When disciplines meet: inspiration for interdisciplinary education

We talk about multidisciplinarity when a particular topic, concept or theory is studied or approached from different perspectives. This logically leads to more knowledge and insight, but these remain separate. So there is no integration, nor new integrated insights or solutions. The focus here remains the study of the discipline itself, from a broader perspective. Consider, for example, a history study programme where students need to explain complex historical developments not only from their own understanding of history but also from theories and insights from behavioural and cultural sciences. Besides studying the student’s own discipline more broadly, multidisciplinarity can also serve as a stepping stone to interdisciplinarity.

In interdisciplinarity, insights from different disciplines are integrated to get a better/fuller understanding of a problem or question. So unlike multidisciplinarity, integration is a feature here. This integration leads to new, integrated knowledge and insights, while multidisciplinarity involves using already existing insights when studying one's own discipline.

Finally, transdisciplinarity adds another layer to interdisciplinarity. This also involves integration and new, integrated knowledge and insights. But this time, not only is the academic angle considered, but also the social one. The social field, experience-based experts and stakeholders are involved. As a result, the focus is on real-life problems, with all relevant factors and actors. Consider, for example, the sustainability challenges (wicked problems) within issues of sustainability (see also ECHO education tip 'think big, act small! The first steps towards sustainability education', 2022).

Competences aimed at initial exploration of interdisciplinary education (de Greef et al, 2017). For example:

• Knowledge and understanding of interdisciplinary education: what is it? What barriers and pitfalls exist? Which skills are important? What are the dos and dont's? What kind of cases are covered and how?
• Knowledge and understanding of the content of other disciplines, without working directly in an interdisciplinary way: multidisciplinarity as a step towards interdisciplinarity.

Generic, transferable competences (de Greef et al, 2017), aimed at learning to work in interdisciplinary contexts. Examples of these include collaboration, critical thinking, reflection and integrative reasoning. Here, students practise real interdisciplinary thinking and exchange.

Make the group assignment group-worthy (Lotan, 2003) (see also ECHO teaching tip 'what makes a group assignment successful' 2022):

• Choose open-ended, complex tasks that require higher levels of processing, making the 'group aspect' add value to the task. Strong(er) together!
• Encourage interdependence. Students need to integrate each other’s expertise to successfully complete the assignment, for example, when preparing integrated policy advice.

Support collaboration during the group assignment and teach this:

• Collaboration is a competence in itself. Check to what extent your students have already mastered this. Recognise that learning to work together often requires more than just getting students to work together during a group assignment (see ECHO education tip, 2018).
• Collaboration goes better when it happens in a positive, pleasant atmosphere. Create a positive classroom climate (see ECHO education tip, 2020). Make it clear, for example, that making mistakes is normal, that constructive feedback is important and that students should help each other. Allow time to get to know each other, especially at the start of the group assignment (see, for example, good practice 'interdisciplinary project day' and 'Challenge-based learning during summer school social city design', only accessible for UAntwerp staff members, after logging in).

Students naturally bring diverse knowledge and experience to interdisciplinary teaching. Still, it can be useful to make sure everyone has the same basic knowledge. Are there certain theories, concepts or terms that are relevant to them all? Then be sure to provide that information at the start or prior to the group assignment (see, for example, good practice 'diamonds are forever', only accessible for UAntwerp staff, after logging in).