Problem-based Projects, Learning and Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education

This chapter outlines the complexities of interdisciplinary higher education and proposes a framework which encompasses some of the unresolved issues that continue to challenge interdisciplinary teaching and learning, as well as the underpinning pedagogies. Through the case of Aalborg University which has been a dedicated PBL university for over four decades some of the ways in which interdisciplinary learning may be perceived and conceptualised in higher education will be highlighted. The chapter is particularly concerned with the premises of problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach that may offer the potential for opening interdisciplinary learning spaces. Thus the aim of the chapter is to highlight key issues that need to be researched and better understood if the principles of problem-based learning and the intentions of interdisciplinary learning are to be a compatible match.