The problems that characterize our world today are complex and require the integration of multiple disciplines and forms of expertise. For example, scientific research on climate change involves collaboration among scientists with expertise in Earth sciences, physics, mathematical modeling and machine learning, economics, international relations, and more. In order to equip students with the tools needed to function and make decisions in a world in which complex issues may affect each and every one of our personal lives.or example, in the case of vaccines, is important to engage in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning from an early age. In addition, grappling with complex topics related to everyday life may help students recognize the relevance of abstract school subjects to their own lives.
Multidisciplinary learning (Multidisciplinary) is learning through the combination of different disciplines, with limited interaction between them, such that each discipline retains its own knowledge structure. This form of learning is characterized by the accumulation and summarization of disciplinary insights. In contrast, interdisciplinary learning (Interdisciplinary) is the creation of integrative knowledge that emerges from interactions among different disciplines while investigating a complex phenomenon. This form of learning supports the synthesis of ideas.
Both types of learning involve multiple disciplines, open rich and diverse worlds of questions and concepts to learners, and may encourage higher-order thinking such as critical thinking and creativity. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning can be integrated into a wide range of school subjects. Often, such teaching is based on teamwork, in which each team studies a different discipline and together they generate integrative knowledge (see the principle of “Structure sequences across diverse social activity structures”). Alternatively, engaging with a specific topic from the perspectives of different disciplines, while attending to the contribution of each field, may promote a broader understanding of complex concepts or controversial issues. For example, students can learn about the relationship between air pollution and asthma by integrating biology and geography. In biology, they may study the physiology of respiration and the effects of allergens and airborne particles on it. In geography, they may examine urbanization and the effects of factory locations, wind patterns, and topography on the distribution of air pollution.
Citizen science often addresses topics that can be integrated into different school subjects. Participation in citizen science projects therefore enables exposure to different disciplines and to the connections among them, while also fostering meaningful dialogue among experts and other community members. Such dialogue makes it possible to deepen understanding of ideas within a given discipline while also creating links among ideas from different disciplines, thereby encouraging both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning.
For example, in the "Dolphin sounds" project, students learn physical concepts such as the frequency of sound waves, biological concepts related to dolphin behavior, and technological concepts related to artificial intelligence and algorithm design (multidisciplinary learning). In the project “Wayfinding for an Accessible Environment” students connect what they learned about visual impairment with mapping through GIS in order to prepare maps that support people with visual difficulties (interdisciplinary learning).
Deepening and Expansion ▼
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning and their characteristics
In his literature review, Kidron (2019) explains that multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity are two learning processes that combine several disciplines in order to deepen understanding of a complex phenomenon that cannot be understood through reliance on a single discipline alone. The degree of integration among disciplines distinguishes these two concepts: multidisciplinarity presents the disciplines without integrating them, so that each discipline addresses the topic from its own perspective. Interdisciplinarity, by contrast, involves the integration and weaving together of ideas and ways of thinking from multiple disciplines in order to understand the topic under investigation.
Interdisciplinary learning is a process in which learners combine information, data, methodologies, tools, perspectives, ideas, concepts, and theories from two or more disciplines to create products, explain phenomena, or address challenges that cannot be addressed through a single discipline alone. The main characteristics of interdisciplinary learning are:
Integrativeness – At the foundation of interdisciplinary learning is the integration of ideas from different disciplines around a clearly defined goal.
Goal orientation – Interdisciplinary learning emerges from a clearly defined purpose that explains the need and motivation for integrating different disciplines. This purpose provides direction and meaning to the learning process, defines the topic that requires deeper investigation, and serves as a framework for selecting the most relevant ideas and connections.
Deep grounding in the disciplines – A necessary condition for interdisciplinary learning is a deep understanding of central ideas in the different disciplines relevant to the interdisciplinary topic, in order to identify and create interdisciplinary connections.
An example of integrating disciplines in school instruction
In her doctoral dissertation (2020), Ben-Horin Abramsky developed and studied a curriculum centered on the socioscientific issue of asthma in the community. Students investigated the relationship between air pollution and asthma through the integration of biology and geography. In biology, they studied the physiology of respiration and the effects of allergens and airborne particles on it. In geography, they examined urbanization and the effects of factory locations, wind regimes, and topography on the distribution of air pollution. The findings pointed to growth in students’ ability to make informed decisions that connect social and physical aspects of the issue of asthma in the community.
The contribution of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching to learners and the challenges involved
According to researchers such as Jones (2010), Even-Zahav and colleagues (2019), and Kidron and Kali (2017), teaching that integrates different disciplines broadens and enriches learners’ perspectives, skills, and ways of thinking. Such learning may lead to discovery and innovation, and to the development of skills such as critical thinking, communication, and creativity. At the same time, bridging different disciplines—whose boundaries are sometimes unclear—is complex and challenging. Therefore, careful attention must be given to adapting models of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching to the target audience and instructional context.
Challenges in learning integrated disciplines:
- Creating an integrative product (for example, a text) that demonstrates conceptual connections among different disciplines and combines ideas from different disciplinary perspectives.
- Understanding the relationship between what is learned in one context and other contexts (transfer). This ability depends on creating meaningful links among different disciplines, something with which many students struggle.
To address these challenges, it is important to create opportunities for the synthesis of ideas. Teaching of this kind requires educational teams to cope with both conceptual and organizational challenges. In addition, there is still insufficient knowledge regarding ways of assessing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning processes. Rethinking practices that characterize learning in educational institutions, such as reducing the built-in separation among disciplines and traditional pedagogies, alongside creating meaningful dialogue among experts and non-expert community members, may encourage the development of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning.
Additional Resources:
Ministry of Education, Teaching Staff Portal
https://pop.education.gov.il/mechnanim-mitztaynim/magar-homrey-horaa/lemida-rav-yhomit/
References ▼
Jones, C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach-advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. Essai, 7(1), 26.
Kali, Y., (2006). Collaborative knowledge-building using the Design Principles Database. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 1(2), 187-201.
Kidron, A., & Kali, Y. (2015). Boundary breaking for interdisciplinary learning. Research in Learning Technology, 23. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v23.26496.
Kidron, A., & Kali, Y. (2017). Extending the applicability of design-based research through research-practice partnerships. EDeR. Educational Design Research, 1(2).
Linn, M. C., & Eylon, B. S. (2011). Science learning and instruction: Taking advantage of technology to promote knowledge integration. New York: Routledge.
Richter, D. M., & Paretti, M. C. (2009). Identifying barriers to and outcomes of interdisciplinarity in the engineering classroom. European Journal of Engineering Education, 34(1), 29-45.