Integrating Interdisciplinarity: How the Theories of Common Ground and Cognitive Interdisciplinarity Are Informing the Debate on Interdisciplinary Integration

Abstract

With the role of integration within theories of interdisciplinarity still contested, definitional and methodological questions persist within and outside of the field. Recent developments in cognitive psychology, with a particular emphasis on theories of common ground and cognitive interdisciplinarity, offer a productive vantage point for re-examining the debate. The synergies between these theories, the literature of interdisciplinarity, and the observed outcomes of student learning offer a sharper view of the place of integration in interdisciplinary process and of tools for more purposefully examining its impact.