Spring 2027 Call for Proposals
Interdisciplinary Horizons: From Learning Across Boundaries to Deepening Knowledge and Solving Complex Challenges
Presented by the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Teaching Enhancement Committee
Wednesday, April 7 (In-Person at the SUB) and Thursday, April 8 (Virtual Via Zoom)
Preparing students to respond to increasingly complex real-world problems at the local and global level calls not only for providing our students with strong disciplinary foundations, but also for equipping them to draw connections across disciplines, bring different perspectives and a variety of frameworks into conversation, and apply their learning to multi-faceted questions. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)VALUE Rubric (n.d.) identifies fostering students’ ability to integrate learning “across courses, over time, and between campus and community life” as one of higher education’s most important goals and challenges. This integrative work “goes beyond academic boundaries,” engaging students in real-world problems that require “multiple areas of knowledge and multiple modes of inquiry.”
Right here at UNM, the five goals of the UNM 2040 Vision together speak to the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching, learning, research, and service. Whether it’s in terms of addressing complex societal challenges, creating transformative and innovative educational experiences, advancing inclusive excellence, building sustainable futures, or strengthening institutional connectedness, the vision encourages forms of collaboration that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Moreover, The UNM Framework for Teaching and Learning Success underscores these commitments by emphasizing active and relevant learning, research-centered and experiential learning, and community-engaged teaching and scholarship. UNM’s Office of Community Engagement’s Carnegie Classification 2026 Report amplifies this vision by elevating the transformative impact of reciprocal university–community partnerships that bring together knowledge and perspectives that transcend disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Reflecting on the array of interdisciplinary efforts at UNM, Provost Barbara Rodriguez noted recently in the September (Issue 13) edition of Querencia, “I see across UNM a strong commitment to bringing people from different disciplines together to address complex challenges.”
This year’s conference theme, Interdisciplinary Horizons: From Learning Across Boundaries to Deepening Knowledge and Solving Complex Challenges, invites us to explore how our teaching and learning efforts are actualizing these commitments.
We welcome contributions that share practices, questions, discoveries, challenges, and lessons learned from teaching and learning across disciplinary boundaries, and in partnership with communities.
Who can submit a proposal?
All members of the UNM community across all campuses are welcome to submit proposals. This includes faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students. If you are proposing a presentation centered on community-engaged projects, we encourage you to include community partners as co-presenters/co-facilitators.
Potential Topic Areas on Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning
We offer some ideas for presentations below. This is not an exhaustive list; we invite other relevant topics that are not included here:
The topics below are organized under expandable headings. Select the + next to any topic heading to open and read its full description.
Learning Activities that invite students to connect disciplinary perspectives, compare ways of knowing across disciplines, and explore how different fields contribute to understanding a question or problem.
Course Modules and Instructional Sequences that scaffold interdisciplinary learning, make interdisciplinary thinking visible, and help students integrate concepts, methods, and perspectives across fields.
Assignments, Projects, Research, and Experiential Learning that engage students in interdisciplinary inquiry, creative practice, collaborative problem-solving, or other application of knowledge using interdisciplinary frameworks.
Courses and Curricular Connections that foster interdisciplinary knowledge within or across courses and help students build connections among disciplinary knowledge, research, and other educational experiences.
Undergraduate Research Experiences (e.g., course-based undergraduate research experiences [CURES], Undergraduate Research, Arts & Design Network [URAD], Ubuntu Research Fellowship, African American Studies, El Puente Research Fellow Program, McNair Program / Research Opportunity Program [ROP], Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship [MMUF], and others), that teach students to answer complex interdisciplinary questions, to reflect upon the nature of ethical and responsible research, and develop effective collaboration approaches.
Departmental and Program-Level Initiatives that strengthen interdisciplinary and/or community-engaged teaching, foster collaboration across departments, connect curricula, or coordinate learning experiences across a program. We also invite departmental leaders to share promising practices (e.g., policies, structures, incentives, supports) to facilitate and value the work of faculty engaging in interdisciplinary and/or community-engaged endeavors.
Interdisciplinary and Community Partnerships that bring together expertise across disciplines, community knowledge, and diverse perspectives to enrich learning and address meaningful questions.
Participation in University-Wide Initiatives that help educators design and facilitate interdisciplinary learning, scaffold integration, and foster innovative and creative pedagogies.
Assessment, Reflection, and Continuous Improvement projects that explore how educators understand student interdisciplinary learning, identify barriers and bottlenecks, learn from experimentation, and refine their approaches.
Conceptual Models and Frameworks for Integrating Disciplines that demonstrate how educators can systematically bring two or more disciplines into meaningful conversation in the design of learning experiences. Examples of how specific conceptual models or frames have guided the implementation of interdisciplinary perspectives, concepts, methods, and ways of knowing into assignments, course modules, projects, courses, et cetera.
Utilizing AI in Interdisciplinary Course Design: Projects that explore how educators design interdisciplinary learning experiences to foster authentic student engagement, meaningful assessment, and deep, long-lasting learning, while making strategic pedagogical decisions about the use or non-use of AI.
Student Narratives and Learning Journeys: Projects that elevate students’ voices and perspectives on their experiences of interdisciplinary learning. Examples include approaches that invite students to reflect on, document, and share their learning journeys, including how they make connections across disciplines and understand the growth they experience through interdisciplinary learning.
We welcome contributions at all stages of development, from emerging ideas and works in progress to established practices.
Regardless of the presentation format, we encourage presenters to incorporate opportunities for meaningful dialogue, interaction, and exchange among participants. Whether sessions are held in person or virtually, presenters are encouraged to think creatively about how they might engage participants in sharing perspectives, exploring ideas, and learning from one another with an eye towards application in their own contexts.
Session Types & Presentation Formats
- Workshops: In these 60-minute sessions, participants explore approaches, techniques and strategies for implementing interdisciplinary learning experiences in courses. These sessions should incorporate hands-on activities that lead to the drafting of action plans for implementation.
- Organized panel discussions: These panels are scheduled for 60-minute slots. The panel convener should identify three to four participants to address the proposed topic.
- Individual presentations: These presentations are 15 minutes long and will be paired with similarly themed presentations.
- Poster presentations: These presentations are in-person during the April 7TH afternoon period from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
- Roundtables: Each 60-minute roundtable will be organized by a theme and facilitated by 2-3 experts [in academic fields]. Each participant will have 10 minutes to share their work (e.g., assignment, course). Participants may describe multiple elements of their project (e.g., its conception and anticipated outcomes, pedagogical planning, and implementation of their plans). Each presentation will be followed by a 5-minute feedback session from the experts and other participants at their table.
Session Modalities
In-person sessions will take place on April 7th and virtual sessions on April 8th, 2027.
Proposal Submission
Please submit your proposal here by January 22nd, 2027.
Note: You can use this proposal worksheet if you’d like to draft your responses before entering them into the form.
Proposals to include: Session title, presenters, session description, anticipated session outcomes, session outline, and how you plan to foster engagement and dialogue in your session.
Queries and Support
We welcome both seasoned conference contributors and first-timers. Teaching Support and Graduate Support @ the Center for Teaching and Learning are here to offer support, from the pre-submission stage to conference preparation and practice. Prospective participants can reach out via email to Teaching Support (teachingsupportctl@unm.edu) and Graduate Support (ctlgs@unm.edu).
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