BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General...
-
Upload
benjamin-reynolds -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General...
![Page 1: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING:
Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies,
Boston University
![Page 2: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
• A 2-year, interdisciplinary, team-taught general education program (1200 students)
• Taught exclusively by full-time faculty with Ph.D.s—NO adjuncts, T.A.s or T.F.s
• Freshman courses:– Humanities– Social Sciences– Rhetoric, plus an elective
• Sophomore courses:– Humanities– Social Sciences– Natural Sciences, plus elective
THE COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY:
![Page 3: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
• Because 80 students share the same 3 CGS faculty, creating projects that ask students to explore the connections between their courses is relatively easy
• But similar projects can be constructed in a non-team system as well
• We regularly run 3 joint projects on our sophomore teams:– Applying political philosophy to
analyze an event in a communist revolution
– Applying just war theory to analyze a recent U.S. military conflict
– Capstone project
TEAM SYSTEM FOSTERS INTER-DISCIPLINARY LEARNING
![Page 4: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
• In Humanities 201 students survey ethical philosophy from Ancient Greece to the 19th century
• In Social Science 201 students study the Russian and Chinese communist revolutions
• We ask them to focus on the political philosophy of either Rousseau or Hobbes
• And use it to interpret a key moment in either the Russian or Chinese revolutions
1ST JOINT PROJECT:ROUSSEAU, HOBBES, AND COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONS
![Page 5: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
A LENS FOR ANALYZINGREVOLUTIONS:
![Page 6: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
BENEFITS?UNDERSTANDING
Without the philosophic lens, history can seem like just a series of events; without the historical framework, the philosophy seems too abstract.
![Page 7: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
APPLIED LEARNING:STUDENTS UNDERSTAND AND REMEMBER MORE WHEN THEY APPLY THEIR LEARNING
Assignments in ANY class can encourage students to apply course material to other courses, whether students are in a team system or not.
![Page 8: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
• In Soc. Science 202 students study U.S. foreign policy, including U.S. involvement in Vietnam and Iraq
• In Humanities 202 students study applied ethics, including just war theory which articulates principles that can help to determine whether and how war can be waged justly.
• This project asks students to take principles of just war theory and use them to determine if the wars in Vietnam or Iraq were just
2ND JOINT PROJECT:JUST WAR THEORY & VIETNAM OR IRAQ WARS
![Page 9: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
• Was there just cause for fighting? (i.e. response to an attack)
• Was war the last resort? (have all other measures been tried?)
• Is it reasonable to expect that the war will bring about more good than harm?
• Were the means used in proportion to the goals sought?
• Was every attempt made to protect non-combatants (civilians)?
JUST WAR:
JUS AD BELLUM &
JUS IN BELLO
![Page 10: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
JUSTICEAND VIETNAM OR IRAQ
![Page 11: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
BENEFITS:THE WARS BREATHE LIFE INTO THE PHILOSOPHY; THE PHILOSOPHY PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETING THE WARS.
![Page 12: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
• Both projects helped students prepare for the Capstone project at the end of their sophomore year.
• Capstone is a group-written, 50-page research proposal that requires students to draw on all of their CGS classes plus research to analyze a current real-world problem and present a valid solution.
• E.g.: Ending Hunger in Boston, OR Stopping Deforestation in Chiapas
• Capstone enables us to assess our students’ development using a rubric--
CAPSTONE—ADDRESSES THE CORE COMPETENCIESWE AIM TO DEVELOP AT CGS
![Page 13: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
![Page 14: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
![Page 15: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
![Page 16: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES FOR BETTER LEARNING: Interdisciplinary Projects at the College of General Studies, Boston University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062404/5514c1aa550346935c8b46be/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
• For more information, see our website:
www.bu.edu/cgs/center-for-interdisciplinary-teaching-learning
• CONSIDER SUBMITTING ESSAYS FOR OUR
JOURNAL IMPACT AT THIS SITE OR at
www.citl.submishmash.com
THANKS TO THE DAVIS
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR FUNDING
FOR OUR ASSESSMENT
PROJECT!