Sustaining Interdisciplinarity AT CSU CHANNEL ISLANDS Through Learning Communities

1. Sustaining Interdisciplinarity AT CSU CHANNEL ISLANDS Through Learning Communities & Organizational Structure February 6, 2003

2. The Balancing Act Scholarship Disciplinary excellence RTP Workload Mission Student Focus Service Interdisciplinarity Innovation

3. Overview Interdisciplinary Majors Interdisciplinary General Education Organizational Structure Interdisciplinary Scholarship Interdisciplinary Learning (LC’s)

4. Interdisciplinary Majors • B.S. Business (MGT, ECON, ENGL, MATH) • B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource • Management (ESRM, BIO, ECON, CHEM) • B.A. in Liberal Studies, Concentrated and • Interdisciplinary Studies Option (Student- • Advisor designed Program of Study)

5. InterdisciplinaryGeneral Education • 9 units of General Education as upper- • division interdisciplinary coursework • Courses must present multiple ways of • knowing, content and ideas from two • or more disciplines • Substantive written work including • in-class writing and revised prose

6. Interdisciplinary Upper-Division GE • Drug Discovery and Development (ECON, CHEM, • and BUS) • Business and the American Novel (ECON, BUS, • and ENGL) • The Museum: Culture, Business, and Museum • (ART, EDUC, BUS) • Biomedical Imaging (PHYS and BIOL)

7. Learning Communities “A variety of approaches that link or cluster classes during a given term, often around an interdisciplinary theme, that enroll a common cohort of students.” From “Learning Community Models”, J. MacGregor, R. Matthews, B. Smith, and F. Gabelnick

8. Why Learning Communitiesat CSUCI? • Responsive to needs of our students • Commuters • First-generation college students • Culturally diverse • Part-time and full-time students

9. Why Learning Communitiesat CSUCI? • Research on retention and student learning • Distinguishes program • Operationalizes mission statement • Integration of knowledge and interdisciplinarity • Multiple ways of knowing and expressing • Campus-wide community • Experiential and service learning

10. Learning Community Modelsfor Flexibility

11. Ways of Sustaining LC’s and Interdisciplinarity • Summer institute and planning grants ($$) • RTP: Scholarship and Creative Activities • Weighted teaching load • Peer mentor assignments • Faculty fellows

12. Next Steps…. • Pilot LCs 03-04, assess outcomes, implement, assess • Create policies to assure LC sustainability re: . Workload, FTE allocation • . Faculty development, RTP • . Course planning $, division-wide curriculum process • . Organize Academic Affairs to reflect interdisciplinarity

14. Liberal Studies Major • Multiple-Subject Matter Preparation (120 units) • + Teaching Credential (30 units) • Blended Program: ~4 years and ~140 units • Content and Pedagogy Courses

15. Liberal Studies LCFall 2003

16. Proposed BlendedProgram LC’s