{nA EAN TSE EPS TE IN GE EVAL RET EOL RE I TORT: ARIE SOL SR NAN A TE CARE SE ECTS plinary offerings at DeKalb help students to retain information longer, master it more thoroughly, and enjoy the process of journeying through the intellectual heritage of humanity. At recent sessions of the annual Social Science Colloquium, for example, the largest percentage of the research projects honored at recent competitions came from interdisciplinary course offerings; the winner of the World Civilization award was a student in an interdisciplinary block course while a recent student in the world civilization/ humanities block course has received a commission to create a sculpture for the United Nations complex. Student responses to surveys indicated that they found this environment much more stimulating and effective than the traditional, and that they realized for the first time in their student careers that information learned in one course was valuable in and related to other contexts. This program is making it possible to create students who are more truly what the ancients referred to as philosophers, or “lovers of wisdom.” By fostering connections between disciplines, students will come to know the true meaning of wisdom and be prepared to live in a world which demands not only breadth of experience, but the integration of that experience into a variety of contexts. ee In order to facilitate the creation of interdisciplinary block courses, readers may find the following sugges- tions helpful: ¢ Advertise upcoming course offerings well in advance and in prominent locations. Advertisement should be directed to advisors, faculty members, and the student body. Fliers for the courses should be distributed at orientations and prominently located at registration. If possible, faculty teaching these courses for the first time should also visit classrooms to intro- duce students to the concept of interdisciplinary work. * Interdisciplinary courses should be listed under a separate section in the schedule of classes, as well as cross-listed under the heading of the respective disci- plines involved. An explanatory note should appear under the separate headings of each course alerting students that they must cross-register for the paired courses. ¢ The computer system should be modified so that students enrolling in one course are automatically enrolled in the course with which it is paired. This adjustment should also apply to withdrawals. * Ideally, the paired courses should meet sequen- tially in the MWF sequence. Instructors found the TTH block courses and the longer meeting time to be more difficult for students and instructors. ¢ If possible, faculty should be given rewards as incentives to promote the program, e.g., release time or additional compensation. DeKalb faculty are now given release time the first time the course is offered, and compensation each additional time the class is taught (limited to one time per year). ¢ Faculty should be provided occasions to brain- storm with faculty in other disciplines and become more aware of areas of overlap. ¢ Interdisciplinary reading lists for courses might be developed and assignments made from these lists. Guest lecturers might be brought in to discuss topics related to this list. ¢ Students might be asked to attend a lecture or other special event on an interdisciplinary topic and discuss the event with the class. For example, students in a literature class might attend a museum exhibit on a historical era relating to a piece of literature they are studying and bring information back to the class. ee All faculty can discover the joys of interdisciplinary cooperation and enhance both the students’ perspec- tives and their own! A Deborah Vess, Chair, Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies, and Assistant Professor, History and Philosophy For further information, contact the author at DeKalb College, Department of Social Science, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor September 15, 1994, Vol. XVII, No. 19 © The University of Texas at Austin, 1995 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academic calendar by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra- tion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512) 471-7545. Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.