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Political Science and Interdisciplinary Courses
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3
in its contemporary expressions.”
14
Newell claims that students are “more sensitive to
ethical issues…and better able to synthesize and integrate material,” as well as developing “enlarged perspectives or horizons…more creative, original, or unconventional thinking…more humility or listening skills…and sensitivity to bias.”
15
It
also helps students learn in different ways, making it easier to incorporate self-directed learning, creative learning, expressive learning, feeling learning, online learning, continual learning, and reflexive learning.
16
None on this just magically happens by deciding to teach an interdisciplinary
course. Indeed, if instructors do not understand what interdisciplinarity is, and how to develop an interdisciplinary course, they may not achieve true interdisciplinarity.
17
Instructors must plan the course carefully, paying attention to desired learning outcomes (which should be made explicit), teaching strategies, modes of interaction, and what to do on days when not actively presenting material to the class. James R. Davis, in his book Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching, lays out a clear set of activities instructors need to accomplish in order to offer an effective interdisciplinary course: inventing the subject, determining learning outcomes, establishing scope, sequence, breadth and depth, building the organizational structure, choosing and using teaching strategies, and assessing learning outcomes and satisfaction.
18
Each of these tasks requires considerable interaction between faculty, and often
faculty will have profound differences in terms of their approach to inquiry, epistemology, or base assumptions. Though faculty should work through these ahead of time, these differences should not be hidden from students; part of the benefit of taking a team taught course is to see that there are differences between professors and disciplines, and that the teacher is not a figure of absolute authority, but is also a learner with imperfect knowledge. Faculty should be willing to discuss and even disagree with each other in the classroom, engaging students the process of synthesis and integration.
Faculty start by selecting and defining an organizing principle or theme of the
course, usually “a particular topic, theme, problem, question, issue, idea, person or persons, cultural or historical period, or world area or natural region.”
19
The issue of
coverage should be dealt with; too often faculty in interdisciplinary courses try to cover too much. The goal is then to bring the expertise of each discipline involved to bear on the organizing theme, but in a way that integrates the perspectives and knowledge generated by each approach to provide a fuller, or even holistic understanding of the issue at hand. This, in turn, leads back to critical reflection on the disciplines themselves, and how they approach the issue.
20
Faculty must choose assignments, readings, and teaching
strategies that fit the theme and their students (e.g., first year seminars would approach a course differently than one primarily with upper division students). Instructors strategize over how to interact in class, and what to do on days when they are “in the audience.” This can include observing student behavior (are students engaged, do they seem to be
14
Davis, Interdisciplinary Courses and team Teaching, pp. 38-41.
15
Newell, “Interdisciplinary Curricuar Development,” p. 52.
16
Faith Gabelnick, “Achieving Interdisciplinary Innovation,” pp. 288-89.
17
Jay Wentworth and James R. Davis, “Enhancing Interdisciplinarity through Team Teaching,” p. 16.
18
Davis, Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching, pp. 47-70.
19
Klein and Newell, “Advancing Interdisciplinary Studies,” p. 14.
20
Lattuca, Creating Interdisciplinarity, p. 229.
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3
in its contemporary expressions.”
14
Newell claims that students are “more sensitive to
ethical issues…and better able to synthesize and integrate material,” as well as
developing “enlarged perspectives or horizons…more creative, original, or
unconventional thinking…more humility or listening skills…and sensitivity to bias.”
15
It
also helps students learn in different ways, making it easier to incorporate self-directed
learning, creative learning, expressive learning, feeling learning, online learning,
continual learning, and reflexive learning.
16
None on this just magically happens by deciding to teach an interdisciplinary
course. Indeed, if instructors do not understand what interdisciplinarity is, and how to
develop an interdisciplinary course, they may not achieve true interdisciplinarity.
17
Instructors must plan the course carefully, paying attention to desired learning outcomes
(which should be made explicit), teaching strategies, modes of interaction, and what to do
on days when not actively presenting material to the class. James R. Davis, in his book
Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching, lays out a clear set of activities instructors
need to accomplish in order to offer an effective interdisciplinary course: inventing the
subject, determining learning outcomes, establishing scope, sequence, breadth and depth,
building the organizational structure, choosing and using teaching strategies, and
assessing learning outcomes and satisfaction.
18
Each of these tasks requires considerable interaction between faculty, and often
faculty will have profound differences in terms of their approach to inquiry,
epistemology, or base assumptions. Though faculty should work through these ahead of
time, these differences should not be hidden from students; part of the benefit of taking a
team taught course is to see that there are differences between professors and disciplines,
and that the teacher is not a figure of absolute authority, but is also a learner with
imperfect knowledge. Faculty should be willing to discuss and even disagree with each
other in the classroom, engaging students the process of synthesis and integration.
Faculty start by selecting and defining an organizing principle or theme of the
course, usually “a particular topic, theme, problem, question, issue, idea, person or
persons, cultural or historical period, or world area or natural region.”
19
The issue of
coverage should be dealt with; too often faculty in interdisciplinary courses try to cover
too much. The goal is then to bring the expertise of each discipline involved to bear on
the organizing theme, but in a way that integrates the perspectives and knowledge
generated by each approach to provide a fuller, or even holistic understanding of the issue
at hand. This, in turn, leads back to critical reflection on the disciplines themselves, and
how they approach the issue.
20
Faculty must choose assignments, readings, and teaching
strategies that fit the theme and their students (e.g., first year seminars would approach a
course differently than one primarily with upper division students). Instructors strategize
over how to interact in class, and what to do on days when they are “in the audience.”
This can include observing student behavior (are students engaged, do they seem to be
14
Davis, Interdisciplinary Courses and team Teaching, pp. 38-41.
15
Newell, “Interdisciplinary Curricuar Development,” p. 52.
16
Faith Gabelnick, “Achieving Interdisciplinary Innovation,” pp. 288-89.
17
Jay Wentworth and James R. Davis, “Enhancing Interdisciplinarity through Team Teaching,” p. 16.
18
Davis, Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching, pp. 47-70.
19
Klein and Newell, “Advancing Interdisciplinary Studies,” p. 14.
20
Lattuca, Creating Interdisciplinarity, p. 229.
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