Cascadia has offered students an integrated education since We opened our doors in 2000. We invite students to connect disciplinary and interdisciplinary ideas to complex contexts, build knowledge across the curriculum and co-curriculum, and apply this education to situations on and off campus. Simply put, Cascadia’s teaching and learning model recognizes that a quality college education goes far beyond the boundaries of the traditional curriculum and classroom boundaries.
These are some of the academic opportunities you can look forward to as a student at Cascadia:
Interdisciplinary Projects
Disciplines such as math, history, and science are rarely discrete in the real world. The types of problems that employees in today’s workforce are tasked with solving are usually best approached by connecting skills and contexts. Cascadia instructors design assignments that allow students from different disciplines to work collaboratively. For instance, information technology students have worked with art students to produce an installation that combined programmed light sequences with illustrations. History students have worked with English students to research state songs and then update them to reflect more appropriately the era in which we live.
Learning Communities
A learning community is 10-credit course that pairs two instructors from two different disciplines to team-teach a blended class. For example, a learning community offering might combine 5 credits of English and 5 credits of Geology and explore environmental issues through reading, writing, and the sciences. Learning communities generally provoke rich discussions and encourage students to delve much deeper into topics by synthesizing knowledge, identifying patterns, and making connections.
Community-Based Learning, Internships, and Study Abroad
Experiential learning opportunities allow students to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations. Some students might be involved in a community poetry reading, while others will find themselves assisting middle school students with math concepts or practicing a new language in a study abroad program. Cascadia offers some of the most affordable English language programs in the country for international students. Cascadia’s English Foundations (EF) program is an intensive program designed to prepare you for our college program or for careers that require high-level English skills. Students enrolled in professional technical programs are required to complete work-based learning as part of their applied education. Work-based learning and internships for credit are available with the support of a faculty advisor, program advisor, and college staff.
Group Work
Throughout Cascadia, you’ll find classes that require you to work in small groups. Group assignments are designed to help you learn to communicate, solve problems, make decisions, and interact with a diversity of people and viewpoints. Employers across all industries agree such skills are critical in today’s complex, interdependent, and increasingly international workplace