Event Title
Constructing Interdisciplinary Competence: Experimentation and Process
Location
DSB, Room 111
Start Date
30-5-2013 2:30 PM
End Date
30-5-2013 3:45 PM
Session Type
Roundtable Discussion
Description
Interdisciplinary courses and curricula moved from the shadows of academe in the 1960’s to a prominent place in colleges and universities during the first decade of the 21st century. Sometimes viewed as a panacea to challenges in higher education, interdisciplinarity is also considered a necessary stepping stone to prepare students for complex and globalized societies, economic and environmental challenges, growth in diverse knowledge industries, etc. Despite the fact that interdisciplinary approaches are necessary, constructing interdisciplinary competence in faculty and students is a hard and arduous process and faces multi-layered challenges: Faculty are often not trained in interdisciplinary research methods, pedagogies, curricular design and collaboration. Students are often times not aware of disciplinary methodologies and feel inept at synthesizing knowledge models in interdisciplinary courses; and lastly, after interdisciplinary programs are introduced and maintained, experimentation with curricular designs often comes to a halt. In the proposed conference session, we will address these complex problems and present examples of improving faculty competence with regard to interdisciplinary course design, share practices which empower students’ comprehension of both disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies and discuss strategies to keep interdisciplinary programs fluid and vibrant.
Topic Designation
Teaching & Learning
Presenter Bio(s)
Dr. Debora Johnson-Ross, is Interim Dean of the Faculty and Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies. She studies political identity in the African Diaspora, and travels regularly to Cameroon and Zimbabwe with students.
Dr. Vera Jakoby is Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Associate Professor of Philosophy. She teaches courses in the philosophy of culture and history of philosophy, including Environmental Philosophy, Philosophy and Film, Ancient Philosophy, Nietzsche, etc. Her research interests are rooted in the intersection between the philosophy of religion, culture studies and philosophy with a focus on the interpretations of paradise narrations in modern and contemporary Western cultures and the genealogy of the concept of nature.
Backwards Course Design Exercise (Johnson_Ross & Jakoby).pdf (78 kB)
Food genealogy exercise (Johnson_Ross & Jakoby).pdf (113 kB)
EssentialOutcomes_Chart_AAC&U.pdf (110 kB)
Integrative learning rubric_AAC&U.pdf (102 kB)
PrinciplesExcellence_chart_AAC&U.pdf (40 kB)
URLs (Johnson Ross & Jakoby).pdf (192 kB)
Constructing Interdisciplinary Competence: Experimentation and Process
DSB, Room 111
Interdisciplinary courses and curricula moved from the shadows of academe in the 1960’s to a prominent place in colleges and universities during the first decade of the 21st century. Sometimes viewed as a panacea to challenges in higher education, interdisciplinarity is also considered a necessary stepping stone to prepare students for complex and globalized societies, economic and environmental challenges, growth in diverse knowledge industries, etc. Despite the fact that interdisciplinary approaches are necessary, constructing interdisciplinary competence in faculty and students is a hard and arduous process and faces multi-layered challenges: Faculty are often not trained in interdisciplinary research methods, pedagogies, curricular design and collaboration. Students are often times not aware of disciplinary methodologies and feel inept at synthesizing knowledge models in interdisciplinary courses; and lastly, after interdisciplinary programs are introduced and maintained, experimentation with curricular designs often comes to a halt. In the proposed conference session, we will address these complex problems and present examples of improving faculty competence with regard to interdisciplinary course design, share practices which empower students’ comprehension of both disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies and discuss strategies to keep interdisciplinary programs fluid and vibrant.