End of the blog - closing remarks

The entry below this one is the one that you have to answer and discuss for credit this week. Remember that you don't have to answer all of the prompts, and Ms. Spraker cannot give credit to UCFGrad2020, or UTry2Park you have to sign your real name.

I think that closing remarks are important, and I didn't want them to clog up the discussion this week.

I just want to say it's been a great semester. Thanks everyone for great comments and discussions throughout the entire project. This goes for the other 4 mentors and the mentees too - All of the students here again give me hope that the next generation will be strong, innovative, and contributing members of society. I've taken lots of online classes, and really - some of the discussions and messages I see (there, not here) could have likely been better written if I put the laptop on the floor and just typed randomly with my toes.

Also, keep all your files and everything you did for your Cornerstone Class. (These are called artifacts now). I don't want to be the one that gives away the ending - but all those files you've created for your e-port, and your resume, etc. all come up again in your college career.

Byron Faudie

Professional Opportunities & Job Skills

Hello Mentees!  Guess what?  Sadly, this is our last blog posting for the semester.  Of course, we can look at the bright side – that means it is almost time to sign up for classes for NEXT semester! (You thought I was going to say the bright side was that this semester is almost done, right?)  Wow!  Where did the past 10 weeks go?!

This week, let’s look at this article about what employers are looking for in new candidates: http://www.quintcareers.com/job_skills_values.html  What do we see here?  I see two key things emphasized repeatedly in an Interdisciplinary Studies program -  “Analytical/Research Skills. Deals with your ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, and identify key issues that need to be addressed.”  and “Problem-Solving/Reasoning/Creativity. Involves the ability to find solutions to problems using your creativity, reasoning, and past experiences along with the available information and resources.”. As employers continue to explore new ways to squeeze more from their existing resources (including people resources), it becomes more important to find ways that we can leverage that need to our advantage.  As IDS majors, we are uniquely positioned to do just that.  Employers need professionals that are able to expand their thinking beyond a singular discipline and look at all facets of a problem to formulate new solutions.

In my world of engineering, I see this happening more frequently than in previous years.  Although my primary background is electrical, I can no longer focus my work only on the electrical issues to solve a complex design problem.  In the “Old Days”, electrical engineers attacked the electrical portion of a design, the mechanical engineers did the mechanical, and the industrial engineers just made all our lives miserable by pushing the schedule and budget.  Now however, designs are more of a collaborative effort.  There are more brainstorming sessions where everyone sits down and looks at ALL the aspects of the project and how they interact with each other.  This gives a new perspective to an issue when an electrical engineer might see how a mechanical design won’t coexist well with his electrical design, so he comes up with some modifications to make it work better.  The mechanical engineer might now assist the industrial engineer in planning the scope and schedule of the project because he knows that you have to wait 8 hours for the concrete to cure before you can start the next part of the schedule. The integration of disciplines becomes an enormous asset to the company because through this partnering and understanding, new creative solutions to problems can be realized.

What are your thoughts on employers looking for people able to diversify themselves and branch out into other disciplines (such as an IDS major), versus looking for narrowly focused, single discipline candidates?  Do you think they might see more value in someone with an IDS degree versus a single major?  Here are some other questions to ponder.  Feel free to answer any or all that you like.

·         How have you used your interdisciplinarity in your professional life?

·         What has been your professional history?

·         What are your strongest and weakest job skills?

·         What can you do to develop and improve upon your weak skills?

·         Identify two professional clubs or organizations that are useful to your chosen career. 

·         How have internship or externship helped your professional development?

·         Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life

·         How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?

·         How have your career goals altered?

It has been a great semester, and the Mentor group thanks you for all the awesome conversation on our various topics!  May the rest of your semester go well, and good luck on your IDS degree and future career!

PS – Remember to sign your comment with your full name in order to receive full credit!

John Seybert

Topic 9!

