This interactive session will demonstrate the principles of design for an innovative, integrated first-year arts, social sciences and humanities curriculum that transforms not only the traditional “silo” disciplinary model but also the community of learning that encompasses students, faculty, staff and service-providers. The Integrated Advanced Skills and Knowledge curriculum (IASK) is a suite of 6 question-based courses designed to introduce students to the culture of scholarship and inquiry. Cohort-based and emphasizing the “conversation” that is the foundation of scholarship, the curriculum helps students to understand the intellectual, social, cultural and historical “frames” that underlie disciplinary studies at university, as well as the connections between domains of knowledge and social practice. Arising out of a process of institution-wide visioning and needs-assessment, the program is grounded in key outcomes and principles. One of these, “integration of knowledge,” demanded the creation of a new model of pedagogical delivery, which in turn demanded the transformation of the relationships among faculty who now work in a fully collaborative, mutually supportive, and transparent environment. Embedded librarians, representatives from the First Nations, Academic Success and Wellness Centres, career counsellors, teaching assistants and student mentors work with faculty to provide experiential learning opportunities for students who themselves are encouraged to work collaboratively to become active participants in the scholarly “conversation.”
The session will begin with a brief “walk-through” of the first class of the three course first semester curriculum, including a hands-on experiential learning exercise, “the puzzle box,” followed by a presentation of the design and pedagogical principles that structure the curriculum. There will also be a general discussion period for all of the session participants. Three instructors will demonstrate the model of collaboration and integration by introducing “students” to the interlocking conceptual “frames” that shape their courses: “Ways of Knowing;” “People, Place and Culture” and “Foundations of Learning.”