Teaching across disciplines: using collaborativeinstruction in undergraduate education

Roberta Schroder

Published online: 31 August 2010# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract Learning communities (LCs) are one example of collaborative instructionused in undergraduate and graduate level courses. This paper discusses thedevelopment and delivery of this collaborative instruction and learning model toteach economics principles and finance courses at Nassau Community College(NCC), a suburban two-year college in New York.

Keywords Economics Education

JEL Classification A2

1 Introduction

Collaborative learning environments, including learning communities, attempt topair two courses so that there are coordinated and cohesive components associatedwith the course curriculum. The main strategy involves two instructors teaching tworelated, yet distinctively different, courses while maintaining a meaningful andeffective connection between the two curricula.

Collaborative learning models have been discussed in the academic literaturefor decades (Gabelnick et al. 1990). Much research suggests that there aresubstantial benefits to both faculty and students in a learning community.(Killackyet al. 2002; Gabelnick et al. 1990) This is particularly true of undergraduates whohave been identified as at-risk and are derived from under-served populations.Although not exclusively, community colleges often serve these populations

J Econ Finan (2010) 34:484–488DOI 10.1007/s12197-010-9155-6

R. Schroder (*)Department of Economics and Finance, Nassau Community College, One Education Drive,Garden City, NY 11530-6793, USAe-mail: Roberta.Schroder@ncc.edu

(Gabelnick et al. 1990; Wilmer 2009). Literature shows that traditional studentpopulations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels world-wide have shownpromising results in the areas of student achievement, engagement and retention(Tinto and Engstrom 2002; Smith and MacGregor 2009). There are also challengesassociated with learning communities that should be addressed in the early stagesof course development.

2 Structural methods and development of a learning community

At Nassau Community College and in many cases, LCs are paired courses in whichtwo instructors teach established course offerings. Normally, learning communitiesare not team taught. Each professor is solely responsible for teaching his/her sectionand manages the course individually. However, both communicate regularly toensure that the course content is structured and delivered using methods andpedagogy that will assist students in making meaningful connections between coursecurricula and supportive skill sets.

1. Coordinating SchedulesLCs and other linked course offerings are based on the assumptions of

coordinated scheduling and organization. The time and place of the courseofferings is itself a critical issue. Both courses should be offered at meetingtimes that would be likely to fit into the typical student’s course schedule. Forexample, both LC courses might be offered in the morning rather than one of thecourses offered during the day and the other in the evening. It is not necessary tooffer the courses back-to-back in the weekly schedule. In fact, offering the twocourses on different days might help to reinforce the connection established bythe LC.

2. Linking Course Curriculum and PedagogyInstruction involves coordinating focus, pedagogy, topics, materials and

assessment. This is often easier to accomplish than it sounds. It is helpful to linkcourses that have related skill sets, such as economics and mathematics, historyand literature, or language arts and theatre. Of course, there is also a benefit tooffering the LC regularly, which can result in substantial economies of scaleover time. It should be stressed that course content need not be completelyorchestrated to fit either course. In fact, working with a more global view of theLC connections allows each professor the flexibility to make necessarymodifications to the course flow, which will undoubted occur.

3. Preparation and Communication Between LC FacultySuccessful collaborative efforts are usually directly related to the faculty’s

level of preparation prior to the start of the semester. Coordinating content tooclosely is unwise. Rather, discussions surrounding topic or unit development aswell as assignment/exam schedules will help ensure the consistent flow of thecourse from beginning to end. During the semester paired professors will benefitby meeting regularly, with once or twice a month being sufficient. Assessmenttools are critical and should be developed early and modified if necessary.

J Econ Finan (2010) 34:484–488 485485

Midterm assessment is very useful and can be used as both assessment andretention tools.

4. Communication between Faculty and Students: Using Technology as the LinkA line of communication between faculty and students can assist both

professors and students. This is not necessarily for the purposes of linkingcourse content. Rather, it becomes a way for students and LC faculty tofollow the flow of the two courses over the entire semester. There are severalmethods that might be used. One of the strongest and most accessible is theestablishment of two linked course websites. Most higher educationinstitutions have platforms in place, such as Blackboard or Angel, to setup a course website. Both LC courses should have individual and distinctcourse websites. Each professor should have access to the other’s website,without instructional access, thereby allowing both to follow the coursesduring the semester.

Given that the structural components are achievable, it is important to consider anumber of benefits and challenges that are likely to arise in the delivery of a learningcommunity.

