Biology and Gender Studies Merge in Classroom to Boost Student Learning
Swedish researchers demonstrate that blending traditionally separate disciplines—biology and gender studies—in undergraduate courses improves student engagement and critical thinking. The finding challenges universities to move beyond single-subject teaching and offers practical models for institutions seeking to modernize curricula and reach diverse learner populations.
Originaltitel: Inkluderande och tvärvetenskaplig utbildningspraktik, när biologi och genusvetenskap möts: [Inclusive interdisciplinary teaching practices when embracing biology and gender studies]
<p>Values of interdisciplinary education is increasingly supported by didactical and pedagogical research. While we are encouraged to teach interdisciplinarily, there are only few examples of how to shape such teaching practices pedagogically. We here provide examples and structures of ways to teach inclusively, interactively and in teams to develop an interdisciplinary dialogue, transgressing monodisciplinary teaching. Our examples derive from an independent basic undergraduate course where gender studies and biology embrace each other as disciplines, and where students develop new perspectives through inclusive discussions in safe teaching settings. We reflect over practices that are useful in a diversity of educational contexts, where discussions and dialogues form the basis for inclusion and interdisciplinary learning.</p>