Alright guys, it looks like everyone enjoyed my first blog posting so much, they commissioned me to write another one! I kid, but, I hope everyone took a long look at last week's topic about the ePortfolio. I know that topic was a major stressor for me during my Cornerstone experience. This week, we'll be discussing our personal philosophies, career goals, and the academic opportunities that relate to your goals.

No matter what job you work, your personal philosophy is going to 'seep in' to your work. In example: authors will always use their personal slant in their writing. Your personal philosophy is an important part of your life, so you're always going to want to share it with everyone around you. The next important step is deciding just what your personal philosophy is. Once you identify your philosophy, you can see how it relates to your future career.

So, take a few moments to sit back and think of what drives you. It could be the desire to help others, the desire for material possessions, or even the desire to 'out-do' your family members. Regardless of what it is that drives you, identify with it and make it yours.

The next part of this week's blog is identifying whether or not your philosophy is interdisciplinary, or if you can MAKE it interdisciplinary. This is important to note, because you're being trained to look at things from an interdisciplinary standpoint. When you tackle problems from this standpoint, you can generally overcome them due to the extended coverage provided by each discipline, as well as the increase in critical thinking.

Finally, after you've identified what your philosophy is, and whether or not it is interdisciplinary, you have one last option to consider: what academic opportunities are available to me? There are a host of different internships, partnerships, and post-graduate options available to you. You should do the research necessary to identify what those options are, as well as what you need to do to obtain those opportunities. Using the Experiential Learning and Career Services offices, you can find a host of opportunities available to you.

Here are a few topics to discuss this week, but remember, you don't have to answer ALL of these questions:

1.Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life

2.How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?

3.How have your career goals altered?

Have a great week!

Topic 8

Expressing yourself Electronically

The Making of The E-Portfolio

The e-portfolio is a documentation of your learning and work experiences, that is put together to highlight your knowledge, skills and abilities. It is a story written and told by you, with the goal of developing a purpose and delivering it to a specific audience. The purpose of the portfolio is going to be either professional or personal. If you will be looking for a job, then your purpose will be professional. If you will be applying to graduate school, then your purpose will be personal. Once you have decided your purpose, then you can focus on the story you want to tell, along with the experiences and skills you wish to highlight.

Your portfolio should contain a message that will be specifically tailored to the needs of your audience. For instance, if you are looking for a challenging career: Why should they hire you? What sets you apart from the other candidates? What skills and talents of yours could this company benefit from? Your e-portfolio experience will consist of uploading and revising artifacts that will emphasize who you are and what you are capable of.

What are artifacts? They are a type of evidence that you can use to showcase your interdisciplinarity. Artifacts consist of pictures, papers, projects and any other work that is unique and reflects your best abilities. You will be introduced to the e-portfolio in the cornerstone course and be required to upload all of your assignments and projects to the portfolio workspace. It is a good idea to keep a variety of your work, not just the assignments form your IDS classes. Also, do not be worried if you are required to upload assignments that you do not particularly like, or feel are unnecessary. Ultimately, you will have the final say with what documents will go into your portfolio. It is also important to mention that you will not be putting random assignments into the portfolio. Instead, you will choose work that will highlight a specific experience of some kind, whether it be based on volunteering, your job or something to do with your education.

In the beginning, the e-portfolio can seem a little overwhelming. But, you may find that taking it one assignment at a time is a good way to approach it. I recently began writing my portfolio story and putting my artifacts together. At first, it was very confusing. But, after playing around with it for a while, it kind of became fun and I began to see the benefits of it. For two nights in a row, I was obsessed with changing the templates and editing my story and images. Honestly, for me it was a lot of trial and error. It is not hard to put together but, it can be a time consuming project. I now feel that the finished product will be worth it, and I am hoping that this portfolio will give me the something extra I will need to stand out in my job search.

