Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies Volume 32 (2014)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10323/6643

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Browsing Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies Volume 32 (2014) by Subject "Interdisciplinary learning"

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    Biting Into the Yellow Pepper: The Development of the Interdisciplinary Learner
    (Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, 2014) Haynes, Carolyn
    Print version of the address delivered by Carolyn Haynes, a keynote speaker at the 35th annual conference of the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, hosted by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, from November 7 to 10 in the fall of 2013.
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    Interdisciplinary Learning Works: The Results of a Comprehensive Assessment of Students and Student Learning Outcomes in an Integrative Learning Community
    (Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, 2014) Carmichael, Tami
    This article describes the development, implementation, and results of an extensive assessment of students and student learning outcomes in an interdisciplinary, integrative learning community. This assessment project took a comprehensive view of student learning by examining specific data and direct and indirect measures of academic growth for each learner, from high school GPAs and perceptions about academic preparation upon matriculation, to the development of critical and creative thinking skills while participating in the first-year learning community, to student engagement levels in their senior year. Where applicable, data were compared to data for students who did not participate in the learning community. The results of this panoramic assessment project indicate that interdisciplinary learning and learning community practices are effective in promoting academic improvement, retention, development of general education skills, and high levels of student engagement and can provide first-year students with an academic edge that follows them through their undergraduate careers. The article further discusses the value of using this type of 360-degree assessment to inform curricular decisions as well as to create institutional support for interdisciplinary, student-centered learning.
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    The Transformation from Multidisciplinarity to Interdisciplinarity: A Case Study of a Course Involving the Status of Arab Citizens of Israel
    (Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, 2014) Tayler, Marilyn R.
    The author demonstrates that entry-level students can achieve a more comprehensive understanding of complex problems through an explicitly interdisciplinary approach than through a merely multidisciplinary approach, using the process described in Repko’s (2014) Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Repko takes the interdisciplinary process that is articulated in his earlier volume, Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory (2008, 2d ed. 2012), and adapts it for the introductory level. The author uses the example of an introductory Israel Studies course that focuses on the theme of Israel’s conflicted identity as a Jewish and democratic state. At an appropriate point in the course, students analyze a case study by the author regarding Jewish marriage in Israel, found in Case Studies in Interdisciplinary Research (2012), as an illustration of the complete ten-step interdisciplinary research process described in Repko’s earlier book, a process best suited for coursework beyond the introductory level. Students then apply Repko’s more recent (2014) six-step entry level broad model of the interdisciplinary process to their own study regarding the status of Arab citizens of Israel