{"id":28672,"date":"2019-03-20T10:42:22","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T14:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=28672"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:10:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:10:47","slug":"triple-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=28672","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Triple I\u2019 courses teach the power of interdisciplinary thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_28673\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28673\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28673 \" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Health-and-Happiness-2-12-19-4232.jpg\" alt=\"From left, Barbara Fredrickson, Claudio Battaglini and Arne Kalleberg share a laugh after class. They teach the Triple I course, &quot;Health and Happiness.&quot; (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"635\" height=\"423\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28673\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Barbara Fredrickson, Claudio Battaglini and Arne Kalleberg share a laugh after class. They teach the Triple I course, &#8220;Health and Happiness.&#8221; (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before high school track star Colin Thompson was set to begin his college career at Carolina, he was in a car accident that left him with a severe traumatic brain injury. He had to relearn how to walk, talk and eat.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson\u2019s positive attitude and determination in the face of serious life obstacles made him the perfect guest speaker for a new interdisciplinary course in the College of Arts &amp; Sciences called \u201cHealth and Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28675\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28675\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28675\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Death-and-Dying-2-12-19-4130-1.jpg\" alt=\"Jeannie Loeb (psychology and neuroscience) is one of three professors across three disciplines teaching the class, &quot;Death and Dying.&quot; (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28675\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeannie Loeb (psychology and neuroscience) is one of three professors across three disciplines teaching the class, &#8220;Death and Dying.&#8221; (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On a February afternoon in Fetzer Hall, Thompson, who\u2019s now a senior exercise and sport science major, shared this Aristotle quote with his peers: \u201cHappiness is a state of activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHappiness is the path you are on,\u201d said Thompson, who was invited to speak by professor Claudio Battaglini. \u201cDon\u2019t focus on the negatives, and don\u2019t take anything for granted. Capitalize on the opportunities you have in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier that morning, across campus in Hanes Art Center, students had gathered in a similar \u201cbig ideas\u201d class with a heavier topic \u2014 \u201cDeath and Dying.\u201d Teaching professor Jeannie Loeb invited students to respond to a question via Poll Everywhere software, which encourages interactive class participation in real time. She asked: \u201cWhat are your favorite ways of distracting yourself from a distressing situation when you get extremely upset?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Netflix, exercise, music, dogs and cats surfaced on a big screen in front of the room as among the top stress-reliever activities suggested by students. Instructors discuss serious topics like suicide prevention, funeral customs and euthanasia, but try to end each class on a lighter note (like sharing a video of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-zVCYdrw-1o\">Rusty the narcoleptic dog<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ideas, information and inquiry<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28676\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28676\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28676\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Health-and-Happiness-2-12-19-4354.jpg\" alt=\"Barbara Fredrickson leads the &quot;Health and Happiness&quot; class in a discussion. (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28676\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Fredrickson leads the &#8220;Health and Happiness&#8221; class in a discussion. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHealth and Happiness\u201d and \u201cDeath and Dying\u201d are two of five \u201cIdeas, Information and Inquiry\u201d courses, also called \u201cTriple I\u201d or \u201cIII\u201d for short, that are being pilot-tested in spring 2019. The large classes are organized around a broad theme and are team-taught by outstanding faculty members in three disciplines. They are designed to introduce students to new ideas, new modes of inquiry and essential skills, and they emphasize key capacities of data literacy, global orientation, principles of evidence and collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>Triple I courses are core offerings in the proposed new General Education curriculum \u2014 called <a href=\"https:\/\/ideasinaction.unc.edu\/\">IDEAs in Action<\/a>. The courses would be required for first-year students and encouraged for transfer students.<\/p>\n<p>Additional spring courses include \u201cPhilosophy, Politics and Economics,\u201d \u201cThe Idea of Race\u201d and \u201cThe Environment, Intersectionality and Science Fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Interdisciplinary benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/jloeb.web.unc.edu\/\">Loeb<\/a> (psychology and neuroscience) teaches \u201cDeath and Dying\u201d with <a href=\"https:\/\/americanstudies.unc.edu\/timothy-marr\/\">Tim Marr<\/a> (American studies) and <a href=\"https:\/\/anthropology.unc.edu\/person\/jocelyn-lim-chua\/\">Jocelyn Chua<\/a> (anthropology). Death and dying are shared experiences, yet there is great cultural variation in the ways people define, understand and treat death, dying and the relations between the living and the dead.<\/p>\n<p>Human problems are inherently interdisciplinary, said Chua, and the Triple I courses highlight that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing able to work with people from different disciplinary backgrounds to create solutions to complex human problems is important, especially in an increasingly global world,\u201d Chua said. \u201cThe earlier we can expose students to these kinds of dialogues, and [illustrate] that research shouldn\u2019t be a siloed experience, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28678\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28678\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28678 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Death-and-Dying.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Death and Dying&quot; professors, from left, Tim Marr, Jocelyn Chua and Jeannie Loeb, meet with their graduate students in the Campus Y after class to debrief. (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28678\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Death and Dying&#8221; professors, from left, Tim Marr, Jocelyn Chua and Jeannie Loeb, meet with their graduate students in the Campus Y after class to debrief. