In mid-November, CIRCLE hosted a workshop on interdisciplinary course design and teaching. It was a generative conversation that gave MSU educators interested in interdisciplinary teaching the chance to connect and share resources and tactics. We showcased 2 panelists with experience designing and teaching interdisciplinary courses: Erin Dreelin (Fisheries & Wildlife and Center for Water Studies) and Garth Sabo (Director of the Center for IAH). The panel discussed effective interdisciplinary course design, strategies to address potential challenges, and the potential benefits of interdisciplinary courses for instructors and students.
This workshop’s goal was for both new and seasoned interdisciplinary educators to move their own practices forward, from classroom strategies to evaluation of interdisciplinary teaching effectiveness. Participants had the opportunity to reflect on their own interdisciplinary teaching philosophies and work on individualized plans for interdisciplinary teaching.
You can watch Garth Sabo’s panel contribution video below, in which he describes some of his experiences plannign and teaching interdisciplinary courses.
You can also access CIRCLE’s interdisciplinary teaching resources at this link. Our resources include:
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- Harden’s Ladder of Integration framework for interdisciplinary course design
- a handout including the benefits, challenges, and institutional resources to support interdisciplinary teaching
- a personalizable planning worksheet that you can print and complete
If you have any questions about interdisciplinary course design, you can contact Ellie Louson, CIRCLE’s associate director of interdisciplinary teaching & learning (lousonel@msu.edu), or our panelists Erin Dreelin (dreelin@msu.edu) and Garth Sabo (sabogart@msu.edu).
Save the date for our second interdisciplinary teaching & learning workshop, which will focus on co-teaching and collaboration on interdisciplinary teaching teams. It will be held February 14th 10AM-1PM (registration link TBA).
If you are interested in further programming from CIRCLE, please apply to become one of our affiliates here: https://research.msu.edu/circle/affiliate-faculty-program (we accept applications on a rolling basis).