Curriculum Design
A Single Framework of Integration Across All Domains of Knowledge
The essential insight of our curriculum framework is the quintessential Islamic concept of tawheed (oneness, unity) expressing the oneness of the Creator and the unified integrity of the laws across all systems in the universe. Accordingly, there should be no disconnect across the different domains of knowledge investigating the universe and life within it. Unfortunately, Muslim curricula suffer from a double disconnect between the three domains of knowledge they seek to impart, namely, the STEM disciplines, human sciences, and Islamic studies. The creedal principle of the unity of an intelligent Creator implies unity, consistency, or integrity across all divinely created systems (cosmology), the spiritual, the material, the biological, and the human. The logical implication of cosmological integrity translates into the need for the unity of epistemology or hermeneutics that binds all the knowledge domains into a single framework of interpretation. The lynchpin of such a framework is the Qur’anic conception of signs and symbols, that is, aayaat (singular, aayah).
What is an Ayah?
In perspective of Islamic metaphysics, God, the Ultimate Reality, is One Infinite Intelligent Creator who creates all things through his unlimited Power and Wisdom. Given that divine infinity cannot be encountered directly, God-human interaction can only by indirect and, in the first instance, can only be initiated by God. Given the finite nature of human knowledge, knowledge can only be had piecemeal, accumulated over time, and will always remain incomplete. God, in His Wisdom, has chosen three sources of communication, mainly, revelation, the material reality, and the reality of human subjectivity.
Revelation is the most direct, intimate, and precise source of knowledge, granted to and conveyed through the select few, the Prophets. The material reality is structured upon material entities governed by the ironclad laws of nature and its domain is properly investigated by empirically and mathematically oriented STEM sciences. The human reality, while partly subject to laws of nature, adds the complexity of subjectivity (intention, purpose, emotions, consciousness, thought), not amenable to complete scientific explanation, and cultural activity governed by values and ideals.
The basic epistemological unit of information emanating from each source is called by the Qur'an "sign" sign (aayah), that which carries partial or finite information. Accordingly, the Qur’an classifies all signs into three general categories. All revealed knowledge and all information pertaining to the material and human realities are called “signs” or “signs of God” (aayaat-Allah). This general category bifurcates into two sub-categories. The entities that make up the material reality are “signs in the horizons” (aayaat fi’l aafaaq), objective signs. In encountering the objective signs, humans impose subjective interpretations upon them, turning them into symbols or humanly interpreted signs, in Quranic terms, “signs in the self” (aayaat fi’l anfus).
The experiences, products, and activities of human origins impose values and purposes upon are called “signs in the self” (aayaat fi’l anfus), subjective symbols or humanly interpreted signs.
The purpose of revelation is, in part, to remind humans that all true knowledge emanates from God. Signs and symbols comprise the basic units of knowledge. It then follows that all domains of knowledge and disciplines studying them should be integrated into a single whole. Only then do we gain the true understanding of the world and ourselves.
Graduate Profile
Unboxed Learning’s curriculum architecture is designed with the end goal in mind, that is, the kind of student we wish to produce. This is reflected in the graduate profile, which is linked to our competencies.
For a long time, the conventional modern curricula were centered on teaching content without much deliberation on the significance of assessment models. Unboxed Learning, however, has built its curriculum with particular outcomes in mind. These outcomes are expressed in our graduate profile, the pathway to which is accomplished through the training in competencies.
The scope of the proposed educational reform informs the profile we wish our students to develop upon the completion of their education. We train our students to be
Spiritually Rooted in their faith,
Socially Engaged in their local community and national society,
Intellectually Inquisitive in the pursuit of their research activities,
Academically Skilled in analyzing the complex world they inhabit,
Critical Thinkers equipped with the skills and habits of reasoning applicable in different domains of knowledge,
Eloquent Communicators of ideas,
Visionary Leaders pursuing their personal projects situated in the broader cultural, national, civilizational, and universal scope.
Competencies
While Unboxed Learning still utilizes the conventional alpha-numeric grading scheme, our overall framework of assessment is based on the competency model. Competencies are specific skills and capacities students build gradually over the course of their educational journey through repeated instruction and application. Each course must instruct, apply, and assess all competencies relevant to a given subject matter. The competencies are directly linked to the building of the graduate profile.
Leadership
The goal of conventional public education is to produce engaged citizens and an efficient labor force. For the student, the latter goal translates into the drive for personal career advancement, which is inadequate to the universal and civilizational task. That task calls for leadership qualities to be instill in the students. A cornerstone of Unboxed Learning’s philosophy is to produce student leaders with a broad spiritual, cultural, national, and civilizational vision. The most important leadership quality is the students’ grounding in Islamic spirituality and Prophetic ethic. Additional qualities include collaboration and teamwork, conflict resolution, project management, and discipline. The broad vision aids the students in contextualizing the many strands of their education toward a higher purpose.
Literacy
Each course sets a baseline literacy objective necessary for proficiency in a given subject. The content to be taught is selected in alignment with both state standards and our philosophy and the particular makeup of the student body.
Critical Reasoning
Thinking is innate in humans, however, its deliberate, consistent, and effective application requires instruction and practice. This competency sharpens skills in both the universal rules of reasoning and the reasoning process specific to a given subject matter. The skill set is necessary for discerning cause and effect, understanding systems, analyzing complexity into component parts, and relating relevant information to unified wholes.
Communication
Scholars and leaders both need effective communication skills. Close reading, coherent writing, eloquent speech, constructive dialog, the capacity to wield technical jargon in particular fields, the confidence to speak publicly, the ability to translate technical jargon for common consumption, and the discernment in determining the most effective approach in reaching a particular audience are essential traits of effective communication.
Research and Application
Growth in education means that students move from passive instruction to active learning through independent research and critical analysis. Accessing and navigating different sources of knowledge, prioritizing the essential and relevant over the spurious and dispensable, synthesizing information from disparate sources, translating theory into practical utility, and learning from experiential engagement are necessary academic skills.
Community Engagement
An important application and testing of leadership qualities transpire in the context of community engagement. The spiritual purpose of each student is tested and applied in working with and contributing to the improvement of their community. The fruits of community engagement reflect back on and reinforce spirituality and leadership qualities.
Personal Growth
While we still employ the old standard method of objective assessment where appropriate, we also incorporate the subjective assessment method of self-assessment by empowering student agency in regularly reflecting on their own journey. In the course of their education, students develop a portfolio to showcase their progress, exhibit their achievements, and reflexively evaluate themselves. The process calls for not only being self-critical of one’s academic and objective achievements, but also taking an open and honest stock of their spiritual and ethical development.
Courses Customized for You
The conventional practice in Muslim education is to implement standardized or boxed curricula. These curricula generally lack religious, cultural, civilizational, and/or universal relevance for Muslim students, who are tasked to learn histories, cultures, literature, and arts that may not speak to their own identities, cultures, and histories. They may also fail to consider the curriculum's universal relevance. UnboxEd Learning’s solution is to develop a curriculum in the humanities and Islamic studies that caters to the cultures and identities of your particular student body. This can be done in one of three ways:
(A) You may purchase our signature courses “as is” and teach them as you deem fit.
(B) Or, you may ask us to modify the content of our courses according to your needs.
Should your faculty require training, our experts will train your faculty in delivering our courses.
(C) Alternatively, in case your faculty is unable or unwilling to deliver our courses, our faculty can teach these courses online.