Exploring Uncertainty in a Community of Praxis: Practitioner Inquiry Into a New Interdisciplinary Major

• In Event: Critical Contexts for Reimagining Pedagogical Practices in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

This paper reports on a multi-year practitioner inquiry project investigating a new interdisciplinary major at a liberal arts college in Northeastern U.S. Launched in the fall of 2017, the major is designed to support undergraduates to become activists and engaged scholars. The paper focuses centrally on the role of uncertainty, and the ways in which uncertainty – both designed and unplanned, and as experienced by students and course instructors – enhanced or hindered students’ learning. Data analysis revealed four sources of uncertainty, including the uncertainty associated with bridging theory and practice, and with the newness of the major. Incorporating an analysis of uncertainty into conceptualizations of a community of praxis offers both theoretical and practical insights for audience members in higher education.

Authors

• Eric J. DeMeulenaere, Clark University

• Sarah Michaels, Clark University

• Jie Yie Park, Clark University