Jessica Oudenampsen hopes to obtain her PhD degree this year on a study into the learning effects of interdisciplinary education. “All kinds of institutions boast of this type of education, but it is not clear how we should design it optimally.” Despite numerous evaluation studies, she says that there is still too little sound research into the actual learning effects. Oudenampsen, trained at the Faculty of Medicine, is hosting a workshop on the ins and outs of this type of education during the Education Days in the week of 20 March.
Education that crosses the boundaries between fields derives its necessity from the ever-increasing complexity of social issues, which can only be addressed by different disciplines joining forces. Oudenampsen cites the example of the power of communication in the consulting rooms of GPs and specialists. “The same message can be delivered in many different ways. But if you want to understand what virtuous positive communication is, you need to consult a communication studies expert.”
Promises fulfilled
Oudenampsen partly bases her research study on the evaluations of the three-year-old minor on interdisciplinary education offered by the Faculties of Medicine, Arts and Management. As her PhD thesis nears completion, she can confirm that the promises are in fact legitimate. One of her conclusions concerns the dual effect of interdisciplinary education: students gain both a better understanding of their own discipline and of where its boundaries lie. “The multi-faceted perspective helps students learn where their own knowledge ends and the other person’s knowledge begins, so that they know how and when to pass the baton.”
Oudenampsen’s research also shows that teaching some skills, such as communication and creative thinking, really pays off in this type of education. With respect to other promises, such as a supposed improvement in problem-solving abilities, she recommends further research.
Oudenampsen hopes that clarity on the positive learning effects will motivate institutions to remove obstacles, of which there are many, especially at the bureaucratic level, such as the difference in the educational agendas of various curricula. She advocates that boards remove these obstacles so that students – and teachers – can get serious about exploring the boundaries of their disciplines. “Boundaries between disciplines only become a problem if you don’t dare to explore them.”
Jessica Oudenampsen is hosting a workshop during the Education Days at Radboud University, on Wednesday 22 March, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.