Developing interdisciplinary understanding and dialogue between Engineering and Architectural students: design and evaluation of a problem-based learning module

Engineers and Architects require effective communication and interdisciplinary team working to be successful throughout their career which, is often overlooked during formal undergraduate education. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the novel design and evaluation of a module on communication and interdisciplinary team working in the combined teaching of undergraduate Engineering and Architecture students. An Interdisciplinary Problem Based Learning (IPBL) approach is used and the theoretical construct for this work is the application of dialogical theory to the shared habitus between engineers and architects. The constructivist theory of learning was employed in the design and delivery of this module. It is an action research pedagogical intervention to support the improvement in the teaching and learning of communications and teamwork between architects and engineers. Feedback shows students identified improvement in their communication and teamwork skills at the end of the module.