TY - JOUR
T1 - A multidimensional approach to examine student interdisciplinary learning in science and engineering in higher education
AU - Spelt, Elsbeth
AU - Luning, Pieternelleke Arianne
AU - van Boekel, M.A.J.S.
AU - Mulder, Martin
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Preparing science and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams necessitates research on teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking. A multidimensional approach was taken to examine student interdisciplinary learning in a master course on food quality management. The collected 615 student experiences were analysed for the cognitive, emotional, and social learning dimensions using the learning theory of Illeris. Of these 615 experiences, the analysis showed that students reported 214, 194, and 207 times on, respectively, the emotional, the cognitive, and the social dimension. Per learning dimension, key learning experiences featuring interdisciplinary learning were identified such as ‘frustrations in selecting and matching disciplinary knowledge to complex problems’ (emotional), ‘understanding how to apply theoretical models or concepts to real-world situations’ (cognitive), and ‘socially engaging with peers to recognise similarities in perceptions and experiences’ (social). Furthermore, the results showed that students appreciated the cognitive dimension relatively more than the emotional and social dimensions.
AB - Preparing science and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams necessitates research on teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking. A multidimensional approach was taken to examine student interdisciplinary learning in a master course on food quality management. The collected 615 student experiences were analysed for the cognitive, emotional, and social learning dimensions using the learning theory of Illeris. Of these 615 experiences, the analysis showed that students reported 214, 194, and 207 times on, respectively, the emotional, the cognitive, and the social dimension. Per learning dimension, key learning experiences featuring interdisciplinary learning were identified such as ‘frustrations in selecting and matching disciplinary knowledge to complex problems’ (emotional), ‘understanding how to apply theoretical models or concepts to real-world situations’ (cognitive), and ‘socially engaging with peers to recognise similarities in perceptions and experiences’ (social). Furthermore, the results showed that students appreciated the cognitive dimension relatively more than the emotional and social dimensions.
KW - higher education
KW - interdisciplinary course
KW - Interdisciplinary thinking
KW - learning processes
KW - student experiences
U2 - 10.1080/03043797.2016.1224228
DO - 10.1080/03043797.2016.1224228
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84982281215
SN - 0304-3797
VL - 42
SP - 761
EP - 774
JO - European Journal of Engineering Education
JF - European Journal of Engineering Education
IS - 6
ER -