Exploring Boundaries to Interdisciplinary Collaborations.

Educators, researchers, postgraduate students from across disciplines came together in December 2024 for a workshop organised by the Exeter Centre of Mathematical Sciences (ExCMS) and led by Dr Houry Melkonian (Mathematics & Statistics) to explore boundary connections for interdisciplinary interactions. The key focus of this meeting was to look at how higher education can implement pedagogies of boundary crossing in teaching and research practices and discuss people’s experience with boundary crossing.

We use the terms boundary crossing, boundary connections, boundary experiences, as we seek to evolve the language from obstacle-focused terminology to more learning-focused language that addresses boundaries as opportunities to learn and to build new experiences beyond our own.  Interdisciplinarity is a foundational indicator of the emergence of innovative developments when two or more people from a range of disciplines work together. However, embedding interdisciplinarity requires an understanding of how collaboration works and a commitment to meaningful communications and negotiations on a deeper level.

Therefore, this workshop was designed (a) to introduce participants to the theoretical framing of boundary crossing; (b) to use the lived experience of academics to understand how disciplines can work together; (c) to raise engagement through exploring concepts and understandings at the boundaries. The workshop encompassed three sections: theory, experiences and discussion.

Theory: Melkonian talked about the theoretical perspective: “Boundary Crossing as a Way of Thinking” introducing the concept of boundary crossing. This concept was defined to describe interactions and negotiations of a professional entering into the unfamiliar territory inhabited by another professional (Akerman & Bakker, 2011). However, the concept can go beyond that as boundary crossing can manifest in various forms and contexts. For example, the identification of a knowledge/skills gap can be viewed as a boundary, and the learning of this new skill to bridge this gap is a form of boundary crossing. Going even further with this extension, academic transitions (for students and staff alike) between the stages of a degree programme or between two roles can be viewed as boundaries, and the development of new skills, such as adaptation, resilience, and growth-mindset, are forms of boundary crossing experiences which can help to navigate through those challenging changes. Each side of a collaborative setting has its own disciplinary norms, culture and values, and we can even go as far as saying that perspectives and assumptions in such contexts can be viewed as barriers, especially when they are not addressed transparently. Through dialogue, perspectives can be explored, and understandings can be negotiated to help facilitate the boundary crossing experience and to enable familiarity with the new territory.

Experiences: This workshop provided an opportunity to hear from colleagues, across disciplines and faculties in Exeter about their interdisciplinary interactions from the perspective of boundary crossing. Many interesting ideas were discussed including the challenges and potentialities associated with intersecting practices as well as what works and does not work well in those settings. Dr Chaitra H. Nagaraja, Senior Lecturer in Statistics, spoke about her own experiences—both in seeking out and unexpectedly finding herself in boundary crossing settings—in her talk, “An opportunity to learn.”. Dr Tyler Brunet (Philosophy) delivered a presentation about “Commutication: Categories as a Barrier in Mathematical Logic” where he argued that approaching topics in mathematical and philosophical logic often involve stages of barrier crossing in category theory (but these are well worth the trouble!). While Dr Olga Nev (HLS, Biosciences, MRC CMM) commented:

“In my talk, I shared my experiences as an Applied Mathematician working in diverse interdisciplinary teams – particularly in Life and Medical Sciences – demonstrating how crossing boundaries between Biology and Mathematics fosters deeper engagement and collaborative potential, while also learning from other participants’ boundary-crossing experiences and taking the chance to network.”

The workshop was concluded by a discussion and a participative activity which allowed participants to work in groups to explore the concept of boundary crossing in the context of their own work, and how it can be implemented more widely as an enabler for interactions beyond disciplines. Feedback from participants highlighted how the workshop helped them reflect on their academic practices, particularly in how the concept of boundary connections can reinforce meaningful interactions in the teaching and learning and how the strategy of shared goals can facilitate team dialogue. Others endorsed the uniquely designed idea of the workshop, in particular, how it provided them with insights to creatively engage with opportunities of potential career prospects.

Understanding boundary crossing is needed for collaborative works. People at the boundary of the two worlds “can introduce elements of one practice into the other” (Akkerman & Bakker, 2011, p. 140). They “create a need for dialogue, in which meanings have to be negotiated and from which something new may emerge” (p. 142). “Understanding these negotiations from this theoretical position can also provide new insights into the work of international and/or interdisciplinary teams” (Melkonian & Makar, 2024).

This workshop was first of its kind in the sector to address, openly and transparently, the challenges and the potentialities of working across various disciplines and departments. Building on the success of the workshop, we aim to deliver future workshops to help develop dialogic spaces for cross-disciplinary interactions where innovative discussions can be nurtured, and communities can be celebrated.

References:

Akkerman, S.F., & Bakker, A. (2011). Boundary crossing and boundary objects. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 132-169.

Melkonian, H. & Makar, K. (2024). Building Capacity in Teaching Profession: Boundary Crossing in Mathematics and Mathematics Education. 15th International Congress on Mathematical Education ICME-15, Sydney 7-14 July 2024.

 

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