Why is this important?
Complex world problems require the coming together of multiple areas of expertise. As a result interdisciplinary collaborations are increasingly a vital characteristic of excellence in research. Intricate global issues also require a workforce which can combine depth of discipline knowledge with a broad experience of other disciplines’ perspectives and insights.
Summary
This page considers the definition of interdisciplinarity and considers the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary learning. Examples of interdisciplinary collaborations are offered as food for thought.
Further Detail
Davis and Devlin (2007) explain the differences between:
- Multidisciplinarity: co-existence of a number of disciplines.This means participants can do their own work and do not need to know about, or take account of, other participants’ work. A multidisciplinary degree would allow students to study several disciplines over the course of their programme.
- Cross-Disciplinarity: ‘A topic normally outside a field of study is investigated with no co-operation from others in the area of study concerned,’ (Davis & Devlin, 2007, p3).
- Interdisciplinarity: Recongises the obvious and subtle ways academic disciplines overlap. Levels of integration differ; from two or more subjects contributing ‘their particular disciplinary knowledge on a common subject’ (Grosskinsky, 2008, p3); to participant disciplines taking account of, and even modifying their methodologies and contributions, in light of other collaborators' work.
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Benefits
Benefits of interdisciplinary teaching and learning contexts include that:
- it nurtures critical thinking;
- it encourages perspective taking;
- it increases tolerance for ambiguity;
- it improves sensitivity to varying ethical issues;
- problems being explored maybe particularly relevant and contemporary and therefore of particular interest to students - this can increase students’ motivation;
- opportunities are created for students to use their disciplinary content knowledge and skills in new contexts.
- Challenges
Interdisciplinary teaching and learning collaborations present challenges to staff and students:
- If undergraduate students take modules outside their home discipline they may not have the necessary foundational knowledge, skills and cognitive frameworks. This may demand extra resources and staff support, as well as impacting content and pace in the classroom.
- Davis & Devlin (2007, p6) argue that “Becoming an excellent disciplinarian demands undivided focus” - therefore interdisciplinary contexts may be a distraction. However, Holley (2009, p242) suggests that an interdisciplinary curriculum has a broadening as opposed to a diluting effect, on student expertise:
- “The goal of an interdisciplinary curriculum is to train future scholars and practitioners who can bridge multiple disciplines in their work. These students not only gain fluency in the ideas and languages of various disciplines, but also in the behaviors (sic) expected of various disciplinary communities”.
- Establishing interdisciplinary teaching and learning contexts requires collaboration between experts who are traditionally focused on their particular discipline within their School or Department. These collaborations require significant staff time to negotiate the learning outcomes, the teaching methods, and assessment approaches to be. Time must also be given to devising and getting approval for procedural and logistical adjustments which may be required to the administrate the programme.
- EXAMPLES AT QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY
Grosskinsky, (2008, p5) asserts that “interdisciplinarity in education should be focused at the postgraduate and research stage”. Across Queen’s this argument is reflected in interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity being an increasing characteristic of postgraduate programmes and research collaborations.
Queen’s University Research Clusters and Forums
School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering
Institute for a Sustainable World
School of Education
Centre for Effective Education
School of History and Anthropology
Institute of Cognition and Culture
Institute of Irish Studies - offering an Interdisciplinary MA / Diploma
School of Languages, Literatures and Performing Arts
Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies
School of English
Translation and Cultural Encounter
School of Music and Sonic Arts
School of Law
Childhood, Transition and Social Justice Initiative
Cultural Dynamics and Emotions Network
Queen’s University’s recent CETLs
- EXAMPLES FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES
HEA Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Group
Available to download from www.llas.ac.uk/projects/2892
- Canning, J. (ed) (2007) ‘Disciplines in dialogue: Disciplinary perspectives on interdisciplinary teaching and learning’
- Angelique Chettiparamb (2007) ‘Interdisciplinarity:a literature review’
- Thew, N. (2007) ‘The impact of the internal economy of higher education institutions on interdisciplinary teaching and learning’
University of Aberdeen has recently engaged in extensive curriculum reform. One outcome has been to offer undergraduates increased choice through multi-disciplinary options throughout their degree programme. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/thedifference/background.php
University of Melbourne has also undertaken extensive curriculum review leading to the Melbourne Model. Within this model are interdisciplinary opportunities for undergraduate students within the six New Generation degrees.
- REFERENCES
Grosskinsky,S. (2008) ‘Interdisciplinarity in higher education: A case study of the Complexity Science DTC at Warwick’, University of Warwick, Coventry.
Holley, K. (2009) ‘The challenge of an interdisciplinary curriculum: a cultural analysis of a doctoral-degree program in neuroscience’, Higher Education, 58, pp 241-255.