Introducing Interdisciplinary Modules in Higher Education

Simon Pratt-Adams is the Director of the Centre for Innovation in Higher Education and Associate Professor in Academic Development at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.Mark Warnes is the Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Innovation in Higher Education at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.Elaine Brown is the Institutional Lead for Ruskin Modules at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.

'This book is an exceptionally welcome and timely publication. Recognition of the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and practices is gaining traction across the globe, but there is still much to do in leading students to appreciate and engage with interdisciplinary perspectives. The leadership in this area at Anglia Ruskin University, outlined and described in this compilation, is essential reading for anyone involved in conceiving, designing, and implementing interdisciplinary programmes in Higher Education.'Ida Kemp, Chair, Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Conferences, UK. 'Expressed in a practical and research-informed manner, the case studies in this book are honest about barriers and practical needs when developing something so unusual in higher education as interdisciplinary modules focusing on cooperation, knowledge creation, sustainability, and employability, when usually students work in discipline-focused silos. This book showcases the development, actioning, and achievement of the Ruskin Modules, which offer new ways of looking at cooperative interdisciplinary knowledge creation and transformation beyond University study into future employment and social practice.'Gina Wisker, Senior Lecturer, International Centre for Higher Education Management, University of Bath, UK.

• Part One: Introduction and Context 1. Introduction 2. Disciplinarities 3. Transformative Education 4. Introduction to Ruskin Modules 5. Creativity and Design for Innovative Interdisciplinary Education: The case of the Ruskin Module Open Studios Part Two: Case Studies 6. To Team or Not to Team: Embedding Interdisciplinarity into the Curriculum 7. A Ruskin Module: From Idea to Implementation 8. Blurred and En-Tangled Boundaries: A case for Interdisciplinarity and Diversification 9. Undergraduate Learners as Emerging Agents of Sustainability and Environmental Justice 10. Ruskin Module and Community Organising 11: Developing Professional Learning through an Interdisciplinary Community of Practice 12. The Humanistic Temperament: Reflections on the Ruskin Module, AI and the Future 13. Interdisciplinary Learning Design 14. Conclusion