A Surprising Problem that Emerges for Humanities Academics Teaching STEM to Communication Students.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	A Surprising Problem that Emerges for Humanities Academics Teaching STEM to Communication Students.
Authors:	Dawkins, Roger¹ r.dawkins@westernsydney.edu.au, Naidu, Kate² kate.naidu@nd.edu.au
Source:	Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education. 2026, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p135-154. 20p.
Subject Terms:	Interdisciplinary education, Communication education, STEM education, Qualitative research, Higher education, Humanities education, *Teaching experience, Dialogism (Literary analysis)
Abstract:	In this article, researchers examine two humanities teachers' experiences designing a new interdisciplinary STEM-humanities subject for first-year communication students in Australia. The teachers chose to integrate new disciplinary knowledge themselves. In this article, the researchers use two methodologies to examine the teachers' experience: (1) a "small data" case study and (2) self-study and post-qualitative dialogic enquiry. Qualitative interview data were collected from the teachers (n = 2) and students (n = 6), and a thematic analysis was conducted. The primary author-researcher--also one of the teachers--reflected on the findings in a first-person narrative account. Emerging from this study are several advantages and challenges of a "dialogic" model of interdisciplinarity in the context of the creative arts. Notably, the surprising problem referred to in the title of this article is that university teachers' affect can lead to an oversight of one's own expertise when designing and implementing interdisciplinary approaches themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	In this article, researchers examine two humanities teachers' experiences designing a new interdisciplinary STEM-humanities subject for first-year communication students in Australia. The teachers chose to integrate new disciplinary knowledge themselves. In this article, the researchers use two methodologies to examine the teachers' experience: (1) a "small data" case study and (2) self-study and post-qualitative dialogic enquiry. Qualitative interview data were collected from the teachers (n = 2) and students (n = 6), and a thematic analysis was conducted. The primary author-researcher--also one of the teachers--reflected on the findings in a first-person narrative account. Emerging from this study are several advantages and challenges of a "dialogic" model of interdisciplinarity in the context of the creative arts. Notably, the surprising problem referred to in the title of this article is that university teachers' affect can lead to an oversight of one's own expertise when designing and implementing interdisciplinary approaches themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	21662681
DOI:	10.32674/mqa8rk82