What Is Multi-Disciplinary Approach In Education? Advantages And Disadvantages

"Your brain has a capacity for learning that is virtually limitless, which makes every human a potential genius.” Michael J. Gelb

Regardless of what field we talk about, this quote on learning by Michael hits the nail on the head.

There’s no limit to learning and the multidisciplinary educational approach mentioned in the NEP 2020 is the correct step taken towards promoting the same!

What is Multi-disciplinary Education?

A multidisciplinary curriculum means studying the same topic from the viewpoint of more than one discipline. It is also called cross-disciplinary which indicates the aim to cross boundaries between disciplines.

Multidisciplinary approach is a method of curriculum integration that highlights the diverse perspectives that different disciplines can bring to illustrate a theme, subject or issue. In a multidisciplinary curriculum, multiple disciplines are used to study the same topic.

A multidisciplinary approach in education is a way of learning which gives a major focus on diverse perspectives and different disciplines of learning to illustrate a theme, concept, or any issue. It is the one in which the same concept is learned through multiple viewpoints of more than one discipline. It helps the students to gain perspectives and knowledge in different ways.

That’s why in today’s hyper-competitive world, limitless learning, a unique educational system that promotes a multi-disciplinary approach to help students follow their passion is vital. Although the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has asked institutions to pay attention to it, stakeholders are still in a dilemma about its advantages & disadvantages.

In this article, I am going to cover the advantages and disadvantages of a multidisciplinary educational approach. Whether you are a faculty, student, or educator, you can go through these points to drive institutional success.

Advantages of Multidisciplinary Approach in Education

1: The Privilege to Choose

“Nothing in the Indian education sector will ever change” – said a friend of mine who went abroad to find a job.

I can bet you’ve heard such things from your relatives & friends as well who got settled in foreign countries. But, it’s not true anymore! To change the mindset of youngsters and make them realize the power of the Indian education system, authorities have seriously taken great efforts and multidisciplinary education is a live example of it.

With multidisciplinary education in colleges, students get a right to choose their favorite subject, the subject that they want to learn. Subjects that can add some value to their knowledge. Subjects that can raise the bar of education.

Not the ones which are forced onto them.

Ultimately, it will help in establishing a more collaborative teacher-student relationship.

2: Reach within to Discover Passion

Here, the keyword is “choice of subjects”, but the advantages extend to students’ personal growth as well.

Let me make it simpler for you.

See, on one hand, as a faculty, you will have the power to innovate the usual teaching-learning processes. And on the other, your students will be able to access vast e-content that can help them realize their passion or true purpose.

The more e-content they consume, the more insights about their deeper interests they’ll find!

Even when your students are clueless about their passion initially, they can discover it during the teaching-learning journey. Thus, the combination of online education tools such as a learning management system (LMS) integrated within the college ERP software along with a multi-disciplinary approach can boost personal development in students.

3: Pragmatism & Flexibility

Multi-disciplinary education allows your students to understand the power of new ideas.

It helps them develop a pragmatic attitude by allowing them to decide what subjects they will opt for and what could be their possible benefits. They get time to make a decision by calculating the risks & advantages. Thus, a multi-disciplinary program brings pragmatism and flexibility to the table.

It enables your students to carve their own path by utilizing their mind-power and edTech devices and not walk on the path pre-decided by the educational system.

Disadvantages of Multidisciplinary Approach in Education

1: Distractions

Honestly, getting distracted from the final learning goal may become prevalent with multicultural education. Sometimes, your students may feel a little bit lost as they hop on to a variety of subjects & courses.

The only thing that can save them from getting distracted is planning & keeping a tab on their daily activities.

As a faculty or educator, it’s essential for you to have college ERP software or a university management system with an advanced activity monitoring platform such as a dashboard. The dashboard will help you analyze the students’ progress reports on a daily basis. Whenever you feel that things are going smoothly, you can always re-plan your online education imparting techniques!

2 :No Master- Only Jack!

There’s a famous phrase – “Master of all trades, Jack of none.”

It can manifest into reality & back-fire all your plans for achieving the best student learning outcomes.

I agree that having a few skills in your kitty is an advantage.

However, if you have gained knowledge of everything, but haven’t achieved expertise in one skill that matters the most, then there’s no use of other skills as well. Your students need to have expertise in one domain that they like. With multi-disciplinary college education, faculties have to be extra careful when they evaluate the students’ performance. They need to ensure that their students achieve mastery in one domain at least.

To explore more about multidisciplinary education & how a college ERP software or university ERP software can help your boat sail seamlessly, get in touch with my team of educational ERP experts today!