Reinventing Education is a module open to all undergraduate students at the University of Warwick as part of the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning’s suite of interdisciplinary modules. Now in its third year the module encourages students to examine radical critiques of formal education (from pre-school through to HE) and to consider alternative conceptualisations. It draws on (and engages with) the experiences of students from very divergent educational disciplines (Theatre Studies Politics Sociology Physics Mathematics English Psychology Computer Studies….). The final summative assessment asks students to develop an educational utopia or dystopia and to present this at a round-table discussion at the end of the module. Documents and presentations take many forms (an obituary of the Secretary of State from 2050 a reworking of Plato’s cave a Zombie Apocalypse) – and students examine accounts heuristically to reflect on current educational principles and practices. This paper reflects on the benefits and challenges of the module and assessment.
