Integrated Learning

Degree of integration

Degree of collaboration or independence

Degree of structural formality

Some Definitions

Cross-disciplinary analysis – examines an issue typically germane to one discipline through the lens of another discipline (i.e., how physicists explore music, sociological perspectives on the purpose of religion).

Multi-disciplinary analysis – examines an issue from multiple perspectives, without making a concerted effort to systemically integrate disciplinary perspectives.

Inter-disciplinary analysis – examines an issue from multiple perspectives, leading to a systematic effort to integrate the alternative perspectives into a unified or coherent framework of analysis.
(from http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/interdisciplinary/what.html)

Degree Student-driven or Instructor-driven

Variety of modes/pedagogies

Problem-based learning

two or more traditional courses sharing a capstone project

Simulations

inquiry-based projects/learning/undergraduate research

Socratic seminars--joint or single

Debates

Service learning

Travel abroad

Snapshots of integration
Because disciplinary integration varies greatly in student interdisciplinary work, a few core forms of integration are outlined below. The list is not exhaustive, and the forms of integration are not mutually exclusive.
(a) Aesthetic synthesis
(b) Crossover tool
(c) Resonance
(d) Complex explanation
(e) Pragmatic solution
(f) Embedding
(g) Embodying.