“Stepping in and stepping out”: Enabling creative third spaces through transdisciplinary partnerships

Abstract

This article explores how transformative higher education approaches can be fostered through an integration of the concepts of third space, Students as Partners (SaP), and transdisciplinarity in practical contexts. We describe a collaborative enquiry that engaged staff and students in a reflexive dialogue centred on the concepts of mutual learning, liminality, emergence, and creativity as enacted in the curriculum of a transdisciplinary undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. The key insights that emerged through this enquiry were: third spaces in curriculum can be enabled but not constructed, all parties need to embrace uncertainty and a mutual learning mindset, and that “stepping in and out” of such fluid liminal spaces can stimulate creativity. Based on our experience and exploration, we offer some practical recommendations to those seeking to create similar enabling conditions for third spaces in their own undergraduate programs.

Transforming sustainability education through transdisciplinary practice

“…In the context of higher education, a key challenge is to transcend traditional dichotomies such as “teacher-student” or “expert-novice” to embrace a broader group of participants, including industry partners and local community members, each with knowledge to offer and learning to be achieved (Baumber et al, 2020 ). The creation of “third spaces”, both physically and metaphorically, can be effective in breaking down such boundaries to enable mutual learning (Kligyte et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This also prevents reframing coming as a sudden or unwanted shock to partners. Attempts have been made to frame this collaborative environment as a shared “third space” that does not belong exclusively to partners, students or teaching staff and in which these roles and relationships can be reimagined (Kligyte et al, 2019 ).…”

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“…This, in turn, enables transdisciplinary partnerships to move beyond traditional dichotomies, such as "teacher-student", "supervisor-intern" or "client-consultant" to form reciprocal partnerships of mutual learning (Baumber et al, 2020). However, while mutual learning is the "kernel" of the transdisciplinary process (Scholz & Steiner, 2015), it can also pose particular challenges in a pandemic due to the need to create "third spaces" in online settings that transcend traditional "lecture" or "tutorial" arrangements and allow for roles to be creatively reimagined (Kligyte et al, 2019).…”

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“…Common benefits to students include enhanced motivation, stronger sense of belonging, and deepened understanding of pedagogical practices (Barrineau et al 2016;Goff and Knorr 2018;Matthews et al 2018;Peets et al 2009). Faculty members and academic developers benefit from incorporating student perspectives from authentic student sources into pedagogical practices (Cook-Sather et al 2017;Kligyte et al 2019;Marquis et al 2016). Even in non-western contexts, the student-faculty partnership positively contributes to student engagement, development, and academic functioning (Kaur, Awang-Hashim, and Kaur 2019).…”