the eastern integrative learning experience office of the provost & vice president of academic...
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The Eastern Integrative Learning Experience
Office of the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs
Eastern Illinois University
What is Integrative Learning?
Integrative learning entails providing students with coherent curricula, significant learning and life experiences outside of the traditional classroom context, and ample opportunity for guided reflection. It enables students to tie the disparate parts of their academic, personal, and professional lives into a holistic, transformative university experience.
Why Integrative Learning?
• A concept with an existing body of literature• Speaks directly to Eastern’s overarching goal -- being
the “best” at integrating students’ academic and personal experiences
• An umbrella for the academic initiatives which we have been pursuing for several years: Study Abroad, Undergraduate Scholarship, Honors, Service Learning
• Includes many elements of the educational experience we have offered for many years
Characteristics of Integrative Learning
IntentionalityReflectionProblem-solvingCollaborationEngagement Metacognition
Integrative Learning Requires:
Intentionally and purposefully including two activities in courses and in co-curricular activities:
1. Connecting (skills and knowledge from
multiple sources and experiences) 2. Reflecting (on learning, experience, and the
connections between them).
High Impact, Integrative Experiences
First-Year Seminars and Experiences Collaborative Assignments and Projects Writing Intensive Courses Study Abroad Research, Scholarship, Creative Activity Student Teaching Internships Service-Learning, Community-Based Learning
What do these have in common?
Each puts the student in a practical situation in which she has problems to solve or challenges to overcome.
Each requires the student to apply skills and knowledge acquired in one context to a situation in a different context.
How can we prepare students to take full advantage of these
experiences?Instill habits of reflectionEncourage students to be intentional
about their choices, both academic and personal/professional
Provide experiences in which students can practice integrating skills and knowledge from one context into another
“One of the oddest things about the university is that it calls itself a ‘community of
scholars,’ yet it organizes itself in a way that conceals the intellectual links of that
community from those who don't already see them.”
--Gerald Graff. “Colleges Are Depriving Students of a Connected View of Scholarship.” Chronicle of Higher Education. 13
Feb. 1991
Types of Integrative Learning
HorizontalVerticalGlobalPersonal“Cosmic”
Adapted in part from SUNY Oswego catalyst project
Horizontal Academic Integration
Provides opportunities for students to reflect upon connections among their courses through exercises such as one-minute papers, focused class discussions, reflective assignments.
Vertical Academic Integration
Encourages students to reach back and review/use skills used in prerequisite courses to enhance learning in current course.
Encourages students to reach back to general education courses to provide grounding and inform learning in major courses.
Global Academic Integration
Encourages students to make connections among courses using an overarching concept or theory that applies to many courses.
Personal Integration
Encourages students to apply academic learning to outside-of-class experiences.
Encourages students to bring personal, social, cultural, and professional experiences to bear on what they are learning in class.
“Cosmic” Integration
Enables students to recognize the interconnectedness of all things.
What have we accomplished?
Positives: Presidential buy-in General diffusion of the idea Website with information and student examples Departmental discussions – predominantly listings of
things already being done An increase in the number of integrative experiences Not a lot of vocal or overt push-back Many faculty doing things consistent with IL
EIU’s Integrative Learning Web Site
Elements of Integrative Learning
EIU ReadsAppreciative AdvisingGeneral EducationMajor/Minor CurriculaStudent LifeCo-Curricular Experiences
EIU Reads Enhances critical reading skillsDevelops social/academic skills through
interactions with faculty and studentsCan provide a follow-up assignment
wherein the student reflects on her own reading tastes, strengths, & abilities
Appreciative Advising
Academic advisors include discussions of student’s career goals and personal aspirations while recommending courses and co-curricular activities.
General Education• Include assignments that allow student to reflect upon her
own learning process• Include assignments that allow student to connect to other
coursework• Chosen to coincide with student’s academic and career
goals• Provide opportunities in each course to connect to
material in other courses: e.g., literature connects to psychology, political science to ethics, sociology to history, fine arts to physics . . . .
Major/Minor Curricula
Classes build upon disciplinary expertise but also reach back to General Education classes in science, social science, fine arts, humanities
Include assignments that allow students to reflect on learning process, human experience …
Some Considerations
• How often can personal/professional reflection be incorporated into coursework?
• Can students’ personal/professional aspirations be contextualized through their coursework?
• Can academic content be applied to out-of-class experiences?
• How coherent is the curriculum and is that coherence explicitly explained to students?
• How can Reflection be embedded in the curriculum and be required before and after all major integrative activities
Honors Pilot
• The Presidential Scholars Program has included several elements to promote integrated academic and personal development:
Academic PlanRequired participation in student life activitiesRequired high impact experience
• For all freshman Honors students, the new 1- credit required class
