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Why interdisciplinarity?

Why interdisciplinarity?. Change spurs innovation Enhances critical thinking and analysis skills Enhances groupwork /collaborative skills Look at topic/problem in new ways New possibilities and opportunities for development Synthesis and integration

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Why interdisciplinarity?

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  1. Why interdisciplinarity? • Change spurs innovation • Enhances critical thinking and analysis skills • Enhances groupwork/collaborative skills • Look at topic/problem in new ways • New possibilities and opportunities for development • Synthesis and integration • Transferrability/generalizability of knowledge • Benefits students and faculty • (allows students and faculty of different disciplines to work together)

  2. …through an Interdisciplinary Lens Problem • any number of conjunctive circles Biology Psychology

  3. Snail as a Metaphor… CBR

  4. Course Assessment Results (Student) • Pre/post assessment of attitudes related to interdisciplinarity, undergraduate research, community involvement/social justice, and environmental themes • Students gained more experience in arguing critiquing different perspectives and better understood how different disciplines come together to work on a problem • Students better understood the environmental problems that face our nation and gained more experience in working with the community • Students better understood research methods/process

  5. Results cont., • Students felt the experience was better than expected, that working with other students and community members moderately enhanced the course experience, and that they prefer learning through a research experience • Students were moderately likely to choose to have another research experience as an UG. • Ceiling effects?

  6. Challenges… • Different cultures, languages and visions of disparate disciplines • Students not used to non-traditional course? • Learning process for all involved (even faculty!) • Giving up content (remember, serendipity!) • Pedagogy and assessment • Need more developmental (formative) assessment and reflection (critical part to service learning) • Journals/blogs • Peer review • Partnership/community assessment (bidirectional) • Plan for public dissemination

  7. Future Directions for Environmental Course • Environmental theme as part of Future Living and Learning Community (fall 2009) • NSF proposal for Stage I funding (Watershed Citizenship courses) • Part of new Cabrini Core Engagements series of courses (EGM200) • Publish pedagogy and assessment tools • Transfer to other communities (& other colleges) • Greater interdisciplinary collaboration

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