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Stressing Interdisciplinarity to Mold the Undergraduate Experience
Author(s) -
Keller Chelsea M,
Bridges Britney E,
Roney James N,
Dries Daniel R
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.631.2
Subject(s) - liberal arts education , discipline , curriculum , class (philosophy) , the arts , medical education , sociology , engineering ethics , pedagogy , psychology , higher education , political science , engineering , medicine , social science , computer science , artificial intelligence , law
In the tradition of the liberal arts, Juniata College promotes an environment conducive to interdisciplinary exploration. Many students, however, spend their early academic years taking discipline‐specific courses, leaving non‐disciplinary electives for their junior and senior years. In order to introduce freshmen to interdisciplinary thinking, two undergraduate students and two faculty mentors worked together to co‐develop a pilot course titled “From Lab to World”. As a freshman‐level seminar, this course has the unique opportunity to shape how freshmen will approach the rest of their college career. “From Lab to World” stresses to freshmen the necessity of interdisciplinarity both when working in scientific research teams and when addressing the local and global problems we face as citizens. The class is composed of two modules: personalized genomics and infectious diseases. Within each module, students worked through two problem‐based learning projects and two essays. For stimulation of interdisciplinary thought, the course utilized external speakers, Juniata professors from departments across campus, and various supplementary sources, including film and popular literature. The combination of these media empowered the students to take a hand in their own learning and develop the skills necessary to think critically and constructively regarding social issues. Creating and presenting this course has allowed for our own development both professionally and academically. This experience has ultimately fostered an environment that not only harbors interdisciplinary collaboration but also allows students to realize the necessity of addressing social justice and public health. Support or Funding Information This project was supported by a grant to Juniata College from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education Program.