How to cross the line: design principles for interdisciplinary education

Area of Science:

• Higher Education
• Educational Research
• Curriculum Design

Background:

• Interdisciplinary learning is increasingly popular globally in higher education.
• There is a recognized gap in knowledge regarding the effective design of interdisciplinary education.
• This study details the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary course in healthcare communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To iteratively develop and pilot an interdisciplinary course in healthcare communication.
• To identify and propose evidence-informed design principles for interdisciplinary education.
• To contribute practical guidance for designing future interdisciplinary programs.

Main Methods:

• A design-based educational research approach was employed over four phases.
• Phase 1 involved a literature review to identify prerequisites for interdisciplinary learning.
• Phases 2 and 3 included pilot courses and three years of implementation with evaluations, culminating in Phase 4 to distill design principles.

Main Results:

• The study elaborates on the components of the developed interdisciplinary course design.
• Data from surveys, panel discussions, and interviews were used to reflect on course content and outcomes.
• Seven evidence-informed 'crossing the line' design principles for interdisciplinary education were proposed.

Conclusions:

• The derived design principles are generalizable to interdisciplinary education across various higher education disciplines.
• These principles transcend subject-specific boundaries, offering broad applicability.
• The findings provide a foundation for designing robust and effective interdisciplinary learning experiences.