Hunting Dragons: An Organic, Multidisciplinary Pedagogy

The serendipitous beginning and organic evolvement of the Dragon Research Collaborative (DRC) allowed us the freedom to approach the learning environment differently than we had in prior, more traditional projects or courses. We embrace that freedom in the project’s structure. For us, dragons are the catalyst for construction of an educational environment that encompasses science, social science, the humanities, and the fine arts, but not solely within a school context. The partners that have joined with us, museums, businesses, and other higher education staff and faculty, are integral to establishing the real-world authenticity of the DRC. We share here the strategies and tools we have found useful in creating synergistic, multidisciplinary learning opportunities. The DRC model’s strength lies in several characteristics: a collaborative, caring environment, knowledge construction that is student-driven, and a robust partner network.