CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS OF TRANSDISCIPLINARY TEAM TEACHING: A CASE STUDY FROM THE GEOSCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Team teaching can be challenging, especially if instructors differ in pedagogical approaches, course mechanics, and personalities. Difficulties are compounded for transdisciplinary team teaching by differences in philosophies, protocols, and vocabularies between disciplines. Institutional barriers may occur, relating to evaluating faculty performance and sharing of costs, faculty salaries, and student credit hours between departments that may compete for resources. However, when faculty come together across disciplines to explore a subject, the results can be rewarding, as exemplified by the course, “Behavior of Animals: Dead and Alive,” a transdisciplinary teaching collaboration between the geosciences (paleontology) and social sciences (psychology).

This undergraduate course at University of North Carolina Wilmington was an experiential learning Honors seminar that investigated methods psychologists use to study animal behavior and how paleontologists infer behavior for fossil (=dead) animals. After practicing such methods in class, e.g., recording animal behaviors from videos and working with trace fossils, the class participated in UNCW’s “Lyceum” fall-break trip to Washington, D.C. At the National Zoo, student teams made observations and tested hypotheses about animal behavior. We toured the paleontology collections at the National Museum of Natural History, and students inferred behaviors of fossil organisms on exhibit. Finally, student teams conducted two research projects, testing hypotheses about live animal behaviors they observed locally and about behavior of fossil organisms collected at a local quarry.

Mid- and end-semester student reflection papers confirmed the value of our approach, including the active learning experiences and the integration of disparate disciplines. Students appreciated being able to explore a topic from two different but complementary perspectives and found the class a valuable learning experience. Our success in this transdisciplinary team-teaching experience was enabled by strong institutional support; open communication, respect, and trust between faculty; being present together daily in the classroom; and having similar goals, pedagogies, and work ethics. Faculty and students all found the experience rewarding.