Cambridge FY podcast series on interdisciplinary pedagogy

In anticipation of an event focused on interdisciplinary pedagogy at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) this month, the Cambridge Foundation Year team have released a short podcast series.

The series is hosted by Dr Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft (Foundation Year Teaching Associate) and features contributions from several members of Foundation Year staff alongside student contributors.

In Episode 1, we discuss student experiences of learning in an interdisciplinary environment. We think about the challenges students face when they are asked to consider topics from a variety of academic and methodological perspectives. We also think about how these challenges might be sources of intellectual excitement and experimentation.

In Episode 2, we discuss approaches to teaching effectively in an interdisciplinary environment. We think about the challenges academics face when they discuss material with their students from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. We also think about what teachers can learn from each other in such a scenario; how important collaboration between colleagues is; and how these challenges might be sources of intellectual excitement and experimentation. 

In Episode 3, we discuss strategies for supporting students who are learning in an interdisciplinary environment. We think about how students can arrive at university with fixed ideas about what learning is; ideas that do not necessarily match their new undergraduate context. We consider the importance of helping our students to foster core academic literacies, and to develop the way they write and express themselves in an academic register.