Interactive, Interdisciplinary Instruction

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Brevard Community College (BCC), a multi-campus, co-educational institution of higher learning located on the east cost of Florida, will continue to develop and utilize computer technology to develop an interactive, interdisciplinary approach to teaching science, mathematics, and technology. A key component of this effort will be the establishment of three computer laboratories on the Melbourne Campus and at the Kennedy Space Center/Patrick Air Force Base (KSC/PAFB) extension which serves space industry and military installations in the district. Each lab will be designated for a specific discipline (math, science, or technology) with classes held during concurrent sessions. In addition, these laboratories will be capable of "c-u-see-me" technology and utilized to design a complete curriculum of interdisciplinary courses. The first interdisciplinary course scheduled for development under this project will be College Algebra/Chemistry. Each interdisciplinary lab class will consist of ten PC's and multimedia and internet/intranet equipment which will enable live interaction between classes and allow the classes to transmit and receive from outside the campus, including classes at different institutions having similar capabilities. These labs are proposed to teach students the inter-relatedness of math, science, and technology in problem solving; to expand the currently used technology for online instruction to include c-u-see-me technology for home-bound students with disabilities; and to bring these interdisciplinary courses to students at the KSC/PAFB extension. Evaluation of the project will consist of a comparison of student success rates, satisfaction, and retention in classes using the interactive, interdisciplinary pedagogy to traditional lecture-based classes. Assessing project impact will also shed light on its value to disabled students unable to attend classes onsite when compared to other online instructional methods currently used by the college. An ANOVA will be run on course outcomes to determine if students with disabilities have an improved success rate in the mathematics, science, and technology fields as a result of increased communication and interaction through the use of C U SEE ME technology.