Click here to view my e-portfolio(note: this is not the finished product)

http://portfolio.ucf.edu/portal/tool/20987ab4-74f3-4c3f-8093-0477836678f2/viewPresentation.osp?1=1&id=2455C611FB6BF8D1562AF99DCABA6280

Note the elements of my e-portfolio:

Purpose: to find a job after graduation.

Audience: Prospective employers

Message: I am eager to find a challenging job, where I can utilize my best skills.

Parts:

1) About Me:

Intro

Personal Statement

Resume

Course of Study(List of classes taken)

2) Content Pages with Artifacts:

Painting a Purpose

Downloading a Dream

Learning as a Leader(Yeah, it's about this mentoring project. I ran out of ideas, but I am glad I

included this)

Note: That all my artifacts reflect the experience that I am highlighting.

When you are creating and modifying your artifacts, make sure that you read the feedback from your professor, so you are aware of the revisions that you will need to make.

These artifacts are a reflection of who you are, so make sure that they are creative and reflect your interdisciplinarity. If you plan to look for work after graduation, then your portfolio can have a similar feel to my own. However, if you are planning on applying to graduate school, you should focus on making your portfolio a tad more personal. For instance, if I was applying to graduate school, I would probably touch on my experience of being a mom to a 3-year-old, which is not something that I would present to a prospective employer. Remember, you are trying to stand out, so take this time to put a unique and personalized spin on why you would like to pursue graduate school. Why are you different from other applicants?

Now that you are more familiar with the e-portfolio, answer the following questions:

Did you notice the images that I used in my portfolio? They were all used to enhanced my story and were relevant to the things that I was talking about. What are some images that you think you would use to enhance your portfolio?

Are you thinking about applying for graduate school, or starting a career? If you will be looking for a job after graduation what type of work are you interested in pursuing?

What is an experience that you would want to include in one of your content pages?(If you are unsure, you can always use the mentoring experience as one, like I did.)

It's all about you!

**According to my notes, we are 1/2 way through the semester**

This week we are talking about my favorite topic – me! Well, you will be focusing on you . .you are your favorite topic too right? Again I am attacking a topic that many of us do all of the time, but we all clam up when we put a name to it – Reflective Writing (cue the violins!).

Reflective writing isn't straight-forward description or conveying information (Moon, J Reflection in Learning and Professional Development, Kogan Page, London 1999.) What is it then? According to the Kentucky Dept. of Education - Reflection—the careful consideration and serious contemplation of past events for the purpose of evaluating or making sense of those past events. What does this look like? Diary? Blogging? Time when you want to write things down to help figure them out? Yes!

I think that spending 4 minutes with Parme Giutini from OTIS College will give better insight into the topic for us. Pay extra special close attention starting at 3:45 until the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRF8whWLjqc


Otis College of Art and Design Teaching Tips: Reflective Writing with Parme Giuntini. The Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty share their tips on a variety of classroom suggestions to improve the quality of teaching. and therefore learning.

As I may have mentioned, I do work as a photographer and have my own company. One way that I use reflective writing is by keeping a notebook that I enter notes about every shoot that I’ve been on. There are some technical aspects – like who was there, what was the purpose, what are the expected results. After the shoot I also visit the book and list what went well, what didn’t go so well, and why, and most importantly, if it’s something in my control – how can I fix it for next time? This book has been great in that over the last few years it’s been a manual of best practices that I can revisit to increase the chances that my results on the next shoot will be better than the results of any in the past.

For the purpose of class, you will focus on reflective writing because it can be integrated into your e-portfolio. If not by writing, do you have a process in place in your life to reflect on past experiences?

Also, your e-portfolio has a specific purpose, and is basically a device designed for sharing. How would your reflective writing be different if you were writing privately?

Lastly, offer your thoughts on the how you agree or disagree with the definitions of what is and isn't reflective writing as they are written above. How would you explain how reflective writing is different than description?

Standard end of blog warnings, disclaimers, and reminders still apply – Per Ms. Spraker, you do not need to respond to all of the prompts presented in order to get credit. You do need to sign your post with your real name that matches the name in Ms. Spraker's grade book in order to receive credit.

