Interdisciplinary Fluency
Whether humanities or STEM majors, students who map fi-sci patterns are studying the subject matter they were already set to cover, but doing something more. Recognizing the contours of a science phenomenon in a process that takes place as far afield as literature encourages integrative thinking, leading to a more holistic understanding. Moreover, the novelty of such an unusual connection engages students’ creativity and critical thinking, which entrenches long-term knowledge retention. In all, students charting such interdisciplinary patterns engage in multiliteracies: they gain a broader perspective on the very expertise they're cultivating.
Fi-sci pattern mapping bakes interdisciplinarity into the undergraduate curriculum. Students gain exposure to concepts and methods they would have otherwise not encountered in the siloed university structure. In doing so they see their own subject in a new light and observe how it intersects with other fields—what it can offer to the understanding of other subjects. This enables them to discover novel applications for their skills, which can translate into innovative job opportunities.
Students who experience fi-sci JMs gain cross-disciplinary proficiency—the ability to convey a complex process to a nonspecialist audience by way of analogy. Over the long term, open access to this perspective-widening pedagogical intervention has the potential to enhance the infrastructure of postsecondary curricula, paving the way for truly integrated multiliteracy. Broader impacts include boosts to the public's understanding of science, humanities, and the myriad connections between them.