Transcript Issues in interdisciplinary teaching and learning

Issues in interdisciplinary
teaching and learning
John Canning
Subject Centre for Languages,
Linguistics and Area Studies
University of Southampton
Area Studies
• “Area Studies is a generic term applied
to the study of the society or societies
of a given geographical space” QAA
• e.g American Studies, European
Studies, African Studies
• Multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary
Disciplines of Area Studies
• Social Sciences e.g. economics,
geography, politics, sociology
• Arts and humanities e.g. history,
modern languages, Literature
• Area Studies Project SCs. LLAS,
Economics, English, GEES, HCA, CSAP
Encouraging interdisciplinary
• Subject Centres (many cover 2+
subjects).
• Subject Centre collaboration
• CETLs
• Interdisciplinary/ Joint/ Combined/
Major- Minor degree schemes
Discipline
• Tribes with identities and cultural
attributes. Becher (1989)
• Guild/ religious community, vocation,
lifelong commitment (Parker 2002).
• Cf: Subject= knowledge acquisition
Rationales for
interdisciplinary teaching
De Zure (online)
• Life is interdisciplinary (social
problems AIDS, crime, poverty).
• Overcomes artificial fragmentation of
knowledge.
Rationales for interdisciplinary
teaching (continued)
• Interdisciplinary needs of the
workplace.
• Share knowledge and resources
between departments.
• Technological change has changed
ways knowledge organised.
Barriers to interdisciplinarity
•
•
•
•
Learning styles (Kolb)
Student socialisation
Institutional structures
Assessment
Learning styles (Kolb)
Student socialisation into
disciplines
• Academic ‘stars’.
• Key research journals
• Disciplinary histories and ‘heroic
myths’.
Institutional structures
• Multiple departments- issues of
student (and staff) identities.
• Programmes vulnerable to staff
changes in contributing departments
• Pastoral and academic support must
be well worked out.
Curriculum and Assessment
• Area Studies Benchmarking statement
supposes contributing disciplines
decide appropriate assessment.
• Teaching staff teach and assess from
own discipline.
Curriculum and Assessment
(cont)
• Lack of differentiation learning
outcomes.
• Lower attainment of non-specialists (?)
• Resistance to teaching non-specialists.
Concerns about ‘watering down’/
‘dumbing down’.
Opportunities for
interdisciplinary teaching
• New schools/ faculties lead to
opportunities for interdisciplinary
programmes in one department.
• Traditional interdisciplinary courses
such as PPE suggest quality not
compromised.
Opportunities for
interdisciplinary teaching (cont)
• Interdisciplinary CETLs.
• Possibilities for students without
traditional ‘A’ levels.
• Employability