Shaping the spine of the ICT curriculum in Waldorf education

Created by Masashi Satoh | 9/17/2024

Introduction

For Waldorf education, learning ICT technology represents a frontier. In Rudolf Steiner’s time, there was not even a hint of computer technology, and the development of a curriculum for learning ICT technology is entrusted to us.

In 2013, I visited Mr. Virgilius Vogl, teacher of Tokyo Kenji Steiner School and learned in detail about the relay-based adding machine he had introduced to 9th graders as part of their computer studies. I was amazed that 9th graders could undertake such advanced learning.*

I promptly brought this learning back to my workplace, Yokohama Steiner School, and began preparing computer learning program for the first cohort of students entering 9th grade the following year. At that time, I decided to aim for building a more comprehensive learning experience centered around this relay calculator learning.

In other words, I wanted to create a clear plan for how to structure the ICT technology curriculum and teaching methods as Waldorf education—which places the human being at the center of learning about the essence of things—and how to connect that learning to the use of personal computers and literacy education.

Over a decade of accumulated practice, followed by the opportunity to teach at Aichi Steiner School, which also has a high school division, allowed me to shape the plan I had been aiming for to a certain extent.

Given my limited exposure to the long history of Waldorf education practices in Europe and America, I cannot judge the value of this initiative. While many pioneering efforts may already exist, I am publishing this report and analysis in the hope that it may contribute something to the world as one attempt to pioneer the frontier of ICT in Waldorf education.

The starting idea

As we can see from the recent development of generative AI technology, computer technology continues to develop at a dramatic pace.

Waldorf education is not an endeavor isolated from society; therefore, we must always maintain an open attitude toward emerging technological innovations.

On the other hand, we can say this: What we must do is identify the essential learning that forms the backbone of ICT education—learning that, just as the core principles of Waldorf education remain steadfast amid societal change, will not be swayed by the dizzying pace of technological advancement.

While discussing ICT education with my colleagues, I realized that many of them mistakenly believe computer technology is merely a tool connected to the electromagnetism unit in physics learning.

Reflecting on this gradually revealed that freeing ourselves from this misconception is the foundation for creating meaningful learning experiences in computer technology.

In other words, we must start our examination from the recognition that the logic circuits constructing the computer’s mechanism are independent of the mechanism implementing them, and that the electrical mechanism itself is unrelated to the principles of the computer.

For example, Charles Babbage, the 18th-century mathematician who designed the world’s first perfect digital computer, envisioned it as a massive device—the Analytical Engine—driven by gears and cams powered by a steam engine.

The essence of a computer is independent of the physical mechanisms that realize it. The essence of a computer is a combination of logic, and it has its essence within logical thinking as a mental activity of humans.

This is our foundation.

Furthermore, I would like to add another perspective here. It is the perspective of viewing the world through history, which is always cherished in Waldorf education.

First, it is crucial to recognize that the history of the human spirit is also inscribed within computer technology. Building on that, we must extract elements from these historical facts that can be called archetypes within computer technology.

If we can construct a core curriculum using these archetypes as pillars, we will likely be able to avoid the risk of being tossed about by the explosive development of cutting-edge technology.

When we quietly reflect on the early development of computer technology and the history of computer science, we can discern a process of thought that organizes and clarifies human thinking through spatial breadth and temporal processes. I believe we should recognize that these very elements provide deeply satisfying material for the intellectual life of students awakening to their own minds during their formative years.

Moreover, we can discover that within these very things lie the keys to understanding the essence of cutting-edge technologies like search engines, blockchain, and generative AI—present in a simple form. To overlook this wonderful treasure and blindly chase the latest trends is a loss for education.

The Essence of Computer Learning

Let us once again clarify the essence of computer technology. It was a machine—a device called a computer—that combined logical meaning assigned by the human mind to appropriate physical phenomena, such as the up-and-down motion of a seesaw or the ON/OFF state of a switch, ensuring that this logic was consistently applied throughout the entire system.

There is no direct relationship between the physical phenomena that enable a computer’s operation and the logic that constitutes the computer itself.

The fact that computers are a technology that was born based on purely abstract thinking means that, in learning about computers, the “Socratic method” of learning based on observation, such as the physics and chemistry learning of Waldorf education, does not work. Therefore, we must seek the foundation for learning computer technology elsewhere.

That foundation lies within human thought, the very home of computer logic.

Computers are devices that project the content of human logical thought onto specific physical phenomena. Each element constituting a computer is inextricably linked to the human spirit that conceived it. Shedding light on this relationship is the very core of computer learning.

Given the extremely limited time available for ICT learning within the highly dense curriculum of Waldorf high school, it is crucial that ICT education focuses on core elements of computer technology and their relationship to the human spirit. If introducing “cutting-edge” technology, it should be limited to episodic references within the context of modern society.

