Students benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to science education. But making interdisciplinary connections is difficult for students! Best practices and student perceptions will be discussed.
Abstract:
The pressing need to solve large-scale and complex societal problems has driven the demand for an interdisciplinary approach to contemporary science education. These approaches generally present content in an interdisciplinary format, with the goal of breaking down pre-existing silos of disciplinary knowledge.
Our lived experience and recent scholarly work demonstrates that interdisciplinary instruction must be intentionally designed, clear and explicit to students, and be continuously supported at the program and classroom level. This presentation will highlight student barriers to engaging in interdisciplinary thinking, and initial steps that all educators can undertake to promote this higher-order thinking in their classrooms.
Keywords:
Interdisciplinary Learning, Science Education, Curriculum
Outcomes:
1. Identify key challenges for students to make interdisciplinary content connections.
2. Describe best practices for engaging students in interdisciplinary learning in the classroom.
3. Summarize available methods for assessing student interdisciplinary thinking.
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References:
Abdella, B. R. J., Walczak, M., Kandl, K. A., & Schwinefus, J. J. (2011). Integrated chemistry and biology for first-year college students. Journal of Chemical Education, 88, 1257–1263. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed1001834
Bett, N. N., Piccolo, C., Roberson, N. D., Charbonneau, A. J., & Addison, C. J. (2023). Students’ views on the nature of science in an interdisciplinary first-year science program: Content analysis of a weekly reflection activity. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 11.
Gouvea, J., S., Sawtelle, V., Geller, B. D., & Turpen, C. (2013). A framework for analyzing interdisciplinary tasks: Implications for student learning and curricular design. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 12(2), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-08-0135
Shen, J., Liu, O. L., & Sung, S. (2014). Designing interdisciplinary assessments in sciences for college students: An example on osmosis. International Journal of Science Education, 36(11), 1773–1793. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.879224