Task Analysis

Insights of Tasks

(1) Consolidate resources and events relating to NYU Brooklyn interdisciplinary collaboration into one place.

(2) Aid students in their identification of a relevant subset of those resources.

(3) Inform students about the science of interdisciplinary collaboration and how implementing it can solve these issues.

(4) Generate value for interdisciplinary collaboration by illustrating real, relatable experiences of it.

(5) Systematically and carefully introduce students to each other.

The Science of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The Value of Community and Collaboration in Learning

Learning is an inherently collaborative process; we cannot ignore the social nature of language and experience (Vygotsky).

Students are more motivated, interested, and engaged when they are supported by a learning community (Zhao and Kuh, 2004; Tinto, 1997; Cross, 1998).

Collaboration can lead to higher levels of:

- knowledge retention (Johnson and Johnson, 1989)
- creativity (Sawyer, 2017)
- confidence (Bandura, 1997)
- social connectedness (Baumeister and Leary, 1995)
- critical thinking (Laal and Ghodsi, 2012)
- general well-being (Johnson and Johnson, 1989; Zins et al, 2004)

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The Value of Diverse/Interdisciplinary Learning

Interdisciplinary learning involves connecting information and skills from different fields.

It has multiple benefits:

- Enhances 21st century skills, including:
  - creativity (Page, 2007)
  - problem solving (Mansilla and Durasing, 2007)
  - complex understanding (Repko, 2008)
  - intellectual agility (Spelt et al, 2009)
  - critical thinking (Newell, 1994)
  - communication (Klein, 1990)
- Prepares students for real-world workforce (Stasz et al, 1996)
- Leads to future financial stability (The Lumina Foundation, 2013)

Evidence comes from:

Secondary research
ECT coursework
Personal experience

NYU Brooklyn Resources for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

NYU-hosted social/academic support

NYU Academic Support

NYU Engage

Center for Student Life

Center for Multicultural Education and Programs (CMEP)

Meet NYU VIRTUAL CAMPUS TOUR Downtown Brooklyn

Evidence comes from:

- Secondary Research
College-hosted professional activities

Tandon Experiential Learning Center

Tandon Vertically Integrated Projects

Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions Events

Evidence comes from:

- Student Interviews
- Stakeholder Interviews
- SME Interviews
- Secondary Research
Colleges community support

ECT Calendar

Tandon Events

Tisch Events

Evidence comes from:

- Secondary Research
Curriculum websites of different colleges

ECT Specializations (including classes out of the program)

ECT Elective Database

Tandon Departments

IDM Courses

ITP/IMA Courses

Evidence comes from:

- Student Interviews
- Secondary Research
Brooklyn Community spaces

Tandon Maker Space

Game Center Playtest

Evidence comes from:

- Student Interviews
- Stakeholder Interviews
- SME Interviews
Hear from publications on the internet, posters, community, classmates, professors, etc.

Evidence comes from:

- Student Interviews
- Survey
- Secondary Research

Vertically Integrated Projects

MakerSpace

Evidence: Affinity Map

Evidence: Survey

Creative and Collaborative Learning Tips

Encourage Open Communication: Foster an atmosphere where all participants feel comfortable expressing their ideas and opinions without fear of judgment. Encourage active listening and respectful dialogue.

Promote Diversity: Incorporate diverse materials, perspectives, and teaching methods to address the varied learning styles and backgrounds of all participants. Diversity can spark creativity and offer multiple angles on a subject.
Use Collaborative Tools: Integrate technology that supports collaboration, such as shared digital workspaces, brainstorming apps, and communication platforms, to facilitate seamless interaction among learners.
Create Cross-functional Teams: Mix learners with different skills, backgrounds, and areas of expertise to enhance interdisciplinary learning and encourage team members to learn from each other.
Foster a Safe and Supportive Environment: Establish a classroom culture where taking risks and making mistakes is considered part of the learning process, not something to be penalized.
Incorporate Active Learning: Utilize hands-on activities, simulations, and problem-based learning scenarios that require collaboration and active participation, which can boost engagement and creativity.
Design Flexible Learning Spaces: Arrange the physical or virtual learning space to promote interaction and collaboration, using movable furniture, breakout rooms, or online discussion groups to facilitate group work and brainstorming sessions.
Encourage Reflection and Feedback: Provide opportunities for learners to reflect on their experiences and provide feedback to each other. This can enhance their critical thinking skills and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Promote Leadership and Responsibility: Give learners roles or responsibilities within their teams, encouraging them to take ownership of their learning and contribute actively to the group's success.
Celebrate Successes and Learn from Failures: Acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of collaborative efforts, and view failures as learning opportunities. This approach can motivate learners and encourage a positive attitude toward collaboration and creativity.

(ChatGPT: What are 10 tips for generating creative and collaborative learning environments?)

Ice Breaker Activities

Two Truths and a Lie: Each person shares three statements about themselves—two truths and one lie. The others in the group have to guess which statement is the lie. This game encourages attention to detail and provides fun insights into the participants' lives.
Find Someone Who: Create a bingo-like sheet with various traits, experiences, or preferences (e.g., "find someone who has traveled to Europe" or "find someone who speaks two languages"). Participants need to find different people who match each criterion. It's an effective way to get people talking and discovering commonalities.
Human Knot: This physical game requires participants to stand in a circle and reach out to grab the hands of two people across from them, creating a human knot. The group then needs to untangle itself without releasing hands. It fosters teamwork, problem-solving, and physical interaction, breaking down barriers quickly.
Would You Rather: Present a series of choices asking, "Would you rather...?" with two options. Participants choose their preference and often explain why. This can be a great way to spark conversation and learn about people's values and preferences.
Speed Networking: Similar to speed dating, this game has participants pair up and introduce themselves within a set time frame (e.g., two minutes). After the time is up, they rotate to meet someone new. This format ensures that everyone gets a chance to meet each other and practice their self-introduction skills.