Rudolf Steiner stated the following regarding the purpose of technology education in the teacher training course prior to the founding of the Waldorf School: He explained that when students aged 13 (7th grade) to 16 (10th grade) engage with the technologies shaping their environment and their applications through lively learning, the experience of having learned this will give them certainty in their actions when they enter society. This certainty, in turn, will become the confidence they need to live within that society.*

What is important is not knowledge itself, but the experience of having engaged with the things that make up society with a lively interest.

Just as Waldorf foreign language classes avoid setting language acquisition as their direct goal, ICT education must also clearly identify its educational essence, ensuring it does not become tainted by utilitarianism focused on acquiring specific skills.

A Proposal for the Core Curriculum

Based on the above policy, I have organized the ICT learning priorities to be addressed within the limited time available as follows. This is merely a bullet-point description; specific details for each item will be explained on separate pages.

Telling the story of the development of digital computers together with the historical background:

Through this, students will understand that computer technology exists within the cultural context of human history. The differences between analog and digital, as well as between analog computers and digital computers, should also be explained in this section.

In this section, I am covering the following computers(not calculators).

I plan to explain why these were selected in a separate section.

1. Antikythera Mechanism(as an analog computer)
2. Babbage’s Analytical Enginel(the first designed digital computer)
3. Zuse’s Z1(created by an individual)
4. ENIAC(the Army developed for ballistic calculations)
5. UNIVAC I(the first commercial machine)
6. IBM SYSTEM360(the first general-purpose machine)

Understanding logical switches through mechanical mechanisms:

First, we learn about logic (AND, OR, NOT, Buffer) and then examine its physical implementation. In this section, it is crucial to understand that logic switches can be implemented using mechanical mechanisms. This allows us to shed the preconception that a computer equals an electronic calculator and to extract the implementation of logic from within the black box.

In my case, I use the seesaw mechanism. Deriving an AND circuit from an OR circuit using De Morgan’s laws helps clarify the characteristic of computer technology: it derives mechanisms starting from human thought, not observation.

Building a multi-digit adding machine using relays, which is already widely practiced:

This is a high-quality study that leads to an understanding of how to define the logic of human thought in terms of physical phenomena and make it possible to manipulate it mechanically (as if moving the stones on an abacus).

I propose adding an experiment to the addition machine experiment that involves connecting a simple sequencer to perform automatic calculations. This is because the addition of this element will allow us to make a giant leap forward from “learning about calculators” to “learning about computers”. Through this, students can understand experientially that the processes arranged on a time axis are executed in order by the computer in the same way that humans follow a procedure to carry out calculations.

Furthermore, during this learning process, the following content can be addressed simultaneously.

• Clock circuits and memory circuits: By applying feedback to NOT circuits and buffer circuits, we understand the principles of clock circuits and memory circuits. This is a wonderful learning experience.
• Telegraph Experiment: We will introduce the origin of the name “relay” and conduct an actual telegraph transmission experiment by connecting several relay stations. Since internet transmission operates on the same principle, this learning will also be useful for studying the internet.

Learning about data models:

Learning about the adding machines was learning about the mechanism of developing human thought within a mechanical process on a time axis. In contrast, learning about data models can be said to be learning about spatial expansion. By dividing, defining and organizing the arrangement of the 0/1 container, memories, students learn how to express numerical values and other phenomena, and how to manipulate them to achieve a desired result.

The data types that are appropriate for learning are probably integer, floating-point, string, pointer, and array types. Through this learning, students can become aware of the depth and interest of expressing world events as data, as well as their limitations and pitfalls. And within this learning, all the basic elements that make it possible to understand the essence of search engines, generative AI, blockchain technology, etc. are included.

A program is completed by the three elements of data model, process, and operation algorithm. For this reason, I believe that learning about data models is an essential part of learning.

This learning can be structured solely through notebook work and board writing.

Programming:

As I just mentioned, I believe it is preferable to learn data modeling before diving into programming. If you start with the data you want to manipulate and have a clear algorithm for doing so, the appropriate program will naturally emerge. Additionally, note that the seeds of object-oriented programming are already present within this data-centric way of thinking.

Both data models and algorithms exist not in computers, but in the minds of human beings as concepts and ideas. If you have a good grasp of the concepts of processes and data models, you will be less likely to be confused by the apparent complexity of programs.

There is another crucial point. While the purpose of a programming language is to describe the necessary steps to give to a computer, what is more important is that it provides humans with a specific way of thinking. It is similar to traffic laws, imposing restrictions to prevent programmers from going in the wrong direction and illuminating the path of thought they should follow.

If teachers consciously guide students with this in mind, students will understand that the essence of programming lies in engaging with the intent behind the rules of a programming language. After all, programming is the collaborative work between the spirit of the person who designed the programming language and one’s own spirit.

