How can we develop Transdisciplinary Teaching cases?

The Transdisciplinary Training Collaboratory: Building Common Ground is a project that brings together pioneering researchers and trainers from regional centers across the globe working within their regions to:

1) Synthesize existing knowledge on the key concepts, competencies, common language, and accepted phases of different types of transdisciplinary research; and

2) Create a TDR training design guide for trainers, accompanied by resources cataloged by the

framework developed from the synthesis work.

To complement this work, there is a need for a broad range of teaching cases to illustrate the process and concepts and to jointly or individually work on specific concepts and challenges.

There are currently only few cases available that describe how a transdisciplinary research (TDR) project works throughout the phases towards a specific overarching societal goal in a specific context. An example are the five cases in the TD MOOC ´Partnering for change – linking research to societal challenges´. However, to cover different contexts and topics, there are many more cases needed, as well as a general outline on how to produce teaching cases.

In this workshop, we aim to lay the ground to work on and test an outline to develop TDR teaching cases.

Workshop Design

Introduction and setting the ground:

Presentation of the Transdisciplinary Training Collaboratory and specifically the TDR training design guide with its sections on:

a) a checklist of questions that enable trainers to systematically think through how each training element supports a specific purpose, and audience;

b) the proficiencies at three levels: understanding, participating, and leading TDR

c) a summary of TD phases and tasks, key concepts, attributes of TD, and other essential content

Interactive Part 1:

We start with a draft outline of key questions to be answered/ addressed by TDR teaching cases. The draft outline is based on the phases and key tasks in the TDR training design guide and includes societal and scientific aims of the project, context conditions, team, partners and other important actors, and process milestones throughout the phases of a TDR project. The group works on improving specific aspects of the outline.

Interactive Part 2

In part 2 we apply the outline on 2-4 cases of Transdisciplinary Training Collaborative members and participants that will be selected before the workshop. According on the number of cases we work in 2-4 subgroups. Case providers are interviewed by the other group members using the key questions of the outline.

Interactive Part 3

In part 3 we jointly reflect on the outline in the light of how well it allowed to highlight key aspects of transdisciplinary research projects taking place in different contexts and addressing different societal challenges. A particular focus is on how the case narratives along the key questions can be used for training and teaching transdisciplinarity.

With the input of this workshop, the teaching case outline will be further developed and made available.