Constructing Interdisciplinary Competence: Experimentation and Process

Interdisciplinary courses and curricula moved from the shadows of academe in the 1960’s to a prominent place in colleges and universities during the first decade of the 21st century. Sometimes viewed as a panacea to challenges in higher education, interdisciplinarity is also considered a necessary stepping stone to prepare students for complex and globalized societies, economic and environmental challenges, growth in diverse knowledge industries, etc. Despite the fact that interdisciplinary approaches are necessary, constructing interdisciplinary competence in faculty and students is a hard and arduous process and faces multi-layered challenges: Faculty are often not trained in interdisciplinary research methods, pedagogies, curricular design and collaboration. Students are often times not aware of disciplinary methodologies and feel inept at synthesizing knowledge models in interdisciplinary courses; and lastly, after interdisciplinary programs are introduced and maintained, experimentation with curricular designs often comes to a halt. In the proposed conference session, we will address these complex problems and present examples of improving faculty competence with regard to interdisciplinary course design, share practices which empower students’ comprehension of both disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies and discuss strategies to keep interdisciplinary programs fluid and vibrant