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

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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]
Copyright of Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education is the property of Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: A Surprising Problem that Emerges for Humanities Academics Teaching STEM to Communication Students.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Interdisciplinary+Studies+in+Education%22">Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p135-154. 20p.
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  Data: 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]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education is the property of Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.32674/mqa8rk82
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Interdisciplinary education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: STEM education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher education
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      – SubjectFull: Teaching experience
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: 2026
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