User:JREverest/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge/Seminar group 6/Disciplinary categories

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Internet:

- there are around 4.5 billion web pages excluding billions of other subpages

- each page is grouped into specific categories, ie. Social Networking

- result pages are grouped according to a query classification algorithm

How google categorizes information:

- analysing words: interpretation of natural language, of spelling mistakes

- matching search: key words, their location and the frequency at which they appear

- useful page ? : user reviews, people with similar queries have viewed this page, how new the content is

- context: uses things such as search history and settings, location

- diversity of results: same topics ? same perspective ?

Search Engines:

• Search engines browse through websites that correspond to a user's search and use their search engine index to find relevant results
• A search engine index is a catalogue of websites produced through the use of 'crawling' and 'web-crawlers'
  • 'web-crawlers' are scripts that are pre-programmed to visit websites and record words and links found on these pages to then add them to the search engine index
  • 'web-crawlers' use 'metadata' and 'meta tags' to account for the content on the webpage
• Search engines will respond to a search by using their index to find and rank the most relevant websites based on algorithms, including factors such as keyword, reliability, frequency, etc.

Challenges with organising information online:

• Ambiguity: certain words have multiple meanings (e.g. 'port') making it difficult to give accurate search results.
• Heterogeneity: search results will often be composed of information from a variety of unrelated sources which can make it confusing to read.
• Different people will use different labels when searching (for example some may use more 'technical' terms) which will affect the search results they get.
• Politics: some governments have more or less .control over a country's access to online information, complicating the organisation of information

How knowledge is put into categories in the UK school system

The current UK Curriculum

• All students in the national curriculum have to study English, Maths, Science, RE, Physical Education, Computing and PSHE in Key Stages 1 to 4, which span from ages 5 to 16.
• All students in the national curriculum also have to study Geography, History, Music, Art and Design and Design and Technology from Key Stages 1 to 3.
• All students in the national curriculum also have to study Modern Foreign Languages in Key Stages 2 and 3 and must complete 'Work Related Learning' in Key Stage 4.
• At the end of Year 6, 9 and 11 in the state school system there are compulsory exams.

Differences in Curriculum

Not all primary and secondary schools in the UK will follow the National Curriculum.

• State schools (both primary and secondary) have to follow government standards whereas private schools do not. Academies and free schools may choose to set their own curriculum or to follow the national curriculum.
• IB is an alternative examination system with its own curriculum: students must take 2 languages, a science, a social science, math and one subject of their choosing, therefore offering less choices than at A Level (already decided for you) but covering a wider range of material.

Changes to the UK Curriculum

The UK Curriculum is regularly changing and updated to reflect changes within society.

• Since 1991, students in the UK National Curriculum have had to study the Holocaust. It's only a mandatory requirement within history, but other subjects have broached the subject to expose students to other views/ideas (e.g. in RE)
• The September 2014 curriculum was notably changed to include Computing for key stages 1 to 4, including specific requirements for skills such as coding.

Criticisms of the UK National Curriculum

• The UK National Curriculum has been criticized for the manner in which it 'fragments the curriculum within narrow confines' by those who advocate an interdisciplinary form of study even within primary school.

OUR BRAIN : Searchers found that humans automatically creates categories of things that the brain find similar to each other. For example, it distinguishes living and non-living things. Basically the brain is like a computer algorithm because categorization is essential for survival. We also categorize disciplines automatically because it is what we have learn our whole life. Since we were little, we learn that music, science, literature … etc are separate things. Memory is separated into short and long-term memory which is stored in different parts of the brain. Our brain structure reflects how we classify the world around us and each category illuminates a relationship between the subjects and objects of knowledge. The categories work as a sort of filter to protect us from the flood of information.

Evolution of Modern Scientific Disciplines As scientific knowledge emerged as a result of experimentation and investigation, it led people to focusing on more specific aspects. This led to the specialization of different fields, and gradually established the scientific disciplines we have today.

University

Traditionally university programmes are regimented by distinct categories where the specification within learning establishes a sense of purpose and identity. However, amongst the dynamic modern environment it is possible to recognise how this approach may lose its value. The monolithic structure of many university degrees has the potential to create more restrictions rather than benefits in terms of how modern innovation is to evolve. It is further recognised that often disciplines are valued and supported unequally with large differences recognised in funding for stem subjects in comparison to arts subjects revealed in a higher education survey of 2014. Interdisciplinary studies value a more collaborative approach which seems to fit better with modern industry where research councils are more interested in a broader perspective and distinguishing sharper insights across fields. It therefore seems universities would benefit from establishing these flexible structures to develop individuals capable of tackling real world problems that require more than just information from purely one field. The US appears to take on this broader, more flexible structure with abundant degrees consisting of liberal arts and sciences, although the UK appears to display this structure less so. However we may recognise the growth of this approach in universities such as that of Essex who have developed an interdisciplinary studies centre wherein students can study modules within branches of the humanities as well as the social sciences. This structure seems to be significant in light of modern research centres and therefore job prospective for students, which encourage collaboration to acquire benefits though a wider input and more diverse ideas.