Baruch Technology Conference Presentation
9/3/2004
Introduction
-Glenn
Albright-
Overview
Colleges and universities across the United States have been experimenting with
interdisciplinary courses as a way to enhance course work and improve teaching. It has
been demonstrated that interdisciplinary work increases the intellectual vigor of students
and creates a stronger bond to the academic community. At its best, interdisciplinary
work motivates students to make connections between various disciplines, increases their
academic curiosity, improves critical thinking skills and introduces students to disciplines
of study not encountered at the outset of a college career. For professors, creating an
interdisciplinary course offers a unique opportunity to expand the scope of their own
teaching, explore the boundaries of their own field of expertise and increase interaction
with other campus departments.
Various evaluations of interdisciplinary studies have found a range of benefits,
including: a broadening of students’ educational experiences (Walker, 50), an increased
sense of academic community
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, increased masteries of skills, higher cognitive
functioning, increased educational and vocational success (Krejci, 1993), increased the
amount of material covered in courses, and a demonstrable ability to integrate course
material with other disciplines (Golding and Kraemer, 2000). Further, interdisciplinary
studies provide a way to help students integrate material across disciplines. By their
nature, IDS courses introduce students to connections between materials from multiple
disciplines. In an age of Chinese menu
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course work, students have less of an
opportunity to encounter courses in a sequential manner. Introducing students to
Convention