Corps et Esprit, Esprit de Corps: interdisciplinary approach at its best

On the 8^th and 9^th of April, the fifth flagship initiative of the Strategic Partnership InnovEd4TS was hosted virtually at Université Paris Cité. Invited experts from three Circle U. universities and the University of Lisbon had the opportunity to learn more on the course “Corps et Esprit, Esprit de Corps” (Body & Mind, Esprit de Corps). This course offers undergraduate students the opportunity to develop their transferable skills while learning from several professors coming from various academic fields.

“Corps Esprit, Esprit Corps” at Université Paris Cité

The class “Corps et Esprit, Esprit de Corps” is an annual course designed by Anne Vanet, Vice-President at Université Paris Cité in charge of digital transformation as well as biology professor. The course focuses on one specific theme, different each year. This interdisciplinary course is intended for undergraduate students coming from all disciplines of the university. It aims to make students aware of a multidisciplinary approach on several levels by: ​

• combining courses in Science, Health and Social Sciences​ around a central theme
• mixing audiences from these three major sectors of the university​
• articulating academic courses, bodywork, and theatre courses

In addition, the course allows students to build a network: the focus on body language, street theatre, and martial arts help facilitate the exchanges among students. The final goal for the students is to present on campus a theatre play inspired by the theme of the course. The course aims to improve the student-teacher relationship, by outlining how teaching and learning can improve one’s personal and professional life.

This year, the theme selected was Covid-19. Experts from Louvain, Lisbon, Aarhus and Humboldt had the opportunity to meet with the designer, professors and students during the “Field mission”. Two days of online sessions helped the experts get insights on the pedagogical approach of this course, focus on key transferable skills developed and exchange with the stakeholders on their perspective on this unique way of teaching and learning. The health crisis became a natural choice to integrate into the course. The uniqueness of the way the course is set-up enables students that were not intended to meet, to actually meet, debate and open up to new perspectives.

Strategic Partnership InnovEd4TS (Innovative Education for Transferable Skills), is five member universities of Circle U. Alliance : Humboldt University, UCLouvain, University of Oslo, University of Aarhus and Université Paris Cité along with the University of Lisbon

For more information, visit the Circle U.website

Interdisciplinary

Annually professors from different disciplines provide courses on a chosen theme, bringing their own discipline and area of expertise. Students explore the theme through an interdisciplinary approach.

Teamwork

Through teamwork, students develop self-confidence, strengthen connections with their peers and improve relationships with their teachers.

Creativity

Experts found that the students had the opportunity to develop their creativity, which was the focal point of the course, through the involvement of all students in a street theatre performance and cinema classes.

Drawings by Benoit Raucent

Fostering interdisciplinarity

When Anne Vanet developed the course, she had four major issues in mind that she wanted to tackle: multidisciplinary approaches, making a network for teamwork, professionalizing teaching and re-inventing the student-teacher relationship. The challenge was how to address these concerns. It became apparent that interdisciplinarity was crucial to do so. It has become a central element of this “utopia that has taken shape around interdisciplinarity managed by a non-virtualized social network of humans mixing teachers and students” according to Anne Vanet.

Reinventing the teacher-student relationship, one of the key objectives, is built around the Chinese and Greek philosophers Confucius and Socrates as role models. The first lesson starts out with the study of “The Great Learning” by Confucius. In the following lessons, the students are introduced to street theatre, which enables them to connect with each other. Students develop self-awareness, of others and test their own limits. Martial arts are not taught as a sport, but rather as a way to work on oneself and others in the group. 

Each year, according to the selected theme, professors from various disciplines and experts from outside the academia give classes to an interdisciplinary audience. This is a unique opportunity for students to gain knowledge outside their field, ask questions and hopefully develop an interest in other topics.  

Creativity as an end and a means

The experts exchanged with Corinne Mighirditchian, a street theatre professor who has been involved with the programme for several years. Corinne teaches the basics of theatre and create a performance along with students. The main theme and the classes given by the professors throughout the semester are a source of inspiration for the performance. The focus on street theatre gives more freedom to the students. The performance can take place everywhere on campus, in the garden and sometimes inside the university. Corinne uses the term “performance” and not “show,” because it is based on improvisation. Within the course, the creativity process is relying on games, as theatre work must be very ludic and promoting a cheerful atmosphere. The work with the body could seem odd to students at first but as they go along, they see the link with the theatrical work.

A unique opportunity in classic curriculum

The session allowed the experts to exchange with students. It appeared that the students extremely enjoyed it as it gave them break in their “intense” schedules. They all highlighted the fact that the teaching methods, notably the use of theatre and breathing exercises gave them the opportunity to develop a unique relationship with their professor. It allowed them to acquire new skills such as oral communication, self-confidence and teamwork that they can integrate in other courses.

Developing beyond three skills

Experts were able to learn more about the other skills that students developed throughout the course. Most of them revealed that in their view, the main skill developed is critical thinking. In fact, students interact and reflect upon both the content of what they are taught and what their peers think. Anne Vanet added that deepening the self-confidence of the students also play a central role, which the students also confirmed.  

Expanding internationally

Given the very positive feedback from both teachers and students, experts said that the course has the potential to spread to partner institutions in different ways, either by duplicating it in other languages or by making some sessions available online. Christine Rampon recalls “the experts have suggested ways to improve and plan to expand this initiative in their universities. This visit is therefore a success for our university but also for the partner universities of the InnovEd4TS project.”