Page 112 - Teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking in higher education in engineering

Chapter 5
This example shows the disciplinary reasoning supporting the use of a modified atmosphere packaging that requires particular packaging properties; without these properties, the induced gas composition of modified atmosphere packaging is going to change, leading to the undesired growth of single-cell organisms that will cause spoilage. By providing this kind of justification, students show their disciplinary understanding (subskill 1 and criteria a).
Table 5.6 Overview of subcategories of justifications per category of subskill
Category of subskill
Subcategories of justifications
1. Having knowledge of disciplines
- In-depth disciplinary reasoning
- In-depth factual reasoning
2. Having knowledge of disciplinary paradigms
- Theoretical source information and assumptions derived
- Practical source information and assumptions derived
3. Having knowledge of interdisciplinarity
- The interrelationships between the disciplinary knowledge
- The reasoning behind the interrelationships
4. Having higher-order cognitive skills
- The activities conducted in connecting the disciplinary knowledge
- The weighing of disciplinary knowledge involved
5. Having communication skills
- The reflective manner of communicating the advancement in understanding
- The influence of individual disciplinary background
In addition, in the subcategories of justifications within the category of having knowledge of disciplinary paradigms reference was made to the sources and the assumptions derived from them in order to justify the connection (see Table 5.6). To illustrate, “The description of CMC case [company] shows that its products are mainly sold to the North-west Europe. Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium have banned to use chlorine to wash ready-to-eat
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