Collaborative cross-disciplinary client-based projects: a case study

To prepare for the changing marketplace, students must become confident working with both real-world clients and multidisciplinary teams. A major barrier for students is their inability to communicate knowledge effectively or work outside clearly defined objectives. To address these issues, this study explores the application of authentic learning strategies within the framework of collaborative cross-disciplinary client-based projects (CBPs). Students from two disciplines (marketing and fashion merchandising) worked together on a semester-long project, utilising a real client. Data were collected online, before and after the CBPs, regarding student perceptions of authentic learning, social-cognitive learning, value of the experience, learning effectiveness, and career preparedness. A control class participated in a single-discipline CBP. Analysis showed no significant interaction effect between exposure (pre and post) and collaboration type (single-discipline and cross-discipline). However, results showed an increase in students’ perceptions of learning effectiveness and career preparedness at the conclusion of both cross-discipline and single-discipline CBPs.

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