Interdisciplinary enquiry into learning and teaching: Lessons from Geography

Abstract

In this chapter we explore how research in the discipline of geography can help you to undertake productive enquiry into learning and teaching in higher education. We outline the characteristics that geographers in higher education possess and highlight how these relate to the broad and synthetic nature of research in the discipline. Rooted within its interdisciplinary imperative, educational enquiry in geography spans subject matter and approaches found across the spectrum of the humanities, and the social and natural sciences. We present four case studies of enquiry into teaching and learning carried out by geographers, selected to demonstrate analogies between disciplinary and educational enquiry across the research process. These examples highlight the range of questions that have been posed, the types of concepts in learning and teaching that geographers have engaged with, and the breadth of methodological approaches they have employed. We define the steps you might take if you wish to adopt new ways of researching your teaching and student learning. We finish by reflecting on some of the benefits of adopting a geography-specific approach to higher education enquiry