Byron Faudie

Your Foot's in the Door, Now Don't Put it in Your Mouth!

Hi Mentees!

John here again.  So you did an awesome job on that resume from last week, right?!  Now your phone is ringing off the hook and you have butterflies in your stomach because you did such a great job on the resume that every employer is calling you up for an interview!  As the Staples commercial says “Wow, that was easy!”

Well, now you need to start getting ready for your interview.  How can you do that?  Follow the motto of the Boy Scouts – Be Prepared!  This week, you will try something to help prepare you for future interviews.  Every little bit of preparation only works to help you.  I still remember my interview for an engineering position I applied for several years back.  I was seated in front of the interviewer's desk (the manager for the department), which was literally covered with electronic parts, pieces (broken and good), puzzles like Rubik’s Cube, and so on.  I thought “Wow, lots of neat toys, but he sure is messy”, but I made sure to keep my mouth shut!  The manager asked me a few of the standard questions, and then he handed me a cube made out of resistors (an electronic component).  He then asked me how I would find the total resistance between the two opposite corners. See the Resistor Cube Puzzle here.  Well, trying to jog my memory from WAY back in basic electronics class, I began to write out a bunch of calculations.  As I was writing, I mentioned that in a situation like this where I needed the answer quickly, I would probably just put a meter on the cube to find the answer instead of doing the calculations.  When I finished and gave my answer, he told me that although I had worked diligently, my answer was wrong.  I asked what the answer was, but he refused to tell me.  I left that office absolutely sure I had just blown the interview.  I went back to my office and looked the puzzle up on the internet.  I quickly found the answer, and called the manager to give it to him.  He asked how I had come to the correct answer so quickly.  I was honest and said I looked it up on the Internet.

Long story short, I ended up getting the job.  This manager was really not interested in my answer to the puzzle during the interview.  He was more interested in seeing how I approached a problem presented to me in a pressure situation, and what methods I used to solve it.  He mentioned that I showed good diversity in my approach through the logical calculations, my practical knowledge (using a meter to find the value), and my resourcefulness of using the Internet.  I held that position for five years before getting another promotion!

I would like you all to Log on to Perfect Interview. (http://www.perfectinterview.com/ucf/).  Once there, for "Your Level of Experience," choose the level that fits you the best.  Next, complete one "short" interview where the selections are chosen for you. Complete one "short" interview where you make the selections. Choose at least three areas you'd like to work on the most. Note the options of the "Alternate Response" and the "Coach" that can be used.  You may choose to either use video capture or no video capture.  Save both interviews.

For responses this week, comment on your interview experience.

You might comment on what questions were problematic. What were the strengths of your responses? What could you improve in your responses? How did you responses compare to the "Alternate Response"? What did you learn from the "Coach?"

Give one question about interviewing or a piece of advice that you've gained in your interviewing experiences.

Click on "Review Saved Interviews." Click on the "Share" button. E-mail yourself your interview if you want to save it and include the links in your posting if you’d like to share.

Here are some things that you might want to discuss in your comments.  Remember, you can answer as many or as few as you want!

• Discuss the results of your interview practice
• Discuss the best way to answer some of the standard and non-standard interview questions
• How to deal with phone interview and panel interviews
• When is the time to talk about salary?

·         How would you answer some stale boring interview questions like, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” and “Why should we hire you?” - and those do come up.

·         How might you respond if the interviewer moves to questions that are not legal to ask in an interview (sometimes done without even realizing, like, “when did you graduate from high school? (age), or asking about the origin of your name, or “how long have you been married? (familial status) "I like that accent, where are you from? (potential race).

·         What was the occasion for your last interview – would you share some highlights that helped you be successful?

