Integrative Learning
The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) defines integrative learning as “an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus” (https://aacu.org/value/rubrics/integrative-learning). By integrating what they learn in class with other experiences, young adults are prepared for the workforce and to be productive contributors to society.
There are several ways educators might provide integrative learning opportunities for students. One of these is Service Learning [See Synergies with Community Service Learning] Pedagogically we might think of service learning as an experience that provides an applied connection between the classroom and the world outside the classroom. Students are guided both to apply classroom understandings to the needs of community organizations, and to bring their community experiences into the classroom.
Internships are another valuable way to integrate classroom learning with real-world experience. The key is to set up the experience portion of the internship with a course for credit where students might identify and solve a complex workplace problem, reflect on their experience, and engage other students and instructors in the process.
Well-designed study-abroad programs can also guide students to integrate coursework and experiences outside the classroom.
Another strategy involves creating assignments that challenge students to reflect on ways in which their seemingly disparate experiences in higher education can be connected and can be useful. Augsburg (2016) helps interdisciplinary students do this by creating an autobiographical map. Students are thus guided to reflect on the connections among coursework and life.
Note that students have a wide range of experiences, both on-campus and off, while pursuing higher education. But universities have traditionally devoted little attention to "connecting the dots." An interdisciplinary education, especially when coupled with activities such as the above, provides students with the tools to first connect what they learn in different courses and then integrate academic understandings with lived experience.
Augsburg, T. (2016). Becoming interdisciplinary: An introduction to interdisciplinary studies (3rd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt.
Furco, A. (1996). Service-learning: a balanced approach to experiential education In Taylor, B. and Corporation for National Service (Eds.), Expanding Boundaries: Serving and Learning (pp. 2-6). Washington, DC: Corporation for National Service.
Hughes, P., Munoz, J., Tanner, M. (Eds.). (2015). Perspectives in Interdisciplinary and Integrative Studies. Texas Tech University Press
Tanner, M. (2016). Introduction to Integrative Studies. (2nd ed.) Kendall Hunt.