Interdisciplinary teaching and learning Lessons from the field and beyond Lawrence Altrows Corinne Hart

Goals of the presentation To present different approaches to interdisciplinary teaching and learning To explore some of the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary teaching/learning To challenge participants to consider how interdisciplinary teaching/learning might apply to their own areas To begin a discussion about the place of interdisciplinarity in the broader context of Ryerson

Multidisciplinary: Fruit salad Additive model – whole grows larger Bringing own professional or disciplinary perspective to the table, learning from others Gaining an appreciation for other disciplines Often addresses short term issues

Transdisciplinary Fruit juice Whole is different from the sum of its parts Blending – disciplinary expertise is blended out Has been called non-disciplinary

Interprofessional Education Health Canada Definition Education intended to: Appreciate shared problem solving Develop mutual understanding of and respect for contributions of other disciplines Create socialization and competencies for collaborative practice

Interdisciplinary: Flower Blurring/softening of disciplinary silos Synergistic – whole is greater than the sum of its parts Holistic problem solving Appreciates but goes beyond disciplinary expertise

Benefits of interdisciplinary teaching Professional development Broadening perspective – transferable to disciplinary teaching Models holistic approach to students Expands teaching repertoire

Benefits of interdisciplinary learning Broadens strategies for problem solving Can lead to creative insights and problem solving Increases comfort in process skills Models real life practice

Student comment We each approached a problem from different angles but ultimately we found that there were many similarities across the fields. … I think once we realized that we were working toward the same goal we relaxed a little and let the process happen. During the whole experience though we still identified specific areas that were discipline related if they came up but the main focus was not discipline based.

Benefits continued…. Putting discipline specific expertise in a broader context Conflict management, consensus building, without losing own lens Increases understanding and respect for other disciplines Development of practitioners who see the value in and are comfortable with collaboration

Students have said…. I think that the experience in this group has been very unique compared to groups I have previously been in with solely nurses. I am not exactly sure why I feel that way, except that it feels as if we are all equals. I think that is because we are appreciative of each persons contribution and perspective in the team. I feel like we are not competitive and that we are a real team.

Institutional Challenges Institutional / admin set up and buy in Mind set Kudos/research/SRCTimetabling Credit for students Budget

Teaching/Learning Challenges Buy-in (professors and student) Ensuring quality – not blurring so much that there is no direction in problem solving Lack of experience in teaching through a holistic interdisciplinary model Lack of understanding of what interdisciplinary learning entails

What does this all mean for us? How can we integrate interdisciplinary teaching/learning at Ryerson? Future directions?