Reference information:

Further information about informational interviews:   http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2002/summer/art03.pdf

Information from UCF"s Career Services:  http://www.career.ucf.edu/UserFiles/File/Plan%20for%20the%20Interview/player.html

John Seybert

You’ll Never Make the Sale Unless You Advertise!

Hi Mentees, over the past several weeks Dana, Samantha, Byron, and Kevin have talked about what interdisciplinary studies are, critical thinking, integration, interdisciplinary research, and problem solving.  Once we get some basic understanding of those topics under our belt, we need to DO something with them.  As you work with your e-portfolio, you will begin to shape your knowledge and experience into a tool that you will be able to use in the future to help obtain that all-important career that you have worked so hard to land.  Finding how your strengths and experiences integrate together will help you prepare an awesome resume and cover letter to present to prospective employers.

In times of yore, a well typed resume on crisp linen paper was critical to getting your foot in the door of a company.  Most of the time you interviewed with someone fairly high up in the company, who actually took time to read your resume and valued the added effort of using the finest quality stationary available.

So what’s different now versus those “old days”?  It all depends.  Many companies now, especially medium to large sized employers, use technology to at a minimum pre-screen resumes for potential candidates.  Resumes are scanned by computer and compared to a database of keywords and requirements to match candidates to potential positions within the company.  When a match is found, those resumes are forwarded on to the respective departments to further weed out the candidates and set up interviews.  So as far as the initial screening goes, that fine linen paper and Harrington 18 point font are not going to make much difference.  What does make a difference is the CONTENT you put into that resume.  One of the things you will work extensively on in your e-portfolio is the content pages.  It is the type and quality information that you convey that is critical to a good resume.  It is best to know the company and position you applying for, and tailor your resume to match.  Putting down the fact that you were a lifeguard for last summer is perfect if you are applying for the Beach Patrol, or even a paramedic type position, however it won’t trigger the right flags for a financial advisor position.

I have been in an occasional position to read resumes submitted for positions within our company and give feedback to the hiring manager as to my thoughts on the applicant.  One of the most important things to me when reading a resume was the candidate’s spelling and grammar (did I spell that right?).  Since we no longer use the IBM Selectric and the Merriam Webster Unabridged Hard-bound dictionary to create a resume, there is absolutely no excuse for a resume containing typographical errors.  This is one of the most important documents you will ever create, a “sales brochure” to sell yourself to prospective employers.  Every computer word processing program available has some type of spelling and grammar checker built in.  USE THEM! There are many tools available to help you create the perfect resume and cover letter.  UCF has many resources on their website and the web is full of great resources.  Take a look at some of these:

Write Effective Resumes and Cover Letters

Write a Winning Resume with Quiz

Cover Letters and Thank You Letters

How to Write a Resume

Sample Resumes and Cover Letters

So now it’s your turn.  Think about the following questions, and respond to any (or all!) that you want to discuss.

·         What are ways your resume can highlight your interdisciplinarity?

·         What are some questions about cover letters you've have?

·         Share your best cover letter

·         What are questions about resumes that you have and/or share some advice?

·         Share any resources you've found about cover letters and/or resumes.

Getting your resume right is one of the most important parts of any job search, so take the time and use the resources available to give yourself that key advantage!  Share your thoughts, and don’t forget to sign your comment!

John Seybert

Let's get Interdisciplinary!

Hey there! My name's Kevin Pilsbury, and this week's blog post deals with research skills and interdisciplinary problem solving. The first half of the topic is a major one, because research skills are a necessity for the interdisciplinary thinker. The second half is an approach to problem solving that you may not be used to yet, but as you progress through Cornerstone, you will further hone the skill of interdisciplinary problem solving. These two skills will prove invaluable to you for the remainder of your life. Last week, Byron challenged you to think critically, and showed you that critical thinking is a valuable skill to the interdisciplinarian. This week, we're going to build off of what Byron opened up for us.

