UPEI has just completed its second year of a completely revamped, university-wide required course for all 700 first year students. The Global Issues course is tasked with improving critical thinking, reading, and writing abilities by encouraging students to examine their local and broader world through a themed, interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary globalization.

The delivery of the course employs three simultaneous pedagogical approaches – lectures (delivered by the senior faculty), seminars (led by the term lecturers), and “town hall” meetings (led by the senior faculty) to provide multiple learning avenues to students.

Our presentation will focus on the ambitions, successes and challenges of this novel interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking, writing, and reading in the Canadian university context.