1. Why interdisciplinarity? Change spurs innovation Enhances critical thinking and analysis skills Enhances groupwork/collaborative skills Look at topic/problem in new ways New possibilities and opportunities for development Synthesis and integration Transferrability/generalizability of knowledge Benefits students and faculty (allows students and faculty of different disciplines to work together)

2. …through an Interdisciplinary Lens Problem BiologyPsychology any number of conjunctive circles

3. Snail as a Metaphor… CBR

4. Course Assessment Results (Student) Pre/post assessment of attitudes related to interdisciplinarity, undergraduate research, community involvement/social justice, and environmental themes Students gained more experience in arguing critiquing different perspectives and better understood how different disciplines come together to work on a problem Students better understood the environmental problems that face our nation and gained more experience in working with the community Students better understood research methods/process

5. Results cont., Students felt the experience was better than expected, that working with other students and community members moderately enhanced the course experience, and that they prefer learning through a research experience Students were moderately likely to choose to have another research experience as an UG. Ceiling effects?

6. Challenges… Different cultures, languages and visions of disparate disciplines Students not used to non-traditional course? Learning process for all involved (even faculty!) Giving up content (remember, serendipity!) Pedagogy and assessment Need more developmental (formative) assessment and reflection (critical part to service learning) Journals/blogs Peer review Partnership/community assessment (bidirectional) Plan for public dissemination

7. Future Directions for Environmental Course Environmental theme as part of Future Living and Learning Community (fall 2009) NSF proposal for Stage I funding (Watershed Citizenship courses) Part of new Cabrini Core Engagements series of courses (EGM200) Publish pedagogy and assessment tools Transfer to other communities (& other colleges) Greater interdisciplinary collaboration