Who are we?
Interdisciplinarity is gaining an increasingly more prominent place in university learning, teaching and research. Students are expected to graduate with capabilities to work effectively in interdisciplinary and inter-professional settings. Researchers are called to contribute to the solutions of complex societal issues that require working in interdisciplinary teams. How do people develop expertise to work across disciplinary and professional boundaries? How can university educators assist students to develop their interdisciplinary effectiveness? How can research leaders facilitate productive work and learning of interdisciplinary teams?
Our special interest group brings together researchers, teachers, learning designers and other practitioners who have shared interests in interdisciplinary expertise, teaching and learning. We take a broad perspective to interdisciplinarity to refer by this term to a broad range of knowledge practices that span across established knowledge fields. Such knowledge practices usually involve collaboration and foster diverse connections between disciplines, professions and communities.
Together we explore how people develop interdisciplinary capabilities and how to facilitate interdisciplinary learning in diverse settings—from undergraduate courses to research teams. Our aim is to enable the flow of research knowledge and ‘know how’ between and among researchers who study interdisciplinary knowledge practices, professionals who design for and facilitate interdisciplinary learning, and other practitioners who work in this area.
Our convenors:
Lina Markauskaite, Beth Rohrlach, Brian Bailey
Membership: Are you an active researcher working in this area? Are you a professional who is in charge of designing and teaching interdisciplinary courses or facilitating learning in interdisciplinary teams? This CRLI special interest group and community of practice is for you. CRLI Membership is free and gives you access to the latest news and events coming out of the Centre and the Interdisciplinarity SIG.
Our goals:
· Enable knowledge flow among and between researchers and practitioners through discussions of interdisciplinary knowledge, teaching and learning.
· Facilitate building of collaborations for studying interdisciplinary knowledge work and developing innovative teaching and learning approaches.
· Support community of practice of interdisciplinary education practitioners through an online discussion forum and sharing of resources.
· Build awareness about the potentials and challenges of interdisciplinary knowledge work, teaching and learning and contribute to solution of these issues.
Our current activities:
In Semester 2, 2018, the Interdisciplinarity SIG will host a series of seminars around the topic of “Exploring interdisciplinary knowledge and learning practices”.
