Graduate education

Engineering

Pedagogy

Graduate students

Set (abstract data type)

Computer science

Psychology

Discipline

Mathematics

Political science

Domain (mathematical analysis)

Sociology

Mathematical analysis

Medicine

Programming language

Medical education

Knowledge management

Teamwork

Engineering ethics

Social science

International Journal of Collaborative Engineering

Interdisciplinary teamwork is increasingly integrated into graduate programmes, despite numerous challenges arising from traditional disciplinary organisational structures. This paper presents a comparative case study of two interdisciplinary graduate teams at different US institutions. At both sites, team projects span multiple years and become the basis for students’ dissertations. We describe how programmatic variables such as team formation, orientation activities and dissertation research support or discourage formation of shared mental models and ultimately influence team effectiveness and student satisfaction. Rather than provide a set of best practices, this paper presents considerations for academics designing an interdisciplinary graduate programme, based on their interdisciplinary domain, constituent disciplines and goals for students.

Facilitating formation of shared mental models in interdisciplinary graduate student teams