Building Connections, Building Communities: Strategies for Integrating Music and Literature in an Undergraduate Learning Community
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: : This article explains the strategies that were used to create a closely integrated, paired-course learning community in the fall of 2001 and presents focus-group assessment data from the combined courses. Five specific strategies were used to create a high degree of connection between the World Literature course and the Music Appreciation course that formed the learning community: 1) Exploring the formal connections between literature and music; 2) Organizing the class by movements in intellectual history common to both disciplines; 3) Focusing on musical works inspired by works of literature; 4) Selecting music and literature from identical non-Western regions; and 5) Combining course web supplements for both courses into a single, “super site ” web page. Approximately half of the students in the English class and one third of the students in the Music class were direct participants who were part of the learning-community cohort. The rest of the students were indirect participants enrolled in one class but not the other. In focus groups held at the end of the semester with both groups of students in the English class, the direct participants reported a strong feeling that the information presented in the two classes was more connected, more integrated, and more relevant than information presented in a stand-alone class. Surprisingly, however, the indirect participants in the learning community reported similar feelings, which strongly suggests that the benefits of these integration strategies are not limited to those who participate directly in the course clusters or linked courses.
Authors: Laura Renninger, Michael Austin, Karen Pugsley
Institution: Shepherd University
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2148973309