Interdisciplinary arts in the general education curriculum: An assessment of the Arts and Ideas Program at the University of North Carolina, Asheville

In American postsecondary education, the arts are largely taught as single-disciplinary practices---unconnected to each other or to the general undergraduate curriculum. Existing requirements in the arts do not frequently offer students the opportunity to consider interdisciplinary approaches or challenges across art forms, which may be important factors in improving the learning experience for students (Detels, 1999). This research study was conducted in the Arts and Ideas Program at the University of North Carolina, Asheville (UNCA), identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (1997) as an exemplary interdisciplinary arts program in the core curriculum. Arts and Ideas (ARTS-310) courses take a theme-based, interdisciplinary approach across visual and performing arts disciplines. This study implemented the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID), interdisciplinary writing assessment, and student focus groups. The MID was administered as a one-group pretest-posttest design, collecting data based on the Perry scheme of intellectual development (1970). Interdisciplinary writing assessment of student final papers was based on source elements designed by Wolfe and Haynes (2003; personal communication, September 9, 2005). Student focus groups were conducted to investigate student attitudes toward interdisciplinary learning and the ARTS-310 course experience. The study's sample exhibited a positive mean change of 0.10 Perry position, with 40 percent of these students exhibiting positive MID gains. The MID profile shift from pretest to posttest indicated a shift on the Perry scale from "early multiplicity" (Position 3) toward "late multiplicity" (Position 4). Qualitative analysis of the MID essays further supported this study's finding that the ARTS-310 course experience had a positive effect on students' intellectual development. The results of interdisciplinary writing assessment were incomplete due to the insufficient content of the final papers. The student focus groups found that students were overwhelmingly positive about the ARTS-310 course experience and its impact. Overall, this study established a model for assessing interdisciplinary courses and programs, observing interrelationships between interdisciplinary learning processes and intellectual development. Interdisciplinary arts general education courses present students with multiple perspectives and connections across the arts, providing an ideal opportunity for student intellectual development and interdisciplinary learning.