Maharishi Free School Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) Policy Introduction The IDS curriculum at the Maharishi School develops

s four principal areas which Consciousness-based Education recognises as fundamental to eective learning: Fullment: IDS is the foundation for a process-based system of education which develops the full value of the knower, process of knowing and the known; it creates fullment in the life of the student and can provide a model for all educational systems. Development of the knower: The importance of the experience of Restful Alertness during Transcendental Meditation as the foundation for gaining the ability to eectively understand and reect upon of every area of life. Enriching the process of gaining knowledge: The principles and teaching methods of Consciousness-based Education which enable teachers to design curricula that will provide the educational experiences necessary for the most eective development of their students. Adding depth and breadth to knowledge: The curriculum content that provides the intellectual knowledge necessary for a pupil or student to grow to greater appreciation of every eld of knowledge. Fullment: in the life if the student; in education; and for every nation Of the four areas enhanced by IDS, Fullment is the consequence of full development. The value of this area is explained in more details below. IDS is a foundation for an process based system of education which develops the full value of the knower, process of knowing and the known; it develops fullment in the life of the student while providing a model for all educational systems. Fullment: In the life of the student The fullment of including IDS into the curriculum with its enriching eect on the whole life of the student is contained in the following quotes by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Ideal education is capable of providing the fruit of all knowledge, to every student. The fruit of all knowledge is mistake-free life, fullling life, daily life in satisfaction and fullment - the natural ability to think and act [spontaneously correctly] An ideal educational system should develop wholeness in the life of the learner. The technologies of my [Consciousness-based Education] strengthen and integrate the physical, mental, and behavioural aspects of life by developing their common basis. This creates wholeness of awareness, the expression of a truly integrated life in which all the material, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of life are beautifully correlated. Fullment: in education Ideal education is capable of providing the fruits of all knowledge while the tree of knowledge is still growing: the student is fullled, grows in the ability of being at home with everything while he is still in the process of learning. When the knower is ignorant about himself, the whole structure of knowledge is as if baseless. It is now high time that we provide total knowledge of the knower along with the knowledge of all disciplines.

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Maharishi Free School IDS Policy The policy on teaching IDS at the Maharishi Free School fulls the requirement of complete, practical knowledge for every student through two simultaneous approaches, experiential and intellectual: The Experiential Approach: Transcendental Meditation is the means to experience Restful Alertness the basis of developing broad comprehension and analytical thinking; that is why Transcendental Meditation is the essential foundation of the curriculum at the Maharishi School. The Intellectual Approach: This approach satises the intellect by providing a complete understanding of the source, course and goal of all areas of life. The basis of every subject is related to the pupils own experience of Restful Alertness. Fullment: For every nation The Maharishi School, in common with all institutions oering Consciousness-based Education, has a role to play in creating: Fully developed, thoughtful individuals. Problem-free, disease-free, crime-free society. Self-suciency for every nation. Conict-free, problem free politics government with the ability to prevent problems. All these apparently dierent and desirable values for improvement in the life of every individual and every nation are supported by Consciousness-based Education. A few fully educated individuals are sucient to give a new direction to the life of their community.

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Maharishi Free School IDS Policy The purpose of the Inter-disciplinary Studies (IDS) curriculum To develop higher order thinking skills (application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) by utilising the various ideas of IDS to integrate all areas of the curriculum which the pupil or student can then further relate to themselves. Lessons in IDS are a fundamental component in developing the attitude of, The world is my family in pupils and students. The role of the Inter-disciplinary Studies (IDS) curriculum The aspects and themes are integrating ideas. A new aspect or theme is studied every two weeks. These aspects of themes form the basis of lesson planning done by teachers for lessons in IDS. Thinking skills to be developed Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation The content of lessons in IDS The IDS curriculum represents a process by which pupils are able to more fully understand their world. The content of lessons in IDS is chosen to enable the development of specic skills (identied above). The consequence of this is that it is not necessary to specify content for IDS lessons, the content is chosen by the teacher or pupil (or both collaboratively) to enable the pupil to gain prociency in the skills of gaining knowledge which enhances learning in every other curriculum area. Lesson content is chosen by teachers to develop skills which are useful in every subject and in every area of the pupils life both at school as well as outside and beyond school. Lesson ideas may be developed which incorporate current events (for example, the Diamond Jubilee, and Olympic Games in the UK in 2012). Teachers may also use content that has been covered in other lessons so that more time can be given to integrating the particular topic with other subject areas; this develops both the breadth and depth of the chosen content. More profound understanding demands that every pupil is given the opportunity to explore the deeper principles of every subject area. This deeper understanding can be then used to add breadth by integrating dierent areas and synthesising a broader understanding. For example, the teacher may decide to allow pupils the opportunity to relate a particular interest or hobby to the principles of IDS. For a pupil who researches skateboarding, for example, they may investigate: From Blooms Cognitive Taxonomy of Education Objectives (original version)

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Maharishi Free School IDS Policy - the physics of skateboarding; - the development of new tricks; - the development of new materials for constructing the boards; - the provision of facilities to enjoy the sport; - the consequent impact on the social environment of an area; and - national and international competitions. This can represent for the pupil an analysis of the mechanics of skateboarding and a synthesis of its context locally, nationally and internationally. All these areas will be related to aspects or themes of IDS. This enables the student to synthesise everything that they have discovered about their interest into a coherent whole and then to relate that to themselves. Patterns of orderly growth In addition, through the study of IDS, pupils begin to see patterns of order and growth in the world around them in their own activity, in nature, and in their dierent subjects of study. Through the understanding of integrating ideas of orderly change and progress, pupils increasingly appreciate the connectedness of their own life to everyone and everything and gain condence in who they are and all that they can become. The application of IDS to holistic student development The understanding provided by IDS allows pupils to start to see that the apparent diversity of life has at its basis laws of nature which they can nd operating everywhere and in their own life. From this basis they are less likely to behave in exclusive ways to other pupils who they perceive are dierent to them. The consequence of this is that Maharishi School policies on inclusion and equality are enhanced by this aspect of every pupils development. The ideal of this understanding is to realise, the world is my family, where the pupil perceives that everything and everyone is as dear to them as their own self. Principles of lesson preparation There are three essential areas to consider when a teacher prepares an IDS lesson (these are in addition to all the other expected considerations such as assessment for learning and dierentiation): - the learning cycle of Knowledge Action Achievement Fullment (details are given in both the Consciousness-based Education principles of teaching and Key Principles of Teaching and Learning); - all of the Consciousness-based Education principles of teaching (Receptivity, Intelligence, Knowledge, Experience and Expression); and - all applicable ideas from the policy Key Principles of Teaching and Learning will be used.

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Maharishi Free School IDS Policy Scheme of assessment There are two principal areas of assessment: "Say it, tell it, write it, teach it" ("say it" and "tell it" are the processes by which pupils develop the abilities to write it and teach it); and committed participation inTranscendental Meditation at school. There are separate evaluations for write it and teach it: Write it: an extended essay (the expected length depends upon the age of the pupil) on a topic of the pupils choice (from a hobby, interest or school subject, for example)integrating any aspect of IDS or Maharishi Ayurveda; Teach it: material prepared to teach an aspect or theme of IDS. The material prepared for assessment could include, for example: - writing a book for younger children to explain a theme of IDS; - making a poster illustrating some aspect ofIDS; - designing and making a website or making a video about some aspect of IDS. For the award of any particular grade, the student must have been awarded one star for IDS theory and practice and 'Quality of Life' in every report during the relevant key stage. Failure to do this is likely to result in the grade being lowered while attaining more than this could increase the grade.

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