Line Nielsen, Department of Psychology
Abstract
Interdisciplinarity in teaching and learning
Background
It is argued that interdisciplinarity in teaching and learning is vital as it helps students see the big picture, tackle complex problems, and gain versatile skills. Nonetheless, there is limited guidance available for faculty members on practical methods to promote interdisciplinarity. The purpose of this project is to develop and evaluate teaching components and pedagogical approaches that can promote interdisciplinary thinking within the elective course 'Mental Health Promotion in Theory and Practice' offered to BA-students across The Faculty of Social Sciences at UCHP.
Methods
In the elective course, various teaching elements and pedagogical and didactic techniques aimed at enhancing interdisciplinarity were incorporated including explicitly addressing interdisciplinarity, placing students in predefined interdisciplinary project groups, ‘interdisciplinary reflection journals’, organizing an interdisplinary panel debate and establishing partnerships with external case sites. To assess the impact of implemented teaching elements, I collected empirical data, including motivation letters, a mid-term evaluation, and an interdisciplinarity questionnaire.
Findings
Teaching activities, including the panel debate, interdisciplinary project groups, and the explicit emphasis on interdisciplinarity, received positive feedback from students as effective measures for enhancing interdisciplinary understanding. Generally, most students reported that the course had increased their competencies to collaborate, reflect, and think critically, to a high extent or to some extent. However, some students found it challenging to grasp the concept of interdisciplinary thinking, and the findings revealed a necessity to rethink the interdisplinary reflection journals.
Implications
A range of implications for the elective course, students, teachers, departments and faculty are suggested.