Experiencing Interdisciplinarity

As preparation for this class, instruct students to collect a newspaper article that demonstrates connections between a minimum of three distinct academic fields. 

In class, ask students to identify and document the diverse disciplines that are interwoven within the chosen article.

Direct students to explore the concepts and themes that hold significance across the diverse disciplines identified from the newspaper article. Encourage them to consider not only the explicit mentions within the article, but also potential starting points that align with these concepts. 

Next, guide students to create a conceptual map that highlights connections between the concepts they’ve outlined. Within this mind map, they should pinpoint specific intersections among themes or concepts. Furthermore, ask them to identify and record one or two overarching themes that emerge from these interconnections. These themes can be termed ‘shared horizons,’ representing a broader interconnected perspective.

Ask students to team up and present their interconnected concept maps and the themes they’ve identified. This conversation serves as a foundation for both their forthcoming reflection in Step 5 and broader class engagement.

Encourage them to explore the following guiding questions: 

• Discipline Discovery and Interconnections: What disciplines did you uncover, and how did you establish their connections? 
• Noteworthy Interdisciplinary Links: Which connections between disciplines stand out the most to you and why? 
• Key Themes and Focal Areas: What significant themes or focal areas emerge from your concept map? 
• Contributions to Problem Understanding: How do the interconnections between disciplines contribute to a deeper understanding of the problem or question presented in the article? 

This dynamic exchange provides a platform for students to share insights, offer constructive feedback and collectively unravel the multidimensional aspects embedded within the chosen article.

Encourage students to fine-tune their concept maps and enhance their themes based on the insights gained from peer discussions.

This step allows for an optional adjustment process, where students have the opportunity to revise their conceptual maps. Students can modify, expand or reorganise their concept maps to better highlight the connections they’ve discussed with their peers. This includes adding new concepts and themes or strengthening existing connections. 

Engage students in a thoughtful discussion, evaluating their process of interconnecting disciplines and assessing their perspective skills.   

The reflective questions provide students with the opportunity to delve deeper into their thought processes, evaluate their learning journey and consider the broader implications of interdisciplinary exploration.  

It is advised to facilitate this reflection to take place in small group discussions, where students can share their learnings consciously. 

Assessment as learning learning aims to strengthen the learning process and the development of metacognitive skills. It empowers students to direct their own learning and to become independent, critical self-assessors.

Self-assessment

Self-regulated learning

Reflective questions