This paper reports on the effectiveness of an innovative course design that bridges classes from two different disciplines. The "Bridge" design creates assignments in two classes: a summary class and a panel class. The design encourages students to engage in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines, and provides instructors with unique opportunities for formative assessment. Relative to control groups, students in the summary class perceived greater opportunities to teach peers, participate in class discussions, think critically, and engage in collaborative learning. Students in the panel class showed gains in critical thinking. Both classes afforded multiple opportunities for formative assessment. Following a discussion of the results, recommendations for improving the "Bridge" design are presented.