Inter and transdisciplinary Learning

Abstract

This entry discusses how the role of learners has changed in higher education due to the increasing use of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary education formats and the provision of learning outside the educational sciences. As (higher) education institutions lose their pivotal role as singular creators of “new knowledge”; the learning and the learner become the centre of attention. The argument is that students should take charge of their learning while teachers become co-learners and facilitators in complex learning processes. Traditional disciplinary boundaries are replaced with fluid boundaries that allow for the influence of different disciplines and external stakeholders in creating knowledge. This shift requires a new approach to learning design and evaluation of learning. Suggesting greater flexibility in learning paths and a more inclusive attitude towards all stakeholders as part of the learning plight. Exploring this change in constructive alignment for inter and transdisciplinary learning is at the heart of this discussion.