Literature as catalyst of homogenous and heterogeneous patterns of disciplinary thinking

Abstract

Disciplines could broadly be categorized as hard pure/applied and soft pure/applied; however, literature seems to enable students to transcend conventional disciplinary boundaries. The purpose of this study was to determine how four disciplinary groups of students responded to literature when no apparent pedagogic purpose was explicitly assigned to short stories as supplementary reading. Data was collected through a qualitative survey, and a content analysis method determined and quantified data patterns among a total population sample of natural science, engineering, art, and music students (N = 55). A heterogeneous pattern across disciplines was associated with general critical thinking, as no explicit connection to disciplinary literacy could be established. All disciplines in this study demonstrated homogenous thinking patterns when positive critical evaluations were made. Crossdisciplinary homogenous coupling occurred when disciplines conducted negative critical evaluations. The thinking patterns call into question the typology of disciplinary hard or soft families as unexpected crossdisciplinary associations were identified. The patterns of disciplinary thinking propose theoretical and practical pedagogic implications especially for the transdisciplinary classroom.