Curriculum Development

Iovine and Young Academy (2021-current)

Worked with the faculty (while continuously soliciting advise from students, alumni and industry ) to increase flexibility and adaptation of the BS and MS degrees and organize research and teaching activity at the IYA into intersectional areas of strength: product innovation, extended reality and spatial computing, design strategy, interactive technologies and physical computing, business of innovation, augmented intelligence, health and wellness innovation.  We also advanced and formalized Challenge Based Learning as a core component of the IYA curriculum.

COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION HONORS DIPLOMA (2018-2021)

The Diploma is awarder to students graduating from the Calhoun Honors Discovery Program (CDP).  The curriculum aims to prepare integrative, lifelong learners who: i) can move easily across knowledge domains and pick up diverse new skills in a just-in-time approach, ii) can connect their specialized knowledge to complex collaborative contexts for problem setting and problem solving, iii) use complex relational and collaborative contexts for self-discovery and personal fulfillment, iv) connect personal fulfillment to advancing an equitable and sustainable society

The CDP helps learners develop these competencies through integrative development of domain specific, domain general and life skills.  The connectivity and integration of these skills is supported by: a) inclusive social learning that includes highly structured collective intelligence components, b) learning experiences that connect domain-specific skills to domain-general skills, c) learning experiences that connect domain general skills to life skills, d) coordination of learning across experiences so as to facilitate integration of different skills within the learner.

Students from all nine degrees participating in the program attend transdisciplinary problem setting and problem-solving studios throughout their four years of study where they learn to integrate feasibility, viability, desirability and sustainability components of complex sociotechnical problems.  Problem spaces are contributed by the industry, non-profit and professional partners of the program and by the students.   Students also realize their junior technical electives and senior capstone projects through transdisciplinary studios in collaboration with other students and industry partners.  Realization of capstones may involve internships/residencies with the partners.  These diverse collaborations encourage students to discovery their own learning pathways and the disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge needed for each pathway.  The interdisciplinary knowledge a student seeks is provided through just in time modules delivered in flipped classroom format.  These modules make up a large part of the students’ general education experience. In the process general education serves as a connector of specialization and collaboration and a catalyst for versatile and integrated professional and personal development. Faculty specializing in transdisciplinary education develop and deliver the modules and the studios and provide one to one mentoring to students. The faculty of the program includes experts from industry serving as distinguished professors of practice.  Each student maintains a digital design journal to help them reflect on their learning and to facilitate mentoring.  A customized assessment rubric for the program is under development.  (https://honorscollege.vt.edu/cdp.html )

Integrative Design, Arts and Technology undergraduate concentrations (2014)

Eight cross-CMU interdisciplinary concentrations and minors in Animation and Special Effects, Entrepreneurship for Creative Industries, Game Design, Intelligent Environments, Learning Media, Media Design, Physical Computing, and Sound Design. The concentrations are available to students in any major and are embedded in relevant degrees across the participating colleges. The minors are completed alongside a primary major http://ideate.cmu.edu/concentrations_and_minors

Digital Culture Undergraduate Curriculum (BA in Digital Culture) (2008)

Curriculum combines 40 courses taught by faculty from 12 different disciplines. Courses are connected through a common list of proficiencies (outcomes). Proficiencies are diverse - they range from "modeling and inference" to "visualization and sonification", and from "form and composition" to "social mechanisms and understanding".  Students plan their own education paths using the Course Map: an online tool for exploring different routes to gaining specific proficiencies and consequent access to related courses and capstones.  I developed the concept, created the partnerships with the participating units and led the interdisciplinary team that created and implemented the degree.  The degree had enrolled 250 majors and 50 minors by August 2013.

PhD in Media Arts and Sciences (2005)

The PhD in Media Arts and Sciences (MAS), is jointly conferred by the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and the Ira. A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.  MAS PhD students learn to translate, transport and combine knowledge across disciplines as they develop innovative experiential media systems and accompanying theoretical models. The degree structure includes transdisciplinary media courses (through the School of Arts, Media and Engineering) in sensing, modeling, perception and cognition, feedback and interaction, and experiential construction. It also includes elective course credits that complement the student's research interests and substantial research and dissertation hours devoted to collaborative research.  I wrote the degree proposal and led the team that implemented the degree.

Digital Media Concentrations in arts, design, engineering and science Masters and PhD Degrees (2003)

The Arts, Media and Engineering concentrations provide an experience that combines solid discipline-specific knowledge with interdisciplinary education and research in experiential media. Concentrations are available in the following degree paths: Design, Environment, and the Arts (PhD), Design (MSD), Dance (MFA), Music (MM, DMA), Theatre and Film (MFA), Art (MFA), Computer Science and Engineering (MS, PhD), Electrical Engineering (MS, PhD), Bioengineering (PhD specialization), Psychology (PhD), Educational Technology (PhD).  I worked with faculty members and administrators of each of the collaborating units to develop and implement the proposals.