Integrative Learning and Today’s College Student - Guest Blogger: Daniel Ware
May 5 2009, 5:07pm
At the University of Alabama, the landscape is a testament to the concept of integrative learning, and can be analogized to the University’s Quad. Where one half of the area is open and free of all tree life, the other is tree-filled and covered with shade and benches; this is the formula for the perfect student. The tree-covered area is the student’s academic life, and the open side is their extra-curricular endeavors. Integrative learning is an interdisciplinary process involving student activity both in and outside the classroom. In a large university academic setting, students are required to sit in a class, ranging from approximately 40-400 people, all of whom are watching a Power Point presentation and listening to an impersonal professor lecture. There must be a manner in which to convey knowledge that is captivating and stimulating to a student, and that compels them to further their studies in a fun and informative manner- enter OrgSync. OrgSync is a new and revolutionary online tool for organizational management that helps organizations communicate more effectively and thus facilitates integrative learning. Because of this, OrgSync could especially help campus residence halls. The Blount Undergraduate Initiative at the University of Alabama is a great example of integrative learning. The Blount Living-Learning Community provides housing for a selection of students, teaching assistants (TA) and one professor as well as classrooms for the resident’s foundation courses. Not only are students afforded the ability to have open and personal dialogue with their professor and teaching assistants, the students are encouraged to socialize and foster nonacademic discussion in a large open forum known as the Lobby, where peer-learning can be observed on a daily basis and furthers knowledge in an otherwise non-social setting. Alex Wilson, a resident of Blount, says, “Living in Blount—a living-learning community has deepens my understanding [about course material]. I am aware of world events, politics, and other activities that exist outside the classroom. This knowledge makes me a more well-rounded student.” Implementing the organizational measures of OrgSync between these groups and faculty will increase the effectiveness and communication of the Blount living-learning communities, as well as any other community like it.
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