Faculty teaching in the cluster program find the experience to be challenging and labor intensive. Nevertheless, they also report that engagement in the clusters offer a great many intellectual rewards. Among these:

  • The challenge of creating a novel, year-long, interdisciplinary course.
  • An instructional format that encourages new forms of pedagogy.
  • A rare opportunity to interact with and learn from colleagues in different fields.
  • The possibility of introducing undergraduate students to their work.
  • A high level of instructional support

For more information on the cluster experience of faculty members, please see Section Four of The Cluster Experience of Faculty in the Freshman Cluster Program Self-Review  2003-2011. There are also links to three case studies for the Global Environment , Interracial Dynamics in America , and Evolution of the Cosmos and Life  clusters that were done for the Freshman Cluster Program Self-Review of 2003, which can provide faculty interested in cluster teaching with valuable information about the dynamics that are involved in the development, organization, and implementation of these unique courses.