3 Benefits derived from the learning community

1. Improved skill sets for studentsCollaborative instruction becomes the basis for the development of problem

solving, critical thinking, and communication and information managementskills. Student awareness of connections between disciplines is enhanced, whichmay also be applied to applications in both disciplines. For example, math skillsdeveloped in a pre-Calculus course will transfer to economics or psychologycourses as applied quantitative skills. In addition, students learn to connectsource material, research methods and other academic skills which benefitsfuture coursework. Faculty work as a team to enhance student success. Thisrequires a good deal of communication between paired faculty and a well-definedpath of communication with the students in both classes.

2. Satisfaction of Multiple RequirementsAs mentioned earlier, the courses taught in LCs are established courses and

these courses often satisfy distribution, major, remedial and/or general educationrequirements. Therefore, when students enroll in an LC, they are likely to beaccumulating credits required for distribution and/or major, the two birds withone stone approach.

3. Mentoring OpportunitiesLCs offer senior faculty the opportunity to mentor junior faculty. Enhanced

communication and collective experiences allow for shared teaching methodsand pedagogy. Students themselves learn the benefits of collaboration. Course-work and materials are coordinated and supportive. In some instances, studentinteraction is enhanced through group activity. Mentoring opportunities arisehere as well. This often results in a more open and active classroom.

486 J Econ Finan (2010) 34:484–488

4 Considerations and challenges associated with the delivery of learningcommunities

Challenges facing LCs are often institutional in nature and require administrativesupport. Academic challenges are more likely to fall into the areas of pedagogy,course structure and coordination, which was discussed earlier.

1. Registration and Enrollment HurdlesLC courses are subject to institutional registration and enrollment limits, as

are all courses. Students registering for an LC need to fit both courses into theirschedules, which is normally more difficult than registering for one course at atime. After all, students could take the same courses as stand-alone sections or,in some cases, not take these courses at all. This puts the LC at risk forcancelation due to low enrollment.

It helps to pair courses that fulfill distribution, major, remedial and/or generaleducation requirements. The best solution in this case is to have administrativesupport of the LC concept, allowing the paired courses to run with lowerenrollment limits, similar to the easing of enrollment limits for upper division orspecialty courses. Lower enrollment could also result in benefits derived fromsmaller class size.

2. Program Requirements and RestrictionsSpecific programs, majors or concentrations (such as Business, Economics

and Finance, Biology, Mathematics, etc.) have course pre-requisites and otherrequirements. These additional requirements make it more difficult to registerstudents for learning communities because it adds another layer of restrictions. Italso means that the advisement component of scheduling needs a broaderinformation base. LC enrollment will be more likely to suffer in situations inwhich students self-register with no faculty or institutional advisement. Pairedcourses that have few restrictions or can be used to satisfy multiple distributionor concentration requirements are likely to be more successful.

3. Student AdvisementLearning Communities need the full cooperation of advisement and

student support services in order to enhance and encourage enrollment. Thismeans that faculty or institutional advisors be informed of LC offeringsearly and often. This is generally the responsibility of the LearningCommunity Program coordinators but the use of broader means ofcommunication such as Department Chairs and student program coordinatorscan be the key to meeting minimum enrollments.

5 Conclusion

A successful learning community offers both the students and faculty an opportunityto become involved in learning between disciplines while maintaining theestablished institutional class schedule and course offerings. There are significantchallenges associated with learning communities. Institutional requirements andrestrictions need to be addressed early in the process, with all parties supporting the

J Econ Finan (2010) 34:484–488 487487

ideology of collaborative education. With those challenges aside, LCs offer students,faculty, and the colleges/universities an opportunity to deliver creative coursecontent and meaningful skill development. The method pushes traditional bound-aries forward and expands the educational horizon. Success levels might vary but thebenefits remain.

Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Joyce Stern, Coordinatorof the NCC Learning Community Program, Victoria Chai, Professor of Communications at NCC and Dr.Richard Vogel, Chair of the Department of Economics, SUNY Farmingdale in developing my NCCLearning Community and this article.

References

Gabelnick F, MacGregor J, Matthews R, Smith B (1990) Learning community models. New Dir TeachLearn 41:19–37

Killacky J, Thomas C, Accomando A (2002) Learning communities and community college: a case study.Community Coll J Res Pract 26(10):763–775

Tinto V, Engstrom C (2002) Learning communities and the undergraduate curriculum. In: Guthrie JW (ed)Encyclopedia of education, vol. 4, 2nd ed. New York, pp 1452–1457

Smith BL, MacGregor F (2009) Learning communities and the quest for quality. Qual Assur in Educ17(2):118–139

Wilmer E (2009) The Influence of Learning Communities on the Interaction Levels of DevelopmentalEnglish Students. Inquiry 14(1):55–67

488 J Econ Finan (2010) 34:484–488