Supervising the Interdisciplinary PBL Project

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the scientific preconditions for establishing higher education interdisciplinary project work in a problem-based learning (PBL) setting. The question pursued in this chapter concerns what types of theory of science dialogue and reflection are needed between a supervisor and a group of students in order for students to master an interdisciplinary approach in their project work. The chapter opens by outlining what the key concepts of ‘PBL-setting’, ‘theory of science’ and ‘interdisciplinary project work’ mean. This is followed by three interrelated sections; in the first, a central dichotomy in the conception of the interrelations among the sciences will be developed. This dichotomy revolves around the notion of science as describing the world vs. science as constructing a language to talk about the world. Building on the developed dichotomy, a vocabulary will be constructed around Wittgenstein’s notion of a language game in order to conceptualise what would be required of students to work interdisciplinarily in an open-ended space of scientific possibilities. Finally, the chapter establishes an argument for a set of important practices in the supervision of PBL groups to facilitate interdisciplinary project work.