Using the application:

By teaching string types and arrays before introducing applications, we can give students a passport to using word processors and spreadsheets. This is because learning data models enables students to imagine what the CPU is doing behind the scenes in a word processor (string manipulation) and how data is represented and processed within a spreadsheet (manipulation using arrays and pointers).

Behind the screens, behind the beautiful user interfaces, lies the dirty, tedious work the CPU performs. For students to be able to imagine this—that is the very essence of learning about computers.

Internet:

Amazingly, the technology of optical telegraph, a high-speed communication network from the Napoleonic era, was almost identical to the workings of the Internet today. I advocate for making this material the foundation for learning on the internet.

By learning this, students can understand internet technology through vivid, human-centered imagery. I hope this wonderful teaching material—which allows students to learn the essence of internet technology with excitement, using only the historical human stories of its inventor Claude Chappe, his collaborator Abraham-Louis Breguet, the revolutionary government and Napoleon who utilized it, and chalkboard illustrations—will be brought to light.

Computer Technology and Human Freedom and Dignity, Literacy:

As a final step in ICT learning, the aim is for each student to be able to form their own opinions about situations where computer technology interferes with human dignity and freedom.

With the advent of a situation where computers are built into all kinds of devices and connected to networks, our private sphere is being encroached upon, and the risk of a third party intervening in our free will without us even realizing it is growing.

Holding a smartphone in your hand means that you are surrendering a significant part of your own free will to someone on the other side of the internet, in exchange for convenience.

Letting children use tablets is no more than depriving them of the extremely active learning process of using their whole body and will to draw delicate curves and straight lines on paper using crayons and pencils, feeling the quality of the lines, and giving themselves feedback.

In the face of the pressure of the digital marketplace, which is like a tsunami, it is no longer possible for individuals to resist on their own. In order to protect the dignity and freedom of the individual, it will be necessary to learn about social directions such as digital constitutionalism, which will enable us to reject unwanted interference in the process of shaping our own thoughts and beliefs, as well as the protection of freedom of thought that we have had up until now.

Such learning about the relationship between society and the individual—the role of law and the state, the responsibilities of business and the economy, the dignity and ethics of the individual, and so forth—will undoubtedly resonate deeply with the hearts of upper secondary students who are establishing their free spirit.

The main blocks that make up the curriculum

Understanding the above initiatives divided into three blocks will clarify the intent of this paper.

• Block 1: Development History, Logic, Adders and Sequencers
• Block 2: Telegraph Technology, Internet, Data Models
• Block 3: Programming, Application Utilization
• Block 4: Computer Technology and Human Freedom and Dignity

Block 1 and Block 2 comprise a set of learning activities we want students to engage with before they first encounter personal computers.
If students are exposed too early to the sophisticated user interfaces of modern PCs, their perception of computer technology becomes fixed. This makes it difficult to guide them toward deeper learning, requiring particular care in structuring the curriculum.

After gaining a basic understanding of how computers work in Block 1, it is crucial to proceed to Block 2, where you learn what kind of information processing occurs internally within word processors, spreadsheets, and the internet. This is essential before moving on to Block 3, where you actually use a PC to work with these tools.

Computers have evolved by mimicking the real world and disguising their true nature. We educators must reveal their true essence to students before they become enchanted by the computer’s magic and ensnared by virtual reality.
This is by no means a detour; it is a profoundly compelling learning experience that allows us to grasp one way the human spirit confronts the world.

The fourth block explores the meaning of human existence, the significance of individuals coming together to form society, and the roles of the rule of law, corporations, individual responsibilities, dignity, and the essence of freedom in ensuring society’s healthy development—all within the context of the digital society’s realities. While it is important to focus intensively on this block around the 11th and 12th grades, it would also be effective to incorporate it episodically within the lessons of Blocks 1 through 3.

The key will be designing the content of Block 4 to be integrated into all subjects throughout the 12-year curriculum. In that sense, it can be said to share similarities with comprehensive sexuality education.

Conclusion

I believe that the heart of the Waldorf ICT curriculum is to treat the above-mentioned teaching materials while paying attention to their relationship with the human spirit that created them.

Whether it’s the components that make up a computer or the concepts, each of these elements is essentially just a separate fragment with no relationship. It is the spirit within us that relates and aligns these things and brings them together into a meaningful whole. The true purpose of the Waldorf ICT curriculum must be for students to discover within themselves the forces that make the world what it is.

Thank you for reading this lengthy article.

For more specific practical details, I plan to introduce them on a separate page. Please submit any comments or questions using this form.

Acknowledgments

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Virgilius Vogl, who taught me the excellent practices of Germany. I also express my appreciation to Ms. Mami Nagai, who appointed me as the instructor at the start of the school’s computer classes. And to the members of the administrative office who backed up my work during my classes.