Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine whether, and how, an asynchronous online learning community pedagogical approach can address students’ challenge of integrating disciplinary ideas into an interdisciplinary understanding. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted in which 51 undergraduate students were allocated into two groups who learned a similar asynchronous online interdisciplinary course. The two groups differed in the learning mode in which the courses were designed and taught: a learning community (LC) mode for the experimental group, versus an individual learning (IL) mode for the control group. We used a designated rubric to compare the quality of students’ interdisciplinary understanding, as expressed in a synthesis essay each student wrote. Findings show that students’ abilities to synthesize disciplinary ideas were significantly higher in the LC group. Since synthesis of disciplinary ideas is the goal and essence of interdisciplinarity, we view these findings as indicating a higher quality of interdisciplinary understanding among the LC mode students. This work demonstrates and delineates the potential of the LC approach to promote the development of interdisciplinary understanding in higher-education asynchronous online environments.
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Abbreviations
- LC:
-
Learning Community
- IL:
-
Individual Learning
- BBIL:
-
Boundary Breaking for Interdisciplinary Learning
- LINKS:
-
Learning in a Networked Society
- ILPCV:
-
Interdisciplinary Learning as a Pragmatic Constructionist View
- KI:
-
Knowledge Integration
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This study was funded by I-CORE (Israeli Centers for Research Excellence), Grant Number 1716/12.
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Appendix
Appendix
Example of an analysis of a 1000 words essay submitted as a mid-course assignment by Rita, one of the leading students in the course.
The essay question: In light of the three disciplinary domains recently presented in the course, what are the roles of teachers and students in a networked society, and how are they different from roles that are more traditional?
Assessment of Rita's essay | Main ideas in Rita's essay | Examples of Rita's ideas |
---|---|---|
Essay introduction Rita opens up by presenting the essay question and explaining its importance and relevancy. Then she explains the interdisciplinary rationale – the benefits of exploring the question through different disciplinary perspectives. She ends up the introduction with her own personal connection to the topic Relevant criteria: purposefulness, integrative lens | • The essay question regards the roles of teachers and students in a networked society • The essay would focus on the educational implications of the networked society rather than the technological changes it enabled • Each given disciplinary resource presents a different relevant educational context: higher education in the first resource, high school in the second and informal education in the third resource • The essay question is personally relevant to the writer who is a pre-service teacher building up her own educational beliefs | "It is very important for us, as pre-service teachers, to understand these implications in order to adapt our future teaching style to the vast technological changes, and to develop our teaching credo" |
Description and analysis of first disciplinary resource Rita fully presents the main ideas of the first disciplinary resource and then critically analyses them in light of the essay question thereby gaining relevant insights for the interdisciplinary synthesis Relevant criteria: disciplinary grounding, disciplinary analysis through integrative lens | • The first resource discusses the design of technology-based instruction to promote a transition to a learning culture that is based on internal values • This transition involves a gradual change in the roles of both instructors and students: instructors are becoming facilitators rather than transmitters of information, students are becoming active learners rather than passive listeners • Both teachers and students are involved in knowledge construction thereby blurring traditional hierarchies | "As a result of the changes in the roles of the instructor and the students, a more intimate and active relationship is being formed: the boundary is broken and both sides are becoming partners in the creation of knowledge. The instructor remains the main source of knowledge, but not the exclusive one" |
Description and analysis of second disciplinary resource Rita partially presents the main ideas of the second disciplinary resource (the design of the intervention is missing). She identifies links to the first disciplinary resource. Her critical analysis in light of the essay question yields new insights to the interdisciplinary synthesis Relevant criteria: disciplinary grounding, disciplinary analysis through integrative lens, idea connection | • The second resource discusses the incorporation of students' questions in the curriculum as means to promote intrinsic motivation for learning • Both resources demonstrate how a change in the teaching culture leads to a change in the learning culture • By giving students the ability to influence the course of instruction while respecting their contributions, the resource presents teacher's authority that is based on mutual respect and concern rather than on being the source of information | "Incorporating students' questions led to an increase in intrinsic motivation for learning. This was exemplified in addressing the basic needs of learning: competence (empowering students' ability to better understand the content and gain more knowledge); autonomy (students' initiative and influence on the learning processes they experience); relatedness (strengthen meaningful and supportive social bonds with other students and with the teacher" |
Description and analysis of third disciplinary resource Rita shortly presents the main ideas of the third resource and critically analyses it in light of the essay question to gain meaningful insights. Even though she compares it to the other two resources, she misses additional potential interdisciplinary insights since her comparison focuses on the different goals of the researches rather than on the issue of teacher and student roles Relevant criteria: disciplinary grounding, disciplinary analysis through integrative lens, idea connection | • The third resource discusses learning of social skills in which content is only means to an end • Technology enables cooperation and collaboration that are crucial for social skills • The role of the "teacher" includes therapeutic and behavioral aspects. Technology can assist in understanding the needs of the "student" and to design a personalized learning experience by the "teacher" • A opposed to the other two resources, the current resource does not focus on changing the learning and teaching cultures, but rather on promoting collaboration in order to minimize social gaps | "Following the intervention, the main change that occurred in the role of the students has to do with their new ability to collaborate with each other The implementation of the technology-based games enabled the instructor to actively and dynamically intervene in the design of the participants' learning experience" |
Essay summary Rita concludes the paper with a coherent synthesis of the different insights she gained from the analysis of each disciplinary resource in order to address the essay question. Furthermore, she critically reflects on her own synthesis Relevant criteria: synthesis | • To conclude, there is a common trend of change in the roles of teachers and students and in the traditional balance between them • The change seems more apparent in the context of higher education, where there is more flexibility and openness to new approaches • The broad essay question was addressed by the given resources only, which might limit the scope and nature of the conclusions | "The evolvement of the networked society had a major impact on the roles of students and teachers, so as on their relations and interactions Yet, based on the given resources, one could identify the differential nature of this impact" |
The final score Rita received for her essay (2.8) is based on the assessment of its different parts, as described above.
Criterion | Grade | |
---|---|---|
1–Purposefulness | 3 | An elaborated reference to the context and the importance of the topic and to the interdisciplinary rationale |
2–Integrative lens | 3 | A clear description that enables to understand the chosen personal perspective that guides the interdisciplinary work |
3–Disciplinary grounding | 2 | A partial understanding of some/all of the disciplinary ideas (e.g., not detailed enough, over detailed with non-relevant ideas) |
4–Idea connection | 3 | Connections regarding all three disciplinary domains |
5–Disciplinary analysis through integrative lens | 3 | All three disciplinary domains are systematically and fully analyzed through the integrative lens |
6–Synthesis | 3 | The interdisciplinary answer/conclusion is based on integration of ideas from all three domains, and contributes meaningful and relevant understandings |
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Kidron, A., Kali, Y. Promoting interdisciplinary understanding in asynchronous online higher education courses: a learning communities approach. Instr Sci 52, 139–169 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-023-09635-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-023-09635-7