Key Information
Integrated Studies: Reinventing Undergraduate Education, By Tami S. Carmichael
2004 [ISBN: 1-58107-089-6; 236 pages; 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 inch; soft cover] $19.95
In a time of widespread calls for more attention to undergraduate education, this account of the University of North Dakota’s innovative Integrated Studies Program (ISP) will have a wide audience. Much more than a story of local interest, this program demonstrates how research universities can provide rich environments for student learning and gives readers a close look at the classroom practices and faculty attitudes towards learning that make a difference.
Those familiar with recent research will recognize how well this program builds upon practices known to promote student learning: high expectations, active learning, challenging assignments and issues, explicit attention to building community among students and faculty, and careful use of assessment practices to improve the program.
Indeed, in a recent national study of research on learning community effectiveness, the University of North Dakota’s Integrated Studies Program’s assessment work was cited as “exemplary.” Even though the program evolved out of faculty interests in revitalizing the humanities, ISP is an ambitious interdisciplinary program with a substantial emphasis on the sciences as well as the humanities, arts, and social sciences. With this interdisciplinary reach, it is an ideal general education program, bringing new life to a crucial part of the undergraduate degree that is too often an afterthought built around an incoherent collection of courses.
The readers will be inspired by what they find in this excellent book.
The Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- The Need for Integrated General Education
- Educational Theory and Curriculum Development
- Integrative Learning: Seminars, Assignments and Classroom Activities
- The Integration of Science and Writing
- Community and Connections: Faculty Development in Integrated Studies
- Learning from Our Students and Ourselves: Assessment and Program Development
- Anticipating Serendipity
- Appendix
The Author
Tami S. Carmichael teaches at the University of North Dakota.