The Kean Community was provided an open conversation about the value of interdisciplinarity for teaching, research, and community engagement. Divided into three dialogue segments, the workshop included outlining the development of ID courses and programs at Kean, addressing the conceptual meaning of inter- versus multi- and trans- disciplinarity, and an introduction to the new Interdisciplinary Studies Center as a Kean resource, housed within the College of Liberal Arts. The workshop offered practical, teaching-focused reflections on the methods and strategies that can be used in the course structure, set-up, delivery, and assessment of ID courses and minor programs. Application of the methods can be used to foster future cross-college interdisciplinary work and engage students in the classroom or as part of creative and scholarly works.

1. “LAUNCHING” a Reality Check
Paul J. Croft, Linda Cifelli, & Erin Alghandoor
SESS
LIBRARY
ARCHIVES

2. What many students see…
 Many chapters in a book
 Term paper with known
solutions (proper answer)
 Courses without clear
connection to other
requirements or courses
 Lack of clear relevance
to their world (or lives)
 Inability to “tie” universal
aspects of coursework
together or on command
Overarching Theme:
Matching course content, context,
and practicum with SLOs via “real
encounters” for depth in learning
and how to learn (process)

3. How to Pose a Problem/Issue?
Transdisciplinary Learning
More than “just the answer”(Broadening Experiences)
 Defining “Resources”
 Connecting to Student Coursework
 Experiential aspects to build student skills sets
Depth in Learning
 Formulating Questions & Matching information needs to resources and data types
 Seeking Perspectives: historical, social, cultural, legal; etc.
 Implementing Search Strategies for retrieving information
 Evaluating Information/Data for Relevance and Integration
 Synthesizing Ideas/Concepts from multiple sources and perspectives
We can look to the
Kean University Library
and Archives as examples
Inspiration drawn from the Association of
College and Research Libraries’ Framework for
Information Literacy for Higher Education
(http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework)

4. Historical and Primary Sources
Purpose
 Discovery process through “open-ended exploration and engagement with information.”
 Students develop dispositions toward “persistence, adaptability, and flexibility” when
engaging with information reflecting multiple perspectives.
 Connect to relevant course SLOs, program SLOs, and GE SLOs like Transdisciplinarity,
Critical Thinking, and Information and Technology Literacy.
(http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework)
National Anti-Suffrage Association. Library of Congress.
Prints and Photographs Division. American History.
Web. 10 May 2017.
The New-Jersey Journal. (Elizabethtown, NJ)
19 December, 1792. New Jersey Historical Newspapers.
10 May 2017.
Rankin, G. (1903). Neurasthenia: The Wear And Tear Of Life.
The British Medical Journal,1(2209), 1017-1020.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20276247.

5. For Example…
Walk-through the process…
 Steps in process?
 How to approach?
 Relation to SLOs?
 Interactions: students & faculty?
 Collegial learning with other
faculty, staff, & students plus
“outside” world scenarios
Students analyze “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a
short story (Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1892)
Questions to consider?
 How to explore beyond literary criticism?
 What library resources help to explore the
topic via journal, magazine, newspaper
articles, and legislative documents from
the 1890s?
• PsycINFO (psychology)
• SocINDEX with Full Text (sociology)
• JSTOR (multidisciplinary)
• Periodicals Archive Online
• ProQuest Historical New York Times
• Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers
• HeinOnline (legal history)
• and more…Also see Session Handout!

6. Turning to the Archives…
◻ Primary Sources
⬜ Arranged in the Library and the
Ice House at Liberty Hall Museum
⬜ Skills of analysis for all majors
◻ Important? Well, yes!
⬜ Archives offer direct evidence
⬜ Students analyze and interpret the
available evidence
⬜ There are always more questions
to investigate and consider
◻ Can you see why?
⬜ Conceptualization
⬜ Personalization
⬜ Depth of encounter
Core Example:
WWII Nancy Thompson Scrapbook Letters
Latino's on campus in Spring 1974: campus politics and diversity
1942 Yearbook, Dance Study Team

7. To Broaden the Experience…
“Genealogy without proof is mythology”
◻ Vital Records
◻ Land Records
◻ The US Federal Census
◻ Observe local trends
◻ Personalize past events
◻ Look at the evidence
we’re leaving behind

8. It’s your turn… Audience Participation!
 Handout Materials & Think “Plausible Pathways”
 Think-pair-share: Approach, Structure, and ROI
Consider…
 Think Chain/Pipeline of students; peer-mentoring
 Progressive levels of engagement and research
 Community-building, critical thinking, & deep learning

9. Thanks for attending!
See also…
 Sessions on IDS (this Wed/Thu)
 Library Website: http://libguides.kean.edu/Library
 Archives Links/Site: http://archives.kean.edu
 IDS programs and courses
 Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
 The Kean University Community of Scholars
LAUNCHING a Reality Check via Transdisciplinary Learning through Teaching and Research
Paul J. Croft, Linda Cifelli, & Erin Alghandoor

10. This workshop…
Living Archives: Undergraduates Need Content with Historical Investigation,
Nuance, and Guidance as a Reality Check (“LAUNCHING” a Reality Check)
This workshop offered a self-organizing template to guide potential for, and outcomes
associated with, the use of archival and primary source materials using historical
contexts in course content, practicum, and research projects. Examples were presented
as to how archival, reference, and historical materials can be integrated with student
learning experiences to broaden understanding as well as to offer synthesis of their
general education across disciplines. The workshop provided an opportunity for
participants to brainstorm with colleagues and generate intended outcomes, modes,
and methods of integration for “LAUNCHING a Reality Check” with their own students
in their program of coursework, research, and practicum experiences.
Participants were offered and encountered the (a) justifications, development process,
and investments; (b) generation of intended outcomes, modes, and methods of
integration; and (c) the dividends of “LAUNCHING a Reality Check” for students. Using
the template and demonstrative examples of the process the session provided
information to participants for the achievement of transdisciplinary learning
experiences. This method allows focus when identifying plausible pathways by which to
present and integrate the transdisciplinary approach to learning and enhancement and
to build a brainstorming environment.