Librarians, Faculty, and the Writing Center Partnering to Build an Interdisciplinary Course: A Case Study at the University of Houston, USA

ABSTRACT

This article covers how an interdisciplinary course was developed using the expertise and resources of a history professor, the history and psychology subject librarians, and the university's writing center. The course, supported by a grant, was aimed at helping students improve their research, information literacy, and writing skills across disciplines. The article discusses the involvement of the partners from the initial planning stages to its conclusion, focusing especially on how the librarians created a library session, course-specific guide, annotated bibliography assignment and grading rubric, and how these were used as opportunities to interact with the students throughout the course. Also covered are research and writing challenges, especially for English-language learner students, and how they were addressed by all the partners. It also discusses how the librarians used this experience to seek out opportunities to create similar collaborations with other instructors, and to strengthen ties with support services on campus.

Keywords:

• Multidisciplinary
• collaboration
• QEP
• accreditation
• students