Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Finding your way in the interdisciplinary forest: notes on educating future conservation practitioners

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We explore the challenges of educating interdisciplinary thinkers who can address the management of complex socio-ecological systems, such as forests, by sharing our experiences from several perspectives. Five contexts for interdisciplinarity are explored along with examples related to: the department, advising, integrated research collaborations, a graduate working group, an interdisciplinary class, and trans-academic research. These experiences demonstrate the importance of safe space and patience, the need for adequate time to build trust and respect, and the recognition that interdisciplinary thinking is developed and reinforced in multiple contexts. Interdisciplinarity is always a work in progress that differs in its particulars according to the research or management question at hand and the kinds of specializations involved. Thus, there are no hard and fast rules for its creation but only guiding principles that must be adapted in the course of their implementation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Apostel L, Berger G, Briggs A, Michaud G (1972) Interdisciplinarity: problems of teaching and research in universities. [Paris]: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

  • Balazs C, Morello-Frosch R (2013) The three r’s:how community-based participatory research strengthens the rigor, relevance and reach of science. Environ Justice 6:9–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benderly BL (2012) Rethinking the Ph.D. Sci Careers. doi:10.1126/science.caredit.a1200101

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradwell P (2009) The Edgeless University. Demos, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell L (2005) Overcoming obstacles to interdisciplinary research. Conserv Biol 19:574–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casey BA (2010) Administering interdisciplinary programs. In: Frodeman R, Klein JT, Mitcham C, Holbrook JB (eds) The oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 345–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Chronicle of Higher Education (2012) The almanac of higher education. http://chronicle.com/section/Almanac-of-Higher-Education/723/. Accessed 30 Mar 2014

  • Commission European (2003) EUR 20877 Science shops—knowledge for the community. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • DeZure D (2010) Interdisciplinary pedagogies in higher education. In: Frodeman R, Klein JT, Mitcham C, Holbrook JB (eds) The Oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 372–386

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Preez P (2012) The human right to education, the ethical responsibility of curriculum, and the irony in ‘Safe Spaces’. In: Roux C (ed) Safe spaces: human rights in diverse contexts. Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, pp 51–62

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Funtowitcz SO, Ravetz J (1993) Science for the post-normal age. Futures 25:739–755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funtowitcz S, Ravetz J. (2003) Post normal science. In: International Society for Ecological Economics (eds) Internet Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics

  • Graybill JK (2010) Doctoral student and early career academic perspectives. In: Frodeman R, Klein JT, Mitcham C, Holbrook JB (eds) The oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 404–418

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall R, Sandler B (1982) The classroom climate: a chilly one for women? Association of American colleges.Project on the status and education of women. Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Haraway D (1999) Situated knowledges: the science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. In: Biagioli M (ed) The science studies reader. Routledge, New York, pp 172–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Holley LC, Steiner S (2013) Safe space: student perspectives on classroom environment. J Soc Work Educ 41:49–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaur S, Manaan SA (2013) Developing interdisciplinary teaching: a vignette of a postgraduate course. Procedia-Soc Behav Sci 90:755–763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein JT (2010) Creating interdisciplinary campus cultures: a model for strength and sustainability. Jossey-Bass/Association of American Colleges and Universities, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn TS (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Latour B (1987) Science in action: how to follow scientists and engineers through society. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Lele S, Norgaard RB (2005) Practicing interdisciplinarity. BioScience 55:967–975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerena-Quinn R (2013) A safe space to speak above the silences. Cult Med Psychiatry 37:340–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyall C, Meagher L (2012) A masterclass in interdisciplinarity: research into practice in training the next generation of interdisciplinary researchers. Futures 44:606–617

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons A (2012) Visualizing wildlife conservation and development in Southern Africa: a multi-optic approach. Ph.D Dissertation, University of California at Berkeley

  • McCook A (2011) Rethinking Ph.Ds. Nature 472:280–282

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller CA (2010) Policy challenges and university reform. In: Frodeman R, Klein JT, Mitcham C, Holbrook JB (eds) The Oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 333–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Millis BJ (1997) Cooperative learning for higher education faculty. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Phoenix

  • Newell WH, Luckie DB (2013) Pedagogy for interdisciplinary habits of the mind. In: McCright AM, Eaton W(eds) Insights on interdisciplinary teaching and learning. White Paper. Michigan State University East Lansing: 7–14. http://lbc.msu.edu/CITL/whitepaper.cfm

  • Öberg G (2011) Interdisciplinary environmental studies: a primer. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Rafols I, Leydesdorff L, O’hare A, Nightingale P, Stirling A (2012) How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research: a comparison between innovation studies and business & management. Res Policy 41:1262–1282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redman C, Grove MJ, Kuby L (2004) Integrating social science into the long term ecological research (LTER) network: social dimensions of ecological change and ecological dimensions of social change. Ecosystems 7(2):161–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoten D, Parker A (2004) Risks and rewards of an interdisciplinary research path”. Science 306:2046

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers M (2012) Contextualizing theories and practices of bricolage research. Qual Rep 17:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott J (1998) Seeing like a state: how certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprain L, Timpson W (2012) Pedagogy for sustainability science:case-based approaches for interdisciplinary instruction. Environ Commun 6:532–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner G, Alfred P (2006) Higher education for sustainability by means of transdisciplinary case studies: an innovative approach for solving complex, real-world problems. J Clean Prod, Sustainability In Higher Education: What is Happening? 14(9–11):877–90

  • Wallner F (1992) Das Verfahren der Verfremdung. In: Wallner F (ed) Wissenschaft in reflexion. Braumüller, Wien

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (2013) Great scientist ≠ good at math. Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323611604578398943650327184. Accessed 21 Mar 2014

  • Woodford MR, Kolb CL, Durocher-Radeka G, Javier G (2014) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ally training programs on campus: current variations and future directions. J Coll Stud Dev 55:317–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the many participants of IDTEA over the years for their insights, energy, enthusiasm and commitment to interdisciplinarity. We also acknowledge the financial support our interdisciplinary efforts have received. IDTEA and two Intercampus Workshops were funded by a Breslauer Graduate Conversation Group Award from UC Berkeley’s Institute of International Studies. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their detailed and constructive suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California at Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    K. Andrade, C. Corbin, S. Diver, M. V. Eitzel, J. Williamson, J. Brashares & L. Fortmann

Authors
  1. K. Andrade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. Corbin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Diver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. V. Eitzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. Williamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. Brashares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. L. Fortmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Brashares.

Additional information

Communicated by Georg Winkel.

K. Andrade, C. Corbin, S. Diver, M. V. Eitzel, J. Williamson, J. Brashares, L. Fortmann contributed equally.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Andrade, K., Corbin, C., Diver, S. et al. Finding your way in the interdisciplinary forest: notes on educating future conservation practitioners. Biodivers Conserv 23, 3405–3423 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0818-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0818-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation