Designing for Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Considerations for Instructional Designers

Embedding interdisciplinarity into a higher educational curriculum allows students to develop competence in synthesizing and applying knowledge and skills from across multiple disciplines to address problems and find solutions that would not be possible if only a single disciplinary lens is used. This review of the literature focused on reviewing the state of interdisciplinarity, benefits and challenges of introducing interdisciplinary curriculum into a higher education environment, as well as strategies and models that could be used in designing an interdisciplinary curriculum. It provides a platform for instructional and curriculum designers for integration of interdisciplinary approaches into a curriculum design.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Curriculum & Instruction Department, College of Education, Purdue University, 100 N. University St., R. 3134, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA Iryna Ashby & Marisa Exter

1. Iryna Ashby