The Synergistic Classroom: Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Small College Setting

By: Allan W. Austin and Paola Prado and Corey Campion and Aaron Angello and Paul D. Reich and Patricia Marchesi and Patrick L Hamilton and Christine Dehne and Jonathan Munson and April M Boulton and Erika Cornelius Smith and Maryann Conrad and Julia F. Klimek and Christine D Myers and Audra L Goach and Hilary Cooperman and Winston Ou and Lana A. Whited and Sharon E. Stein and Martha Barcenas-Mooradian and Amanda M. Caleb and Alicia H. Nordstrom and Tina L Hanlon and Peter Crow and Susan V Mead and Carolyn L Thomas and Delia R. Heck and Autumn Quezada-Grant

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: Among the many challenges confronting the liberal arts today is a fundamental disconnect between the curricula that many institutions offer and the training that many students need. Discipline-specific models of teaching and learning can underprepare students for the kinds of interdisciplinary collaboration that employers now expect. Although aware of these expectations and the need for change, many small colleges and universities have struggled to translate interdisciplinarity into programs and curricula that better serve today’s students. Written by faculty engaged in the design and delivery of interdisciplinary courses, programs, and experiential learning opportunities in the small college setting, The Synergistic Classroom addresses the many ways faculty can leverage their institutions' small size and openness to pedagogical experimentation to overcome the challenges of limited institutional resources and enrollment concerns and better prepare students for life and work in the twenty-first century. Taken together, the contributions in this volume invite reflection on a variety of important issues that attend the work of small college faculty committed to expanding student learning across disciplinary boundaries.