For me, the issue of interdisciplinary problem solving is a major portion of my undergrad career. My areas of study are in Writing and Humanities, while my minor is in Education. In my Education classes especially, I find myself taking an interdisciplinary approach to creating lesson plans. I think this is unique because often times, teachers approach teaching a lesson from their subject area. Example being: a geometry teacher teaches like a geometry teacher thinks. However, if your students don't think in that same manner, your lesson is potentially lost on them. If you approach your lesson using a blend of multiple subjects, you will instead attract the attention of multiple students. This is just one example of how I use interdisciplinary problem solving in my, personal, undergraduate career.

Research skills come in all "shapes and sizes," as they say. Critical thinking, as mentioned before, is an important research skill, because it allows the researcher to challenge every 'fact' that they come across. Critical thinking allows researchers to evaluate and weigh the different sides of every argument they come across. Problem solving exists as another critical researching skill, because it allows the researcher to first identify a problem, then form a hypothesis as to how they might alleviate that problem. Then you have a basis for what you want to research. Problem solving requires new approaches to traditional problems, which is where taking an interdisciplinary approach comes in.

Like I mentioned above, taking an interdisciplinary approach is similar to using a "two-pronged" attack to solve a problem. Because you're not addressing it from one discipline's standpoint, you are using multiple discipline’s strengths and biases in order to come up with an unorthodox solution.

The next major research skill is the ability to analyze and synthesize the data that you acquire through the course of your research. Through synthesis and analysis, researchers are able to determine patterns in their data, reduce the amount of raw data they have, and determining the value of the data you have collected. The final major skill in research comes in the form of dissemination. After you determine your issue using problem solving and critical thinking, you begin your research. Once you have gathered your information, you use analysis and synthesis to process your information and pick out the useful parts. Finally, using dissemination, you summarize and explain all of your research. This is essentially where you present the fruits of your labor.

Taking all of this into consideration, answer the following questions (Remember, you don't have to answer ALL of them!):

• How do we use research in our everyday lives? In school? At work?

• Which specific skills are used when completing a research project?

• How might these skills be translated towards future employment?

• How might your ability to solve problems from an interdisciplinary perspective be valuable to a future employer? Current employer?

• What's the best researching tool you've found?

Leave your thoughts below! Have a great week!

Don't worry, you're doing it already

Right off the bat back in week one, we asked you to “put on your thinking caps” and “answer questions” about your choosing your major, and how you explain that. Also, you were asked to “comprehend” an article about GAP brands and “form a conclusion” after “gathering pertinent information” regarding advantages of an interdisciplinary education. Last week if you look at the first picture, it asked you to “identify,” “evaluate,” and “blend” information in talking about the integrative process.

My name is Byron Faudie and I chose to post this week because one of my areas of concentration is education. Many people in the education business, as well as other disciplines will recognize the bold words as those related to the broad area of thinking known as critical thinking. This is the part people clam up . .oh no .. critical thinking!! (Runs screaming from the room pulling out hair) . .. but you've already been doing it, now we are just going to take a little closer look.

One way that I use critical thinking all the time in my job through what I call, “consider the source.” I work in the financial service industry and there is a lot of information that flies over my desk all of the time. People want me to know about the status of the economy, other people want me to know about what sectors of the market are ready to do better, some people want me to know more fact based information such as rule and law changes in the industry. The critical thinking that I have to put into much of this material to decide if it goes in the regular file cabinet, or the blue file (recycle bin, we're green) is who is behind the publishing of the material, and why do they think it's important for me to know that. Is this an ad? Who paid for research? What is the data really saying?

Critical thinking can be thought of partly as the sorting process of the brain. What am I going to keep, what am I going to pitch, what can I take a piece of and mix it with something else and put pieces of information together to make new information – draw different conclusions based on different versions of material presented.

My example focused on critical thinking in one field. The question for discussion though it, how does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?

