About this Research Topic
Interdisciplinary education is characterised by many as integrating theory, methods, approaches, knowledge of two or more different disciplines to create innovative solutions. Another way of looking at integration is to consider "what level of knowledge" is used to deal with different pedagogical situations. More particularly, what is the impact on epistemological knowledge creation in these pedagogical situations? Savin Baden has identified five levels of knowing, she defines as Modes. Mode 1 traditional disciplinary knowledge creation within academe, Mode 2 knowledge that transcends different disciplines and is validated by the world of work, Mode 3 knowing in and with uncertainty, identifying epistemological gaps, Mode 4 still unknown knowledge, including uncertainty, gaps between different pieces of knowledge (hierarchies) and Mode 5 addressing different knowledge systems in complex, dynamic and uncertain contexts. These different knowledge modes affect the pedagogical situation, problem-solving strategies and the notion of Interdisciplinary knowledge integration. There is no straightforward synthesis on what integration in these different contexts means and how it bears on the pedagogical methods, problem-solving strategies and assessment of interdisciplinary engineering education at the tertiary level. This issue will explore (through the means of scientific articles) what integration may entail at the higher modes (3,4,5) and the required epistemological fluency. Epistemological fluency, defined by Markauskaite and Goodyear as a person being flexible and adept with respect to different kinds of (Inter)disciplinary and context specific knowledge and different ways of knowing about the world. How does uncertainty about knowing, the discovery of epistemological gaps and different knowledge systems impact learning.
This Research Topic aims to create a hierarchy or framework about the many different pedagogical formats of interdisciplinary education related to the Modes of knowledge. Teachers often struggle with the level of integration that their students need to display in addressing their engineering design problems, let alone how this needs to be assessed. Students simultaneously are faced with the need to bridge knowledge gaps within their interdisciplinary team or the failure to understand one another across disciplines. Is boundary-crossing enough to grasp what is needed to integrate epistemological fluency to create new solutions?
Critical questions in these situations are:
- How does uncertainty about knowing, the discovery of epistemological gaps and different knowledge systems impact the design of learning situations (pedagogical methods, problem-solving and assessment)?
- How does uncertainty about knowing, the discovery of epistemological gaps and different knowledge systems impact student learning and problem-solving capabilities?
We welcome authors of diverse fields education, psychology, philosophy, design engineering, to submit research based papers (not perspective or methods papers) to address the research questions mentioned above on the theme of:
- Pedagogical methods and assessment for knowledge modes 3,4,5
- Problem-solving strategies and integration for knowledge modes 3,4,5
- Student learning and dealing with uncertainty for knowledge modes 4,5
- Problem-solving capabilities, knowledge modes and the impact of integration and knowledge creations at different knowledge modes levels 3,4,5.
This Research Topic aims to create a hierarchy or framework about the many different pedagogical formats of interdisciplinary education related to the Modes of knowledge. Teachers often struggle with the level of integration that their students need to display in addressing their engineering design problems, let alone how this needs to be assessed. Students simultaneously are faced with the need to bridge knowledge gaps within their interdisciplinary team or the failure to understand one another across disciplines. Is boundary-crossing enough to grasp what is needed to integrate epistemological fluency to create new solutions?
Critical questions in these situations are:
- How does uncertainty about knowing, the discovery of epistemological gaps and different knowledge systems impact the design of learning situations (pedagogical methods, problem-solving and assessment)?
- How does uncertainty about knowing, the discovery of epistemological gaps and different knowledge systems impact student learning and problem-solving capabilities?
We welcome authors of diverse fields education, psychology, philosophy, design engineering, to submit research based papers (not perspective or methods papers) to address the research questions mentioned above on the theme of:
- Pedagogical methods and assessment for knowledge modes 3,4,5
- Problem-solving strategies and integration for knowledge modes 3,4,5
- Student learning and dealing with uncertainty for knowledge modes 4,5
- Problem-solving capabilities, knowledge modes and the impact of integration and knowledge creations at different knowledge modes levels 3,4,5.
Keywords: interdisciplinarity, integration, modes of knowing, pedagogical methods
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
