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Bridging Disciplines for Better Learning:

Bridging Disciplines for Better Learning:. Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University. A 2-year, interdisciplinary, team-taught general education program (1200 students) Taught exclusively by full-time faculty with Ph.D.s —NO adjuncts, T.A.s or T.F.s

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Bridging Disciplines for Better Learning:

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  1. Bridging Disciplines for Better Learning: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University

  2. A 2-year, interdisciplinary, team-taught general education program (1200 students) • Taught exclusively by full-time faculty with Ph.D.s—NO adjuncts, T.A.s or T.F.s • Freshman courses: • Humanities • Social Sciences • Rhetoric, plus an elective • Sophomore courses: • Humanities • Social Sciences • Natural Sciences, plus elective The College of General Studies at Boston University:

  3. Because 80 students share the same 3 CGS faculty, creating projects that ask students to explore the connections between their courses is relatively easy • But similar projects can be constructed in a non-team system as well • We regularly run 3 joint projects on our sophomore teams: • Applying political philosophy to analyze an event in a communist revolution • Applying just war theory to analyze a recent U.S. military conflict • Capstone project Team system fosters inter-disciplinary Learning

  4. In Humanities 201 students survey ethical philosophy from Ancient Greece to the 19th century • In Social Science 201 students study the Russian and Chinese communist revolutions • We ask them to focus on the political philosophy of either Rousseau or Hobbes • And use it to interpret a key moment in either the Russian or Chinese revolutions 1st joint project:Rousseau, Hobbes, and Communist Revolutions

  5. A lens for analyzingRevolutions:

  6. Benefits?Understanding Without the philosophic lens, history can seem like just a series of events; without the historical framework, the philosophy seems too abstract.

  7. Applied Learning:Students understand and Remember more When they apply their learning Assignments in ANY class can encourage students to apply course material to other courses, whether students are in a team system or not.

  8. In Soc. Science 202 students study U.S. foreign policy, including U.S. involvement in Vietnam and Iraq • In Humanities 202 students study applied ethics, including just war theory which articulates principles that can help to determine whether and how war can be waged justly. • This project asks students to take principles of just war theory and use them to determine if the wars in Vietnam or Iraq were just 2nd Joint project:Just war theory & Vietnam or Iraq wars

  9. Was there just cause for fighting? (i.e. response to an attack) • Was war the last resort? (have all other measures been tried?) • Is it reasonable to expect that the war will bring about more good than harm? • Were the means used in proportion to the goals sought? • Was every attempt made to protect non-combatants (civilians)? Just war:jus ad bellum &Jus in bello

  10. JUSTICEand Vietnam or iraQ

  11. Benefits:The Wars breathe life into the philosophy; the philosophy Provides a Framework for interpreting the Wars.

  12. Both projects helped students prepare for the Capstone project at the end of their sophomore year. • Capstone is a group-written, 50-page research proposal that requires students to draw on all of their CGS classes plus research to analyze a current real-world problem and present a valid solution. • E.g.: Ending Hunger in Boston, OR Stopping Deforestation in Chiapas • Capstone enables us to assess our students’ development using a rubric-- CAPSTONE—addresses the core competencieswe aim to develop at CGS

  13. For more information, see our website: www.bu.edu/cgs/center-for-interdisciplinary-teaching-learning • CONSIDER SUBMITTING ESSAYS FOR OUR JOURNAL IMPACT AT THIS SITE OR at www.citl.submishmash.com Thanks to the Davis Educational Foundation for funding for our assessment project!

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