Finding Common Ground: Comparing Engineering and Design Graduate Students’ Conceptualizations of Interdisciplinary Education Across Two Institutions
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
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Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Technical Session 10
- Tagged Division
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Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI)
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/47465
Paper Authors
Margaret Webb Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education
Margaret (Maggie) Webb is a master's and Ph.D. student in sustainable land development (civil engineering) and engineering education, respectively, at Virginia Tech. She graduated with her mechanical engineering degree from Rice University and worked for ExxonMobil as a subsea engineer and as a high school STEM teacher in a Houston charter school before starting grad school. Her research interests include interdisciplinary higher education, focusing on organizational systems theory and facilitating interdisciplinary graduate programs; the identity development and experiences of interdisciplinary engineering graduate students and faculty; and the decision-making processes and factors impacting implementation of interdisciplinary graduate education initiatives. She works as a graduate research assistant for the Virginia Tech Disaster Resilience and Risk Management interdisciplinary graduate program, as well as for the VT Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies.
Xiaoqi Feng Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
Xiaoqi Feng is a Doctoral Researcher at Aalto University. Her research area includes interdisciplinary education, collaborative learning, PBL, and transformative learning, especially in engineering education contexts.
Hanna Aarnio School of Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
Hanna Aarnio is a Doctoral Researcher at Aalto University. Her research focuses on multi- and interdisciplinary approaches, design-based learning, and teacher collaboration in technology education and engineering education contexts.
Julia Sundman School of Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
Julia Sundman is a Doctoral Researcher at Aalto University. Her research focuses on problem-based learning, sustainability education, identity and agency, and transformations in engineering education.
Felicity Bilow Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Maija Taka Aalto University
Dr. Taka works as an academic coordinator and researcher on doctoral education. Her work focuses on experiences and practices in doctoral education, across the perspectives from supervisors to supervisees, and by applying mixed methods in a novel way.
Marie C. Paretti
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
orcid.org/0000-0002-2202-6928
Marie C. Paretti is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she directs the Virginia Tech Engineering Communications Center (VTECC). Her research focuses on communication, collaboration, and identity in engineering.
Marko Keskinen Aalto-yliopisto/Elektroniikan, tietoliikenteen
Dr. Marko Keskinen is an Associate Professor at Aalto University and Programme Director of Water and Environmental Engineering Master's Programme. His research focuses on water governance and policy as well as on multi- and interdisciplinary approaches. He is also actively developing student-centred and problem-based learning in engineering education.
Abstract
For decades, scientific and academic organizations have discussed the need for engineering graduates who are capable of addressing the 21st century’s complex and seemingly intractable problems in an interdisciplinary manner (Association for Interdisciplinary Studies AIS, 2014; Committee on Integrating Higher Education et al., 2018; National Academies, 2005; NSF, 2011, 2018). Several educational researchers across the globe (Lattuca, 2003; Klein, 1990; Borrego & Newswander, 2010) have sought to distinguish terms such as multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and more recently, their convergence. However, in practice, distinctions between these terms are often fuzzy. Across academic disciplines, institutions, and geographies, terms like multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary can be understood and used interchangeably.
Even though multi- and interdisciplinary education is increasingly practiced, and there is extensive research examining the benefits of multi- and interdisciplinary education, little is known about how students perceive multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary education. Additionally, while it is known that the definitions of these are dependent on disciplinary cultures and academic institutions (Borrego & Creamer, 2007; Lattuca & Knight, 2010), there is little evidence of how graduate students’ perceptions of these terms might differ across national contexts.
Lack of coherent conceptual definitions can hinder educators’ and researchers’ abilities to design globally relevant strategies for the cultivation of the diverse, adaptable, and interdisciplinary workforce capable of addressing complex challenges and fostering innovation. Thus, this study explores engineering graduate students’ conceptualizations of multi- and interdisciplinarity as well as their expectations of these forms of work across two institutions and graduate programs – one located in Finland and one located in the United States, as previous comparative research on students’ conceptualizations has primarily focused on disciplinary and institutional comparisons as opposed to more global ones, as well as because of known cultural and pedagogical differences between these two countries’ approaches to engineering education.
The dataset includes semi-structured interviews with graduate students, focusing on their conceptualizations and expectations of multi- and interdisciplinary learning. The interviews were conducted separately at two institutions with eight engineering design graduate students from Finland and 14 engineering graduate students from the U.S. The analysis will be conducted through a comparative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022), focusing on the perspectives of Finnish versus U.S. graduate interdisciplinary engineering design students.
Findings of this study will shed light on similarities and differences among students’ conceptualizations of multi- versus interdisciplinary education and work, as well as identify potential gaps in their understanding. By gaining insights into students’ conceptualizations, learning expectations, and possible differences among the two national contexts, this study can help inform international engineering educators to provide support for students and address potential learning challenges in interdisciplinary contexts. Furthermore, a broadened understanding of students’ perspectives of these educational approaches can support the need for a conceptual and terminological alignment in engineering education research field as a whole.
Webb, M., & Feng, X., & Aarnio, H., & Sundman, J., & Bilow, F., & Taka, M., & Paretti, M. C., & Keskinen, M. (2024, June), Finding Common Ground: Comparing Engineering and Design Graduate Students’ Conceptualizations of Interdisciplinary Education Across Two Institutions Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47465
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