As higher education researchers, we bear a responsibility to tend to the current state of our research and to the outlook for its future in light of its various purposes, the politics that inform these purposes, and the practices they expose. In the ASHE 2023 Presidential Address, Dr. Ana M. Martínez-Alemán asks us to reflect on and consider--as…

Higher education research (HER) is often defined as an inherently interdisciplinary field of study. However, there has been limited examination of this topic, especially regarding the interdisciplinarity of Chinese HER. Using the two most widely accepted databases, this study launched two holistic investigations into the interdisciplinarity of…

All fields of knowledge are challenged to adopt newer, more sophisticated methodologies to cope with growing complexity. Phenomena under study require further multidisciplinary and mixed methods collaborations to achieve expertise able to improve research strategies and practices. Furthermore, traditional methodological approaches face limits to…

This insightful book transforms crisis reflections into longer term guidance for a responsive, engaged pedagogy within contemporary higher education (HE). In recent years, HE institutions worldwide have seen a seismic shift that has compelled them to rapidly transition to online and blended learning models. This book captures the ingenuity and…

Despite the benefits of integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education that have been discussed for decades; many teachers still find it challenging to implement integrated STEM education due to lacking confidence and experience. Numerous models and frameworks exist, but they tend to focus on enhancing teachers'…

Student engagement plays an important role in realising the potential of interdisciplinary learning in monodisciplinary higher education, in which developing interdisciplinary student collaboration has proved challenging. A necessary first step to further discussions around cultivating and supporting disciplinary student engagement in…

Higher education institutions recognize that today's problems are too complex to be conceptualized by a single discipline and are becoming increasingly committed to interdisciplinary work, as evidenced by the increasing number of interdisciplinary departments, internal funding opportunities, and research centers. Despite the widespread popularity…

The interdisciplinary nature of health professions education requires exploration of problems by interdisciplinary research teams. Drawing on the Dynamics of Cross-disciplinary Research Development conceptual framework, this study explores the processes and experiences of an interdisciplinary research team, identifying elements of successful…

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the current situation of higher education institutions in Spain regarding the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals in the classroom, and what is the role of mathematics in this task. Design/methodology/approach: A review is made of how the concept of sustainability has evolved in higher education,…

The number of interdisciplinary courses being developed in higher education across different countries is increasing. The people responsible for developing and enacting interdisciplinary courses can have significant design and teaching autonomy, but little is known about how they understand interdisciplinarity. This study uses phenomenographic…

In universities worldwide, there has been a movement away from mono-disciplinary towards multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary education, motivated by the notion that complex societal issues call for more than a single disciplinary perspective. To prepare students for a role in addressing these issues, flexibility within educational programs is…

Among strategies that campus leaders and research administrators employ to spur interdisciplinary research in U.S. higher education, one of the costliest--and increasingly popular--is designated interdisciplinary research spaces and buildings. Yet while interdisciplinary research buildings, often focused on the sciences, stand as significant…

This think piece was serendipitous. While investigating deep learning and transdisciplinary learning for another paper, a Google Scholar search using "transdisciplinary deep learning" generated zero results. "Transdisciplinary, deep learning" yielded nominal results. Neither term was defined or elaborated. This unexpected…

While the role of teams in leading transformations within academia is increasingly recognized, few studies have analyzed how teams form. Understanding the processes of interdisciplinary team formation within higher education will allow leaders to intentionally bring together individuals and form teams with higher likelihoods of success. In this…

Universities globally are called to educate collaborative and ethical engineers. In response, interdisciplinary problem-based learning is increasingly used to equip students with competencies needed to solve grand societal challenges. However, complex problem-solving in interdisciplinary teams can challenge students' existing beliefs and cause…