Portal Pedagogy: From interdisciplinarity and internationalization to transdisciplinarity and transnationalization

• Main Authors: Nicholas Monk, Sarah McDonald, Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou, Mia Lindgren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UCL Press 2015-11-01
• Series: London Review of Education
• Online Access: https://www.scienceopen.com/document?vid=a59096f2-3bb1-442e-858a-26ceb9439e33

Education in the twenty-first century is characterized by narratives of global connectivity. Opportunities offered by digital technologies, connectivity through mobile platforms, and social media, reinforced by changing expectations of students and parents, have put pressure on universities to reimagine global learning and flexible delivery contained in a modern higher degree. The higher education sector has sought to address these developments in a number of ways: through intensified student exchange and recruitment, the establishment of off-shore campuses, an expanding online delivery presence, and by increasing flexibility of delivery for on-campus students. While each of the current options taken up by universities addresses different aspects of these trends in the sector, all have inherent problems and imbalances in their approach. In this paper we reflect on the effectiveness of the current trends in international education and propose that the innovative 'Portal Pedagogy' approach outlined here makes a significant contribution to higher education. The pedagogy connects geographically distant students through technology and curriculum to create a student-centred community of inquiry neither bound by disciplines nor countries. Bringing together cross-disciplinary interaction, studentdriven learning, and technological solutions to pedagogical and logistical challenges, Portal Pedagogy offers a hybrid model that seeks to go beyond the limitations of online delivery and student exchange programmes in order to offer a flexible, meaningful, and globalized learning experience.