Mastering environment and sustainability: how the research skills development framework brought harmony to an interdisciplinary program

An interdisciplinary degree represents a radical departure from traditional discipline based curricula as it integrates contrasting disciplines, pedagogical approaches as well as bodies of knowledge. As such, co-designing the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) at Monash University, an interdisciplinary Master’s degree, involved educators spanning numerous sub-disciplines within and across Science, Business, and the Humanities. Conceptualising a new curriculum required a deliberate process to foster collaboration among these diverse educators. We needed to reach consensus as to how the boundaries between traditional discipline structures and ways of thinking could be harmonised, to create fluency between disciplines for learners of all backgrounds. Sensemaking in an interdisciplinary context is not only critical for educators but for students alike, as this cohort comes from diverse disciplinary, professional and cultural backgrounds. Addressing pedagogy and scaffolding boundary-spanning skills to support students’ research capabilities, and interdisciplinary synthesis and analysis, was therefore a key focus of curriculum design. After attendingworkshops facilitated by librarians and learning skills advisers for MES educators on the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework, a decision was made to adopt this conceptual, adaptable, non-disciplinary specific model. It provided a way to interpret the research process in relation to boundary-spanning skill sets and guide curriculum design. We describe how the RSD framework promoted dialogue and collaboration and offered the benefit of a pedagogical structure to unify and harmonise disciplinary differences.