Preparation

I wonder if the current method of teaching in the  University system is the best way. To a degree, seperating knowledge and skills into different areas, makes a lot of sense. Group like with like. But in most cases, life invovles an intersection of multiple disciplines and experiences. 

I remember taking two math courses and a physics course one year, and all three spending the begginning of the courses talking about the same subject - vectors and basic matrix math. That just seemed to be a waste of time, teaching the same lesson three times in three different courses. The advantage of this is the ordering of the courses and the option of them being required is flexible, because none of them are dependent on the others, creating a more flexible and modular structure. Given the central importance this subject was to the course, having them taught in each class ensures that a certain level of competance is reached. But how often does this pattern occur through out the courses, and with subject areas and related subject areas being so intertwined, does breaking them up into seperate and discrete classes really make sense. Do alternate models of education exist which are more efficient and capable of producing higher quality of graduates?