ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a qualitative interpretive case study of one interdisciplinary team that did not successfully complete its task, seeking evidence for and against the hypothesis that their difficulties were associated with disciplinary-based misalignments in their conceptualizations of the team and its work. In this case study, they examined a small interdisciplinary working group within a large " think tank"-type institute. The institute's goal was to examine a variety of issues in the domain of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Data about team interaction were collected through audio recordings of team meetings and observer notes. In certain respects, team member's schemas regarding task distribution were compatible: The analyst had an advanced degree in mathematics and experience in working with university data sets. Although all team members recognized that the analyst was the designated data expert, it was less clear how other group members were to participate in data-related tasks.
