the Focus Program
For Faculty

The Focus Program Best Practices

Revised: February 23, 2007

Essential Elements of the Focus Program

Learning Community: students and faculty learn together through conversation about cluster themes.

Interdisciplinary Learning: together students and faculty explore exciting subject matter from different disciplinary perspectives through varying pedagogical methods.

Shared Learning: students explore ways to take their education beyond the Duke campus.

Cluster Components

Three to four seminar courses offered in different departments (Students enroll in two of the three or four seminars)
One half-credit interdisciplinary discussion course (IDC)
Extra-curricular/out-of-class activities

  • All courses in a cluster should connect in a way that provides students with different disciplinary approaches to the topic.  Faculty should collaborate on these connections.
  • The interdisciplinary discussion course (IDC) should integrate ideas from all courses and disciplines in the cluster.

Residential Life Component (fall semester only)

Focus cluster participants are housed together by cluster in the East Campus residential halls.

Library Component

Course clusters partner with librarians to tailor library instruction in support of cluster learning objectives and to engage students in the processes of inquiry using the library’s resources.

Faculty Expectations

  • The faculty of each cluster consists of those teaching each seminar course and the interdisciplinary discussion course coordinator.
  • Faculty teaching Focus Program courses are primarily regular-rank (and preferably senior) faculty.
  • Faculty teaching Focus Program courses are active scholars in their fields.
  • Courses taught in the Focus Program are considered part of the faculty member’s regular teaching obligations.
  • All Focus Program faculty participate actively in their cluster’s interdisciplinary discussion course (IDC) and attend faculty meetings to assess progress within the cluster.
  • The Focus Program faculty plan and participate in the extra-curricular and out-of-class activities and attend Focus Program events throughout the academic year.
  • All cluster directors participate actively in the Focus Program by attending monthly advisory meetings with program staff.