High school programme in electro-optics: A case study on interdisciplinary learning and systems thinking

An interdisciplinary electro-optics programme was recently established at a leading high school in Israel. This unique programme combines physics with electronics and spans over a three-year period. The programme was meant to increase students' interest in physics and engineering, and develop their systems thinking skills. A central part of the programme is the final project done over the last school year (12th grade), in which the students design and implement an electro-optical system. The study described in this paper characterized by qualitative tools the change that had occurred during the academic year in the attitudes of fourteen 12th grade students toward the programme, and the change in their systems thinking skills. The results of this study indicate that beyond the students' increasing interest in the programme, they thought of it as leading to a deeper study of the disciplinary components. Further it was discovered that over the year there was an improvement in the students' systems thinking skills.