Abstract:

Recently, it has been suggested that embodying not only discipline-specific but also interdisciplinary contents, ranging sciences, humanities, and social sciences for diverse students in university museums is imperative as the academic hub or cultural commons of the faculty. In this regard, the author employs the concept of object-based learning, which is offered through collections and objects for cross-disciplinary learning to cultivate diverse kinds of literacy. This cross-disciplinary learning can prompt diverse personnel having varied knowledge in fields such as anthropology, ethnology, linguistics, biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science. This pilot activity offered an opportunity to decipher objects with respect to their culture and tradition through cross-disciplinary understanding and cross-disciplinary narratives, which further yield opportunities for student to explore the meaning and esteem for one’s discipline.

This pilot activity offered these objects as learning materials for students in a liberal arts course. The author held a class to highlight the social impact of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and to discuss it from the perspective of science and the humanities. The author utilized antique models for infectious organisms used in previous biology courses. The students were formed into groups of two people majoring in different disciplines before the curatorial lecture offered by the author was held. First, the students learned about infectious diseases through various types of models of infectious organisms. Subsequently, the students were asked to revisit human history and culture in relation to infectious diseases and to discuss these from the perspectives of their individual disciplines. Moreover, students were provided with opportunities to discuss the learning contents of infectious diseases. For example, they narrated the social division caused by insufficient understanding and literacy. This pilot activity termed as the Object Deciphering method by the author involved a lesson for cross-disciplinary understanding. Thus, the results imply that the students realized the importance of narratives for a prompt cross-disciplinary understanding among students majoring in different disciplines through the process of self- exploration by Object Deciphering. Again, students seemed to rethink the meaning and esteem for individual disciplines deeply.

Feedback from the students indicated satisfaction from self-exploration for the pilot activity Object Deciphering in the liberal arts course, which suggested that this pilot activity was successful. Students mentioned about this pilot activity was a significant opportunity for people having different kinds of knowledge, interests, and ideas based on their culture and tradition. The author initially intended to hold a student exhibition abroad to enable the students to deliver and share diverse concepts from locals to foreigners. Today, the prevalence of infectious diseases is a common issue around the world. Thus, identifying common and different points through certain objectives is a very interesting direction for research. In terms of global sustainability, defining a range of concepts with different backgrounds is critical. Hence, the student exhibition abroad as an upcoming task is in preparation. This pilot study illuminates that narrative-based learning by Object Deciphering using authentic objects can prompt cross-disciplinary understanding.

Keywords:

Object Deciphering, object-based learning, cross-disciplinary, university museums.