Research Overview
Four strands of studies are carried out by the interdisciplinary studies project:
- Expert Interdisciplinary Work and Collaboration: These studies examine the social cognitive, emotional and epistemological qualities of interdisciplinary work taking place in leading institutions such as the MIT Media Lab and the Santa Fe Institute as well as in research networks such as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Santa Fe institute, and the MacArthur Foundation.
- Pre-Collegiate Interdisciplinary Education: These studies examine principles and practices of quality curriculum design, instruction, learning and assessment in programs such as Saint Paul's School, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, and the International Baccalaureate. Key to our Pre-collegiate work was an intensive action-research project that enabled us to formalize our pedagogical model: “Teaching for interdisciplinary understanding.”
- Collegiate Interdisciplinary Education: These studies examine principles and practices of quality curriculum design, instruction, and assessment in established college programs such as the Human Biology program at Stanford University, Thinking Like and Educator at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Interdisciplinary Honors Program at Miami University, Ohio.
- Global Consciousness: This emerging study examines students’ developing global sensitivity, understanding and self concept as they study contemporary issues of global significance in an interdisciplinary way