Six Mellon-funded faculty initiatives encourage collaborative learning

by Mary Howard

Our world is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, and the modes of teaching and research must respond to that reality if we are to remain relevant and fully prepare our students for successful and engaged lives.” This observation by President Jones, contained in a proposal submitted to the Mellon Foundation in 2010, established the guiding philosophy for a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the College academically.

“With support from the Mellon Foundation,” Jones continued, “[the faculty] will have the opportunity to come together to engage intensely in planning that would have broad institutional impact on departments and programs, the ability to act on those ideas through funds for course development, and resources to implement projects stemming from interdisciplinary conversations, all of which directly impact student learning.”With Mellon funding secured, the first of these initiatives was a retreat in October of 2011, organized by Dean of the Faculty Rena Fraden, where more than 100 faculty members came together with administrators to discuss Trinity’s future. “We believe a great liberal arts college will always be judged fi rst and foremost for its academic vitality, rigor, and excellence,” says Fraden. “The Mellon grant will help us encourage our students to be more creative, independent, and curious lifelong learners.”

At the retreat, the faculty endorsed common educational values and aspirations, including collaborative learning and teaching opportunities for faculty and students and deepening connections between students’ academic and social lives.

Following the retreat, the faculty was asked to submit proposals to be funded from the grant, and the following six were chosen for implementation during the current academic year.

The Co-Curricular Initiative,
submitted by Professor of History and International Studies Dario Euraque and Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Urban International Studies Garth Myers

Where does a city begin or end? What spaces or places belong to it? How do people connect to a city? Through a series of scholarly lectures, films, meetings, and 34 academic courses—including “From Hartford to World Cities”—students and professors are examining “the city” as a central theme in the 2012-2013 academic year. Students enrolled in urban-focused courses are eligible to take an independent study with Professors Euraque and Myers that supports the initiative. “Our main goal is to give students an opportunity to interact with faculty, to help them see that an intellectual life is not just in the classroom, but a lifelong project,” says Euraque.

Problem Based Learning Collaboration,
submitted by Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Sarah Raskin, Charles A. Dana Research Associate Professor of Political Science Sonia Cardenas, and Professor of Biology Joan Morrison

Next spring, students from Raskin’s neuroscience class will team up with those in Cardenas’ human rights course and students taking environmental science with Morrison. Applying what they’ve learned, the students will work in multidisciplinary teams to solve real-world problems in the Hartford area, including lead poisoning and the health of migrant farm workers. “As a human rights scholar who is new to this approach, I welcome working alongside my students and creating opportunities for them to pursue engaged and cutting-edge learning,” says Cardenas. The team also plans to explore how other members of Trinity’s faculty can adopt this method of problem-based learning in the future.

Common Intellectual Experience for First-Year Students,
submitted by Associate Professor Kent Dunlap, Assistant Professor of English James Prakash Younger, Dean of the First-Year Program Margaret Lindsey

In his white paper on Trinity at its 200th anniversary, President Jones put forth the idea of a core set of intellectual experiences that bind students. This initiative seeks to do just that with a film series for second-semester, first-year students followed by weekly discussions led by faculty and students. “We plan on showing intellectually substantial movies that pose ethical dilemmas or deal with fundamental human experiences, like love or war,” says Dunlap. Films like “Vertigo” or “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” will be shown.

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