So far we talked about critical thinking being fact based. My example talked about research, finding sources and reasoning. We looked at critical thinking as it applied to university studies. Another realm in the critical thinking world falls under ethics, values, and beliefs. These are longer term ideas that you hold deeply – but how did you get there? Why do you hold the values you do? – those questions aren't necessarily part of the discussion, but I pose them with the likely answer that you've determined your ethics, values, and beliefs using the critical thinking process over a long period of time.

As a way to practice, here is a critical thinking activity called the Virtual Philosopher developed by Dr. Wade Maki from the Philosophy department at University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

(note: It's Flash) http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html

Click on the link above to get to the Virtual Philosopher.(or copy and paste, I can't tell if it's hotlinked when I am making a post) The activity only takes a couple of minutes. I am going to be specifically vague because I don't want to give away my answers or thoughts on the activity until you've had a chance to try it and comment on it. In your response, comment on how the Virtual Philosopher scored your responses. What insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?

Lastly, two reminders. First – in your response, you don't necessarily have to respond to all of the prompts – they are designed as springboards for further conversation throughout the week. The requirement per Ms. Spraker does not include having to respond to every single question posed. Also, reminder number two -- please sign your responses with your real name (this goes for every week). Ms. Spraker can't give credit to “UCFGRAD2010” or “STUDENT4EVR” - she needs your name for the grade book.

Have a great week everyone!

Interdisciplinary Integration...It May Get Messy!

Hello, everyone! Samantha Epstein, here. This week we are focusing on Interdisciplinarity and Integration. Integration is the uniting or blending of disciplines or academic areas to form a new, functioning whole. Integration is the main focus and goal of Interdisciplinary Studies, and without it no advancements or new understandings would be possible. When we integrate our areas of study, we are critically evaluating and combining perspectives, methods and knowledge of these areas to form a new degree, all-together. A great way of explaining IDS and integration is the smoothie metaphor. The areas of study/disciplines are the fruits that are blended together. The actual smoothie itself, is the interdisciplinary outcome because each fruit was blended, or integrated to make it into this new delicious product. No longer can the distinct taste of each fruit be detected, instead the focus is now on the new taste of the smoothie, as a whole.

The integrative process can get messy. In fact, you should expect it to. This simply means that sometimes the attempt at integration will succeed only partially, or not even at all. The best interdisciplinary projects result from a research process that works through tensions and contradictions between disciplinary systems of knowledge with the goal of interdisciplinary understanding. With this being said, don't be discouraged if the pieces of the integrative process do not fit at first. Especially, because integration is not like putting a regular puzzle together. Instead, it is like working with pieces from many different puzzles, mixed together, with no picture for guidance.

So, integration can kind of seem a little confusing at first, right? Don't worry, you are not alone. When I was starting the cornerstone class I was bewildered by all of this IDS terminology. Now that I have reached the capstone course and have had some time to reflect on these concepts, I can honestly say that I feel comfortable with interdisciplinarity and the idea of integration. In fact, I think that explaining integration in a job interview may have the possible employer fascinated and interested with how I could apply this knowledge at their company. Now just imagine all of the amazing career opportunities available for the IDS student. There are no other majors out there that can offer such a wide range of career opportunities. Employers will be eager to see what IDS graduates can offer their companies, especially because these graduates have experience creating exciting projects and ideas that incorporate the very different skills and talents available across disciplines.

My areas of studies are Public Affairs and Social/Behavioral Science, with a minor in Technical Education and Industry Training. I hope to find a career that will enable me to integrate many of the concepts and ideas from my areas of study. I believe that a career with a public agency, such as the Department of Children and Families would be a great opportunity to integrate my areas. DCF is a public agency, so I would be able to apply what I learned in public affairs, especially with public policy and leadership. Social/Behavioral Science would also be a major part of a career with DCF because I would be working with and around people from diverse backgrounds. There would also be many psychological concepts and theories applied everyday. Incorporating your areas of study into one career would the ultimate integrative experience for the IDS grad.