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThinking about death is a universal way to make meaning out of life,\u201d added Marr. For students, many of whom may not have experienced the loss of someone close to them, \u201cit may create a natural community of experience they can build on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Loeb had the idea for the course and searched the UNC web site for \u201cdeath and dying\u201d when looking for potential collaborators. Marr and Chua\u2019s names popped up. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s a good or a bad thing,\u201d Loeb said, joking. All kidding aside, she added that it\u2019s been amazing to team up with her new colleagues on this. They meet with their graduate teaching assistants in the Campus Y or for lunch after each class to brainstorm and de-brief.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/exss.unc.edu\/faculty-staff\/claudio-battaglini\/\">Battaglini<\/a> (exercise and sport science) teaches \u201cHealth and Happiness\u201d with <a href=\"http:\/\/peplab.web.unc.edu\/\">Barbara Fredrickson<\/a> (psychology and neuroscience) and <a href=\"https:\/\/sociology.unc.edu\/people-page\/arne-kalleberg\/\">Arne Kalleberg<\/a> (sociology). Kalleberg and Fredrickson knew each other from first-year seminars they both teach that address aspects of happiness, and Battaglini and Fredrickson had submitted grant proposals together.<\/p>\n<p>In the course, students are exposed to the ideas of happiness and well-being from the disciplines of physiology, positive psychology and sociology. They are also learning important life skills such as cultivating teamwork, developing social connections, being physically active and more.<\/p>\n<p>The three \u201cHappiness\u201d professors said students are not the only ones who benefit from the interdisciplinary nature of Triple I courses. They said teaching the class together has given them new insights about teaching styles and ways to team up for future research.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28681\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28681\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28681 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Health-and-Happiness-2-12-19-9923.jpg\" alt=\"Claudio Battaglini helps a student in the &quot;Health and Happiness&quot; class with a question. (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28681\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claudio Battaglini helps a student in the &#8220;Health and Happiness&#8221; class with a question. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn my area, I need more of their expertise, because the million-dollar question for us in exercise and sport science is, how can you get people to engage and sustain levels of physical activity for a prolonged period of time?\u201d Battaglini said. \u201cYou start thinking of psychological and sociological forces behind that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fredrickson echoed the need for experts outside her field as it relates to her own work on positive emotions, particularly as she explores new research directions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most interesting and pressing questions that face us in social and hard sciences require interdisciplinary approaches,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to get students thinking across these lines more fluidly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kalleberg said team-teaching the class has been \u201cpure joy and a natural fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For undergraduates who are not sure what to major in, \u201cTriple I\u201d courses may spark their interest in different majors and careers, he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Engaging students <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Faculty members are using a variety of techniques to encourage class participation and to make these big classes feel small.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28682\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28682\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28682\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2019\/03\/Triple-I-Death-and-Dying-2-12-19-9580.jpg\" alt=\"Both classes (&quot;Death and Dying &quot; students are pictured here) use Poll Everywhere software to engage in interactive discussions. (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28682\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Both classes use Poll Everywhere software to engage in interactive discussions with students. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In \u201cHealth and Happiness,\u201d students are divided into \u201cflocks\u201d (group of Rams) and required to do happiness-promoting activities together outside of class throughout the semester. The faculty trio also hosts non-alcoholic \u201chappy hours\u201d where students can chat with them informally after class, and they offer tours of exercise and sport science laboratories. Students are gaining data literacy skills by working with their flockmates to test different hypotheses by analyzing class data related to the course theme. They will prepare scientific posters showcasing their results.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cDeath and Dying\u201d team encourages students to answer various questions on index cards, then they gather in small groups to trade cards with a class member they don\u2019t know to discuss their answers. Students are also working together to create a collective WordPress site. In a small group \u201cpod,\u201d they are posting about a specific issue related to cultural, scientific and ethical issues of death and dying.<\/p>\n<p>Raymond Chen, a student in \u201cDeath and Dying,\u201d said he appreciates the variety of topics addressed in the syllabus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne day we\u2019ll talk about the history behind stand-your-ground laws; another day we\u2019ll read an article on cryonics. We also learned how suicide takes on many cultural forms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>After a tough fall semester, Chika Adiele said she enrolled in \u201cHealth and Happiness\u201d with the goal of adding to her \u201chappiness toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy favorite part of the course so far was the day Dr. Battaglini talked about the physiological benefits of exercise in terms of our happiness and health,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was mind-blowing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>By Kim Spurr<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHealth and Happiness\u201d and \u201cDeath and Dying\u201d are two of five \u201cIdeas, Information and Inquiry\u201d courses, also called \u201cTriple I\u201d or \u201cIII\u201d for short, that are being pilot-tested in spring 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":28673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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