Transforming Learning Orientations Through STEM Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education is challenged by industries to incorporate business, engineering, and communication experiences to prepare students for workplace success. In this study, we outline an approach—the STEM Oriented Alliance for Research (SOAR)—to enhance student experience by offering interdisciplinary project-based learning (IPBL) for undergraduate students majoring in electrical engineering, communications, and marketing. We examined how students’ disciplinary and cooperative orientations toward learning shifted in response to their experiences in a semester-long interdisciplinary project-based learning experience with authentic industry outputs. Using a multi-method approach, we explored how interdisciplinary projects influenced student experiences in terms of five collaboration abilities: positive interdependence, accountability, promotive interaction, group processing, and social skills. Further, we observed a shift from fixed- to more growth-oriented mindsets, and from a primarily disciplinary to interdisciplinary focus for their future professional work. The outcomes of the SOAR project make clear that providing structure for professional cooperation on interdisciplinary projects can have profound effects on how students learn to cooperate and position themselves as learners. For most SOAR participants, the experience was deeply formative and contributed to their readiness to cooperate and learn within the interdisciplinary and STEM-oriented workforce.