Design for Interdisciplinary Learning

Higher education institutions have increasingly focused on providing their students with interdisciplinary learning opportunities in recent years. It is widely agreed that developing skills to think and collaborate across disciplinary boundaries is essential for students. However, there is still much debate and limited empirical evidence on how best to develop pedagogy and design learning activities that focus on interdisciplinary competencies.
The lack of clarity and empirical evidence makes it challenging for teachers to design effective interdisciplinary learning experiences without prior experience. To address this issue, we conducted a systematic review of empirical studies published from 2018 to 2023 that examined interdisciplinary learning activities across educational programs. We reviewed 80 studies and used Bigg's model for constructive alignment as an analytical framework. Our presentation will provide an overview of the intended learning goals, learning activities, and forms of assessment included in the studies. Additionally, we will present helpful advice and guidelines for designing effective interdisciplinary learning experiences.