Currently, I am a teacher in early childhood education. My favorite part of this job is creating art with my preschoolers. I start an art project by taking out supplies like, paint, construction paper, and scissors. Then, my students and I use and integrate each art supply into the “new whole”, which is the finished art project.

By using integration in my daily activities, I feel that the possibilities are endless in my future. As I said above, I plan to present my knowledge of integration to prospective employers, to show them that I can blend an abundant amount of concepts, ideas, and methods, from multiple areas to develop the most original work project, or solution to a problem. I believe that integration gives IDS graduates a competitive edge in their college education, over other graduates who just focused on a single discipline. This plain to see because:

*Majoring in a single discipline can blind the graduate to the broader context

*Specialization tends to produce tunnel vision

*Single disciplinarians sometimes to fail to appreciate other disciplinary prospectives

*Unique topics worth studying can sometimes fall in the gaps that are between disciplines

*A single discipline is unlikely to address a complex problem comprehensively

Now that you are more familiar with integration, reply to the following questions:

How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?

Why is integration important in terms of professional, academic, and personal development?

Can you have interdisciplinarity without integration?

Works cited:

Repko, Allen. (2008). Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.

Welcome Mentees!! Oh, and What Are You Doing After College?

Our group is excited to spend the semester getting to know you, helping you all with IDS questions or concerns, and learning along with you as we all go further in our study of IDS!

There are five members of our group. First, Samantha Epstein who takes all online classes and studies from her home in Jacksonville, FL. Second, Kevin Pilsbury who works as an RA in the Libra Community here at UCF. Third, Byron who studies education, life science, and psychology. He is also plans on getting a masters degree in adult or higher education. Next, John Seybert who works at Disney and has a wife and two boys to take care of while finishing up school. Lastly, my name is Dana Boss and I transferred from a private school in West Palm Beach after my freshman year and love studying at UCF.

In my opinion, the IDS degree is an option for those who aren’t solely concerned with getting a high paying career or what job their major will land them. (although an IDS major can most certainly do both of those things) I chose my areas of interest, which are, Political Science, English Writing, and Humanities based off my interests and abilities. I love writing and would like to write professionally, I believe one should be a good and active citizen therefore being fluent in the area of political science, and well I just really enjoy humanities. That’s why I chose the areas I did...

I have personally found it challenging to explain my major to others and this year especially find myself trying to explain and defend my choice in studying IDS as a major. If you haven’t already been asked this question, brace yourself because come senior year you just might get asked every other day, “So what are you going to do after college?” It’s a fine question, great that others are interested in your life, but with an IDS major explaining your after college plans and how your major fits into those may be a challenge. It has been for me. One of the reasons I personally chose IDS as my major is because I am interested in many different things. Choosing just one major felt limiting and slightly boring. And just like my choice in majors, I also am interested in a few different careers.

We all have different reasons for choosing an IDS major and it is important to be informed about the IDS program in order to be confident in why you chose it. An interdisciplinary education has both advantages and disadvantages that are very important to be aware of. Please read the article posted at the end of the blog post. It is about one of the many scandals of sweatshop labor used by major corporations such as Gap. I think this article points out a disadvantage to a regular major, focusing simply on one subject area, and the advantage to an IDS degree.

Think about the CEO or vice president of Gap, he is most likely a business man. Business is an excellent major to have and one that equips you with many tangible talents. However, the scandal reveals the disadvantage to business majors being taught only business. Consider the future of major businesses who’s presidents have studied subject areas such as Human Rights in addition to their usual business classes. 

We would love to hear a little about each of you. Please take the time to introduce yourself. Also,share or reflect on how you might respond to someone asking what you are going to do after graduation.

I think you all would really benefit from taking some time to really consider why you chose IDS as your major. Why do you believe in the IDS program? Why did you forgo the traditional study of one subject area?

Lastly, do you think this article points out the advantages or disadvantages to an IDS degree? How?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/gap-next-marks-spencer-sweatshops

Please share your thoughts and comment below! :)