Page 40 - Teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking in higher education in engineering

Chapter 2
indicate the necessity of learning the language of discourse of different disciplines in order to be able to negotiate meaning, resolve epistemological differences, develop shared understanding, and to communicate cognitive advancements to a broad audience (Manathunga et al., 2006; Woods, 2007).
2.5.2 Which student conditions that influence interdisciplinary thinking within the context of interdisciplinary higher education are mentioned?
Eight student conditions, divided into two categories, seemed to be important to enabling IDT (see Table 2.1).The first category, personal characteristics, includes six conditions. The three conditions curiosity, respect, and openness point at the necessary appreciative attitude towards other disciplines (Bruce, Lyall, Tait, & Williams, 2004). Importantly, students appeared to have a wide variation in attitude towards other disciplines (Woods, 2007). The other three conditions patience, diligence, and self-regulation likely refer to characteristics essential to enabling the production of a cognitive advancement. The second category, prior experiences, includes the two conditions social experiences and educational experiences. These conditions point at, for instance, students’ experienced way(s) of thinking, styles of teaching, and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning (Lattuca et al., 2004).
2.5.3 Which learning environment conditions that influence interdisciplinary thinking within the context of interdisciplinary higher education are mentioned?
Twelve learning environment conditions, divided into four categories, seemed to be important to enabling IDT (see Table 2.1). The first category, curriculum, consists of two conditions: balance between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity and disciplinary knowledge inside or outside courses on interdisciplinarity. In particular, an overarching framework that links and sequences curricular content seems to be essential to provide both context and a roadmap for
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