To help show the connections between ISP courses and the real world, students are encouraged to think about the semester material and activities in the context of the semester's theme, which is different each semester. The boundaries between disciplines are then quickly blurred. Faculty attend all parts of the Program with the students and often provide models for learning. Rather than have separate lecture or class periods for each course in which the student is receiving credit, the Program uses a combination of several small discussion groups and one or two weekly large group meetings. This helps to further break down the boundaries between the courses and encourages seeing how the different disciplines relate to each other and to the world.
Seminars meet at least twice a week.
They are small group meetings in which about 20 students and one faculty member discuss a book or set of readings assigned for that week. In an ideal seminar, the students are engaged actively in an in-depth discussion of the text, including an exploration of how the ideas emerging in the discussion relate to other materials in the Program, and to the semester theme. The faculty member's role in the seminar is to help with discussion, to encourage a range of participation, and to give some assistance if the book is being treated superficially. However, the faculty member will not dominate the discussion, and if things are going well, the faculty member may say little or nothing. Students often find seminars the most rewarding part of their Integrated Studies experience.