UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Definitions, Documents, and Articles
on Integrative Learning

Educational words and phrases that are compatible with integrative learning include student-centered learning, critical thinking, active learning, experiential education, constructivism, and inquiry-based learning. While each has its own emphasis, as does integrative learning, all are about students being actively engaged in constructing knowledge and skills (versus passive listeners taking notes at a lecture). The emphasis is on the instructor as the “guide on the side” (versus a “sage on the stage”).

USC Connect Documents and Definitions

• USC Connect Statement and Rubric on Integrative Learning (2 pp.) (pdf)
  The formal definition.
• Integrative Learning and USC Connect (8 pp.) (pdf)
  Faculty have described this as a very helpful document in understanding USC Connect and how integrative can make a difference for our students.
• Within- and Beyond-the-Classroom Experiences and Definitions
  Descriptions and exemplars of what these key words for USC Connect mean.
   

National Statements and Reports

• A statement on Integrative Learning from AAC&U and the Carnegie Foundation (1 p.) (pdf)
  Succinct statement on the significance of integrative learning in higher education.
• AAC&U Public Report on Integrative Learning
  Report from a 3-year project involving 10 campuses striving to foster integrative learning.
• AAC&U Integrative Learning Rubric (2 pp.) (pdf)
  USC uses a modified version of this rubric in assessing student integrative learning in USC Connect.

Articles - Top Picks

• Integrative Learning: Mapping the Terrain (pdf) by Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings
  Seminal article on integrative learning in higher education published by AAC&U, 2004.
• Unpacking Your Study Abroad Experience: Critical Reflection for Workplace Competencies (pdf) by Phil Gardner, Linda Gross, and Inge Steglitz
  While the article focuses on study abroad and emphasizes students’ ability to articulate their experiences to future employers, it provides in-depth examples of helping students relate their experiences to broader concepts which can be used in relation to any type of beyond-the-classroom experience (particularly see pp. 7-9).

More Articles

• Assessing Learning Outcomes: Lessons from AAC&U's VALUE Project (pdf), Peer Review, Winter 2009
• Fostering Integrative Learning through the Curriculum (pdf) by Mary Huber
• Fostering Integrative Learning through Pedagogy (pdf) by Richard A. Gale
• Fostering Integrative Learning through Assessment (pdf) by Ross Miller
• Fostering Integrative Learning through Faculty Development (pdf) by Pat Hutchings
• Integrative Learning for Liberal Education (pdf) by Mary Taylor Huber, Pat Hutchings, and Richard Gale
   

---