Fernando M. Reimers et al.

advanced—placement subjects——that is, college—level courses taught in high
school—such as world history, geography, or economics.

While the AP curriculum emphasizes breadth of knowledge and the US
standards movement lists discrete skills, knowledge, and attitudes that peo—
ple wish to impart to students, the World Course curriculum seeks to de—
velop a depth of knowledge and the kind of “expert” thinking required to
solve problems. In our desire to integrate into the curriculum knowledge,
skills, and attitudes—that is, not only to impart knowledge but also to fo—
cus on teaching skills and attitudes—that would prepare learners for the
twenty—first century, we found that a focus on developing an interdisciplin—
ary approach to curricular development was necessary. For example, when
we looked at the AP curriculum as a possible framework for our curriculum’s
design, we were impressed by the breadth of knowledge required by the
program; however, we ultimately felt that we wanted to emphasize depth of
knowledge, given the kind of “expert” thinking required to solve problems.
We concluded also that the available AP courses were insufficient to teach
the foundational knowledge that global citizenship requires; for example,
there are no AP courses on public health, demography, technology, or in—
novation, all of which, in our View, are indispensable components of an
adequate understanding of globalization.

In addition, rather than imposing on the students a list of the discrete skills,
knowledge, and attitudes that we wished to impart to them, we wanted the
students to find and make meaning in their learning. Thus, the World
Course curriculum focuses on learning that is integrated and grounded in
current social, political, economic, and other concerns and specifically on
issues that are complex and without easy answers or solutions. We believed
that students would find value in—and would desire to engage with—is—
sues that are “real” and authentic; similarly, we believed that in being asked
to engage with these real—life issues, the learners would be more motivated
to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and solve these

issues. For example, the curriculum centers on issues like immigration and

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