(ChatGPT: Give me 5 popular ice breaker games to introduce people to each other.)

Existing Solutions/Competitors Examples

NYU: ITP CAMP, an in-person camp for adults

Overview: ITP Camp is a 4-week crash course/playground for creative and techy people who want to shake things up. Every June, ITP CAMP invites non-student makers, artists, musicians, programmers, fabricators, and creatives of all sorts to join the ITP community to make stuff, hear speakers on the cutting edge, and collaborate with people from diverse disciplines.

Main features:

The creative charge of ITP Camp comes from the community of participants sharing ideas, skills, criticisms, and passions with each other in small, informal groups. We build a flexible structure, an Un-University, responsive and supportive to the group we select. The structure is based on “unconferences" such as foocamp or barcamp, where presentations and discussions form in response to each participant’s interests and projects.

People:
- Campers are experienced, motivated, and generous people. Campers lead sessions. Invited experts to lead sessions.
- Session Leaders can be pretty much anyone. ITP faculty lead sessions. Counselors lead sessions.
- Counselors are students' experienced guides and mentors.
Sessions:
- Session topics directly reflect participants’ interests in the camp. Because of ITP Camp’s experimental structure, the camp's content varies yearly:

200+ sessions that happened in 2023:

- - TouchDesigner - Generative Art with Noise
  - Novel Circuits
  - Audience Participation in Music and Visual Performances
  - Video Art & Time Based Media
  - Hack your Webcam (with Friends)!
  - AI University: Can a Machine be Your Professor?
  - Build Your Own MIDI Controller
  - From Zero to Hero: Figma Workshop for Beginners
  - Introduction to Motion Capture
  - ....

Genspace: New York'S Community Biolab

Overview: Genspace is the world’s first community biology lab — a place where people of all backgrounds can learn, create, and grow with the life sciences.

The programs demystify scientific processes, provide a platform for innovation, and cultivate the next generation of life sciences leaders in emerging global technologies, such as biotechnology, neuroscience, epidemiology, genomics, and many more.

Main features:

Take a class: Genspace instructors come from top institutions around the New York City area to teach advanced biology in an easy-to-understand, hands-on way. Genspace's mission is to foster a safe and inclusive community where all people can experientially learn, boldly create, and meaningfully grow with the life sciences; no science background is needed to take classes and events.
Join the lab: At Genspace, anyone can work in the biolab on their own project. Receive 24/7 access to our facility, equipment, and basic lab training from our staff. Join the lab and start a project that meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Biosafety Level 1 guidelines. Lab Members receive access to Genspace's facility, equipment, and basic lab training from staff.
Student programs: To meet the STEM education needs of NYC's students, Genspace provides extramural learning opportunities like internships, teacher training, and lab resources. Two main directions of programs:
- Workshops for a fee to classrooms wishing to deepen research experiences and hands-on laboratory skills. Subjects include genomics, genetic engineering, gene editing (CRISPR), and biodesign.
- The Biorocket Research Internship Program is a spring after-school hands-on science program and summer research internship experience for New York City public high school students age 16 and up.

Pratt: The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies

Overview: The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Pratt is an interdisciplinary and integrative exploration framework. A laboratory for experimentation and research. A space for innovative design of education experiences. A commitment to cutting-edge thinking and making.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies provides courses, programs, and initiatives that offer students opportunities to engage outside their departments and to customize their learning through independent study and minors of their choosing.

Main features:

Interdisciplinary Research/Practice Hubs:
- Creative Praxis Groups: The series is to provide a space for reflection and action on the challenges and possibilities of poetic translation, as well as the inescapable political and social dimension of translatory practice as a whole. Innovative gestures at micro and macro levels are infused with the constant reflection on the impossibility-yet-necessity of poetic translation.
- Book Pub: The BookPub constitutes a research and practice hub, a figurative space, and a circle of interested faculty, administrators, and students at Pratt Institute who are engaged in various matters related to the book as objects, ideas, artwork, and cultural artifacts. The BookPub intertwines research and practices on campus with ongoing conversations around the book's past, present, and future through exhibitions, unique and innovative events, discussions, lectures, and workshops with artists, designers, and experts.
- ...list
Initiatives and Innovations:
- CrossingTheLines: Original programming. Public conversations. Provocative ideas.
  - CrossingTheLines provides opportunities for invited guests from a spectrum of fields to engage on crucial contemporary topics with the Pratt community, students, and faculty. Through lectures, panel discussions, talks, and innovative formats, CrossingTheLines explores various themes, including interdisciplinarity itself, often in partnership with other Pratt departments, schools, and divisions.
  - Reflections on what it means to practice across disciplines and be involved in cutting-edge research that generates new disciplines are inherent in the CrossingTheLines exchanges.
- State(s) Of The Discipline(s)
  - State(s) of the Discipline(s) will be an ongoing exploration of the status and future of various creative fields and how the constantly shifting landscape of knowledge production affects teaching, learning, and research in higher education settings and society in general.
  - StaDis will consist of programs that will be flexible and fluid in terms of formatting: panel discussions, round-tables and round-rugs, manifestos, performances, dialogues, and conversations.

Reference:

About - ITP Camp 2024. (n.d.). https://itp.nyu.edu/camp/2024/

GenSpace. (n.d.). Genspace. https://www.genspace.org/

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies - Pratt Institute. (2022, October 13). Pratt Institute. https://www.pratt.edu/the-center-for-interdisciplinary-studies/

Bibliography to be complied later...

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