From Spielberg to Skiing: Innovative Learning at Interterm

Published: April 13, 2021

Many alumni count Interterm as among their favorite memories of GC life. Focusing on one class for three weeks, apart from the semester routine, invites professors to think outside the box in terms of content and delivery.

The College has built a repertoire of unique educational experiences only offered during Interterm. Heres a sampling of Interterm 2017s most unusual and exciting classes.

This trip to the Dominican Republic, headed by Richard Huston, conveys the history of the regions occupation and settlement in a new way:

• Scuba diving the Meso-American Reef on a Caribbean Island
• Learning the islands history as a pirate pit-stop
• Meeting modern-day descendants of pirates

Deloy Cole and Doug Faulkner invite students to a banquet of informationgeographic, historical, cultural, religious and economicabout food availability and food consumption.

• Dine on cuisine from various cultures
• Trips to St. Louis and New Orleans
• Restaurant visits and cooking

Watch their video HERE!

For more than 20 years, Jack Chism's Great Movie Making course has examined the finest of Hollywood's classics full length, uncut and on the big screen.

• Learn from the greats: Spielberg, Coppola, Hitchcock and more
• Compare the film medium vs. television shows
• Students script, shoot, and edit a film project

Rich Beans utilizes film to introduce topics covered in Intro to Psychology: psychopathology and therapy, sensation and perception, learning and memory, social dynamics and personality.

• Film paired with reading and discussion
• Examining where Hollywood gets it rightand wrongabout psychology
• Taking the perspective of viewer, director and cultural era

Through a trip to Brazil, Jane Bell leads an exploration of the differences in business leadership styles between the United States and other parts of the world. Highlights of the trip:

• On-site visits to organizations in San Paulo and Rio De Janeiro
• Lively class discussion about leadership formation
• Exposure to unfamiliar cultural norms

George Barber takes a look at the typical Western diet and its pitfalls, integrating a Biblical perspective on food and considering a whole-foods diet for energy and health.

• Examination of the social and emotional traps around food
• Cooking healthy versions of meals, fast food, snacks and desserts
• PLYO and T25 for a healthy mind and body

Larry Sayler directs a class of aspiring jugglers as they learn to keep objects in the air and even perform some impressive fire-swallowing feats.

• All students practice three-ball juggling
• Instruction on juggling with a partner
• Add rings, clubs, and even raw eggs to the mix

Students can improve their photography skills on land and under the sea in this class led by Jacob Amundson.

• Trip to Utila, a bay island of Honduras
• Underwater photography
• Escape the gloom of a Midwest January

Immediate application makes for quick learning. Eric Watterson teaches the foundations of sports psychology through a skiing trip.

• Trip to a Colorado ski resort
• Research sports psychology, then apply on the slopes

Special focus on skill acquisition and performance assessment