Liz Navratil, higher education reporter at the Star Tribune, recently visited the University of St. Thomas’ Musical Acoustics class – taught at the Schoenecker Center by music professor Doug Orzolek and physics professor Jeff Jalkio – to learn more about the interdisciplinary learning take place in the university’s new academic facility.
From the story:
Music professor Doug Orzolek has been teaching the acoustics class at the University of St. Thomas for more than 20 years, alongside a physics professor. He enjoys watching how music and science students approach the same tasks from different perspectives, teaching each other how to view their disciplines in new ways.
“We want them to become independent thinkers and learners and scholars, asking these questions that feel random and out of the blue,” Orzolek said.
When the university began designing its new Schoenecker Center, it recruited Orzolek and other professors to provide feedback on how they could build a space that encourages students from different disciplines to interact with each other. The center, which opened earlier this year, has become a sort of laboratory for Orzolek’s class.
