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Resumen de Enhancing student engagement through interdisciplinary,international field-based research that tackles global issues

Bettie Higgs, F. Butler, G. Burnell, A. Whitaker, Catherine R. O'Riordan

  • Research results over the past decade, investigating off-campus field-based learning, agree withColby et al. (2003) that potentially rich experiences, across the disciplines, can sometimes result in shallowlearning. Although students have positive feedback regarding fieldwork, they report a lack of confidencein carrying out independent fieldwork, and can’t always demonstrate robust understanding.It turns out that students were often not challenged enough and learning outcomes were not alwaysaligned with assessment and pedagogy (Higgs, 2013, 2015). This can lead to a gap between students’abilities and students’ actions. To narrow the ability-action gap, Ritchhart (2002) called for studentsto have the opportunity for practice and reinforcement within meaningful contexts. A 3-year fundedErasmus+project aims to do just that, with courses for students offering interdisciplinary and internationalfield-based group research projects that address global concerns. In a novel approach, field-basedcourses for teachers in approaches to curriculum design and logistics are also being piloted. Among theresearch questions being investigated are ‘what are students’ perceptions of the added value of fieldbasedresearch that includes interdisciplinarity and internationalisation?’ and ‘what are the international,interdisciplinary threshold concepts that students must grasp?’. This investigation will help usrecognise the impact on student learning. Pre- and post-course questionnaires have been devised togain insights into the impact of the initial courses on students’ engagement, attitudes to learning, perceptionsand concept development. Students will conduct surveys of their cohort to assess impact. Initialresearch has identified unexpected, as well as expected, cultural differences in approaches to curriculumdesign, assessment, pedagogy and staff development, not only between countries in Europe,but also between disciplines. This identified common areas of good practice, as well as areas that needreform. Evidence-based good practice examples helped to mediate and inform decision-making. As ameasure of success, the added value of interdisciplinary and international field-based research will beseen in students’ greater engagement and greater capacity to view an issue of concern from multipleperspectives. Monitoring changes in student perceptions of these approaches will be an important factorin designing courses going forward.


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