It may be a risk, but integrative learning is something Angela Anthony is willing to take a chance on.

Anthony, a professor for communication disorders and sciences, was a member of a panel discussion Tuesday about incorporating integrative learning into the classroom.

Anthony said she was lucky to have a productive class last fall when it came to applying several strategies she learned at the conference.

“It is a risk when you make changes and try new things,” Anthony said. “What I’ve tried to do is let the students in on it. Making them team players in that risk taking.”

Faculty and staff discussed innovative ways to help students understand how to connect what they learn in the classroom to other life experiences during a panel discussion “Engaging Students Through Integrated Teaching and Learning.”

Anthony said sometimes professors might make the assumption that students are going to make the connection outside the classroom.

“We stand in front of those group of students and we talk about all we see as highly important content and we assume that this makes just as much sense to them then it does to us,” Anthony said. “We assume they are going to walk out the door and implement what they learned in a way that we would.”

Jon Oliver, Jonathon Kirk, Jackie Frank and Anthony, along with other faculty members, attended the Association of American Colleges and Universities conference on Oct. 8, 2009, in Atlanta about the importance of integrative learning.

Mildred Pearson, director of faculty development and English professor, said integrative learning is a form of helping students make connections outside the classroom in order to prepare them for life.

“We use the term lifelong learning, but this type of initiative really prepares one who is starting from general education courses on up as being prepared for life,” Pearson said.

Integrative learning is defined as assisting students to make connections with life experiences and encouraging them to think about their future goals and plans.

It encourages students to explore and determine who they want to be and what they want to do with their lives and it provides environments, opportunities and activities that enable students to connect, according to Eastern’s integrative learning Web site.

Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Science, said it is important for all professors to make connections in their general education courses.

“We don’t want to hear people say ‘I just want to get this [general education course] over with.’ Rather, let’s help them understand how to make those connections,” Hanner said. “It’s just crucial that our conversations among ourselves continue to think and collaborate about who to insure that the general education program is innovative.”

Oliver, a professor of kinesiology and sports studies and a member of the panel discussion, said he was excited about returning home from the conference to share what he learned about integrative learning.

“I was very fired up about all the possibilities and ways we can potentially do in kinesiology,” Oliver said.

Oliver said he has already implemented several strategies he learned from the conference.

“What I’ve attempted in the one class for this semester is more emphasis on case-study applications,” Oliver said. “Basically, attacking this case study in a positive way to evaluate a real-life situation that has occurred within the field.”

Jessica Leggin can be reached at 581-7942 or jmleggin@eiu.edu.