International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 2, Number 2, July 2008

Return to current issues page

Research Article

Excerpt

The Bridge Course Design: Formative Assessment and Student-Centered Learning in Cross-Course Classrooms

This paper reports on the effectiveness of an innovative course design that bridges classes from two different disciplines. The Bridge design creates assignments in two classes: a summary class and a panel class. The design encourages students to engage in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines, and provides instructors with unique opportunities for formative assessment. Relative to control groups, students in the summary class perceived greater opportunities to teach peers, participate in class discussions, think critically, and engage in collaborative learning. Students in the panel class showed gains in critical thinking. Both classes afforded multiple opportunities for formative assessment. Following a discussion of the results, recommendations for improving the Bridge design are presented.

View Full Article

Bios

John Davies
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah, USA
john_davies@byu.edu

My academic background includes a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Alabama, and an M.A. in mass communication from Brigham Young University. Currently, as an assistant professor in the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in media theories, media effects, and research methods. My research interests focus on the uses and effects of entertainment media, including computer games and new media.

Casey Welch
Flagler College
St. Augustine, Florida, USA
casey.welch@unf.edu

I am currently an assistant professor of Sociology and Criminology at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. My research revolves around knowledge and power, and my current projects include work on media, homelessness, the U.S. criminal court system, and pedagogy. I received my doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jace Hargis
University of the Pacific
Stockton, California, USA
jhargis@pacific.edu

I am currently the Assistant Provost for Faculty Development, and the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, at the University of the Pacific. My background is in chemistry and I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Science Education, specializing in the area of informal learning settings, which is the focus of my research agenda. Currently, I am exploring the connection between informal science learning settings and virtual environments.
Website: http://www.jhargis.com

Return to current issues page