Community of Practice Forum
This discussion thread will be open and actively supported for five weeks from 27th August 2024 to 28th September 2024. After this time discussions and shared documents will be summarized and collated for sharing.
The importance of transdisciplinary action for complex global issues is now widely recognized but this is by no means a completely new concept. Many higher education institutions have been trying to facilitate joint activities across disciplines and between academia and other societal partners for years. These activities provide the platform for future transdisciplinary action.
In this discussion we would like members to briefly share what they are currently doing in relation to transdisciplinary higher education with specific examples. In addition, we would like members to briefly state how they would like to increase transdisciplinarity in their teaching and/or research in the future and what is necessary to achieve this.
To facilitate the sharing of ideas we have provided a structure in the attached word document, but members should feel free to share information in the structure that works best for them.
Please provide your inputs as replies to the main discussion thread. You can provide your input by:
- Completing the word template and uploading it. If you do this, please include the name of your institution or country in the file name.
- You can copy the template and past it directly into your response
- You can post using another format if you feel that it suits you better.
We strongly encourage you to include links and to upload relevant documents.
Current activities
What are the courses and/or degree programs where you are currently incorporating some transdisciplinary teaching practices?
MPH and PhD in Global Health. At the MPH level a course on “Health in Detention” and at the PhD level courses on “Seminars in Transdisciplinary Inquiry” and to a lesser extend “Seminars in Global Health Ethics”.
Which of the following are you currently implementing?
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People from multiple disciplines contributed to the curriculum |
Yes |
People from multiple disciplines contribute to the teaching |
Yes |
|
People from non-academic sectors contributed to the curriculum |
past |
People from non-academic sectors contribute to the teaching |
past |
|
Some of the teaching occurs outside of academic settings |
- |
Students/learners come from multiple disciplines and/or from outside academic degree programs |
Yes |
|
The learning objectives include specific skills necessary for transdisciplinary practice |
- |
Students get to experience transdisciplinary problem analysis and action planning |
Yes |
Please describe anything else that you are doing to implement transdisciplinary education and training:
I am a member of the Thammasat team currently implementing THE-GLOW project.
Please indicate which one or more of the following describes your experience and purposes in implementing transdisciplinary education activities.
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Transdisciplinarity has for long been an important aspect in my field |
Yes |
I understand the importance of transdisciplinary education, but I still need to learn about putting it into practice |
Yes |
|
I am trying to increase transdisciplinary components in the courses I teach |
Yes |
Our organization is working on developing specific transdisciplinary courses |
Yes |
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I am interested in transdisciplinary research for myself or my higher degree students |
Yes |
Our organization is seeking to develop joint education and training programs with outside organizations and non-academic sectors |
Yes |
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Other (Please specify):
|
- |
|
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Please briefly describe your history, or the history of your institution with implementing transdisciplinary education and training:
The concept of transdisciplinary problem solving is around for a while in my discipline (global/public health) i.e. one-health, eco-health and social determinants of health, but translation into practice of these concepts lags behind. The Faculty of Public Health at Thammasat University is currently leading the EU co-funded THE-GLOW project offering opportunities to make a difference in both higher education and real world problem solving.
Please describe any issues that have arisen in your transdisciplinary education activities where you would like to learn more or to have the opportunity to discuss ideas and experiences with others.
I would be interested to discuss the application of constructive alignment between learning objectives, instructional approaches and assessment of learning in transdisciplinary courses.
Further, I'm interested in transdisciplinary research design and analysis approaches.
Please provide links or upload documents that you would like to share with members.
Relevant resource for TD research
Laursen, B., Vienni-Baptista, B., Bammer, G. et al. Toolkitting: an unrecognized form of expertise for overcoming fragmentation in inter- and transdisciplinarity. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 857 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03279-9
I found a new book in open access which you can download in PDF for free!
Regeer B.J., Klaassen P., Broerse J.E.W. (2024) Transdisciplinarity for Transformation: Responding to Societal Challenges Through Multi-actor, Reflexive Practices. Palgrave McMilan. ISBN 978-3-031-60974-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60974-9