis for innovative ideas for other educators who wish to implement these methods and teaching strategies in their classes. Table 7.1 above summarizes and integrates the core teaching and learning strategies that I mentioned in the various chapters, while focusing on their contribution for the different special needs. But instead of focusing on one special need as I did in each chapter, this table presents how each strategy can contribute to different learners with different needs. Implementing these strategies in heterogeneous inclusive transdisciplinary learning environments will contribute to all learners’ thinking development, even if they are not diagnosed with any specific challenge. It is important to emphasize that the common core goal of all teaching and learning strategies is to promote learners’ thinking development along with their feeling of competence to be independent learners. But, in order to use teaching strategies efficiently, educators need to know what their learners’ needs are and to be aware not to overgeneralize the use of the strategies. Another element educators should implement with the purpose of promoting independent learning among all learners is that of sharing behaviour. Thus, teachers must share with their learners the reasons for choosing a certain strategy, while also encouraging their learners to look for new strategies that will lead to achievement of the same goal. Moreover, I encourage all educators to search for the strengths of their learners and think of new strategies and mediation processes that will allow them to cope better with their challenges. Figure 7.1 below highlights the theoretical contribution of this book, where transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive schools surrounds the school community which relates equally to a variety of learners with special needs. The circle that surrounds the parts of this figure presents the overall perspective of transdisciplinary teaching and mediation in inclusive schools. This circle also presents the structure of

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Fig. 7.1 Transdisciplinary teaching in inclusive schools

the perspective that inclusive education refers to the diversity of learners. In this figure, for each of the learning challenges presented in the book, there is an equal part that emphasizes that there are no challenges that are more or less significant than others. Additionally, I reserved an equal part for ‘learners with other special needs’, the ones not mentioned in this book, and those that will be studied and defined in the future. It is thus incumbent upon transdisciplinary educators to always look for special needs among their learners and to adjust their teaching and learning strategies accordingly. I would like to conclude with my personal perspective as an educator who follows the mediation guidelines, with years of accumulated experience in helping learners with special needs. It is my belief that transdisciplinary teachers and all educators must learn to work as team members and look beyond strict academic goals and completing dictated curricula. The fact that classes worldwide are heterogeneous and filled with individuals who thrive in different ways and possess different social and academic strengths and weaknesses challenges teachers in one specific way, but with flexibility, patience and teamwork, the needs of all learners can be met to a large extent. This, in turn, will afford learners’ feelings of psychological and social success, helping them become more productive members of society in the future, and will create a more open and nurturing society as a whole. I truly believe that this book addresses both the advantages and challenges of transdisciplinary teaching, along with integrating mediation perspectives. While ideally, this is the type of education we would like to see worldwide, the resources allotted to staff and learners are limited, making the transition difficult. In addition, traditional teaching methods are known and familiar, and the lack of familiarity with

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this type of education may initially increase feelings of fear and animosity from family members and others. Today, in many settings, individuals still perform their jobs and report to their managers, but teamwork is not necessarily prioritized. But, within the school system, addressing teamwork and flexibility can help immensely in conveying the learners’ needs to all relevant bodies. Educators can gain perspective from parents and teaching assistants; they can provide perspective and knowledge as well as explain requirements and expectations to families and their children so that teachers and learners alike can approach principals and other staff members to address the need for proper logistical accommodations to enable success for as many learners as possible. Once staff members combine efforts and work to promote the individual’s success, levels of stress, animosity and frustration lessen noticeably, and all sides gain greater perspective and knowledge, allowing them essentially to be much better at their jobs. Once education is prioritized culturally as I believe it should be, accompanied by the appropriate financial priority in countries worldwide, I believe that this type of teaching can be accomplished successfully. Our learners are our future, and prioritizing them will make the world a more open-minded, inclusive, progressive, successful and safe place for everyone. From my experience and from that of other researchers as well, I believe, and I know, that helping empower young learners through education will help them become active, productive members of society, making life better for all.

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