WEEK 4-Interdisciplinarity in the Real World

Hello Everyone!

We hope you all had a great weekend, and a great President's Day holiday. In this week's discussion topic we are switching gears. This week we will be discussing how interdisciplinarity has had or currently has an effect in our own lives. The ability to recognize interdisciplinary thinking is a crucial skill for an interdisciplinarian. As an active duty U.S. Marine, interdisciplinarity plays a crucial role in my life. As Marines we must posses a wide spectrum of skills. A Marine may have to act as any of these roles in any given time: leader, mentor, student, athlete, historian, peace keeper, humanitarian, first responder, aggressor, and many others. The ability to think from an interdisciplinary perspective and integrate disciplines such as history, criminal justice, sociology, and military science can be the difference between life and death on any given day.

Here is a link to video of our 235th Birthday Message given by our Commandant and Sergeant Major. The celebration of the Marine's birthday every year on November 10th is one our dearest traditions. This video will give you a small insight into the life of a United States Marine.

(Copy this link and paste if to your browser if it does not work)

http://youtu.be/I79UW6-NAAU

Finally, recognizing interdisciplinarity and its applications is an invaluable skill that any interdisciplinarian must posses. You should keep your responses to about two to three paragraphs per question, and also respond to at least two of your fellow cornerstone students. We look forward to reading your responses. Have a great week!

1. How do you apply your interdisciplinarity in daily situations?

2. What is interdisciplinarity not?

3. Who do you do who has an interdisciplinary profession?

4. How are you integrating your disciplines or are you?

5. What are some opportunities (personal, professional or academics) that can increase our interdisciplinarity?

Remember to reply as a new comment not as a post. Please reply to two other students's comments. 

Critical thinking

Hello everyone and welcome to week three.

Last week we learned about Integration and how it applies to interdisciplinary. We also watched a video that showed us how interdisciplinary approaches can solve problems.

This week we will discuss Critical thinking.

Dictionary.com defines critical thinking as a disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

My own personal definition is a way of thinking that is holistic minded and that utilizes both sides of your brain to solve problems and find possible solutions that might be considered unorthodox.

Answer the following questions in 150 – 200 words and give as many examples as you like.

1) How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?

For the next two questions you must complete the exercise found by clicking this link

Virtual Philisopher

After completing the exercise please Answer the following questions in 150 – 200 words and give as many examples as you like.

2) Comment on how the Virtual Philosopher scored your response. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?

3) How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?

Remember to reply as a comment and not as a new post! Also respond to at least two other student’s comments.

Integration

Hi Cornerstone Students!  Welcome to week two.  In the first week we got to know a little bit about each other and you shared some great links that showed how some of the activities you are involved in have shaped who you are.  Answer the following questions in 150 – 200 words and give as many examples as you like.

This week we will discuss integration. 

1)       What is integration?  List some examples of integration and then explain how you have or have not integrated your areas of concentration and your minor.

I will start.  My definition of integration is a blending or combining of parts or objects that work together.   My two areas of concentration are Anthropology and Public Administration and my minor is Writing.  I have integrated my minor with my areas to enhance effective communication in interactions with the public and the diverse groups of people that make up the community.

2)      In your own words explain why integration of areas and minor is important in terms of professional, academia, and/or personal developing.  How can your areas and minor be better integrated?

3)      Click on the following link and watch the video to see an example of how interdisciplinary approaches can solve problems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XN5YsEHKK0g

4)      Now search for your own current news story, providing the link and explain how it is interdisciplinary or what an interdisciplinary solution might be. 

Make sure to reply as a comment and not as a new post!  Also respond to at least two other student’s comments. 

Hi Cornerstone Students!

Welcome to the major of Interdisciplinary Studies. We are very excited to have you as mentees. For the next eight weeks, you will need to participate on this blog to receive credit in the class. Each week, there will be a new topic for you to respond to. If you have any questions about IDS or any of your assignments, please feel free to post them on the blog and we will make sure to find the answer for you! Each mentor will be responding back to you at least three times a week.

This first week, we will get to know each other!

I believe you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of television shows they watch! 1) Tell me what your favorite show is and persuade me why I should watch it. 2) Place a link to the TV show’s website also in your post.

3)What activities are you involved with at UCF or in the community? Please link the website for the activity or club.
4)How do those activities shape who you are?

Sometimes, people can be confused as to what an IDS major is. 5) In your own words, what is IDS and why is it the perfect major for you? Explain some advantages and disadvantages.

6)Are there any questions you have about IDS? I know it can be confusing sometimes, especially when you have just declared your major.


Now, I am going to tell you a little bit about myself so you can see an example of how you should respond!


Hi, my name is Laura. I love the show Dexter. I even named my cat Dexter, after the show. Yes, I am that obsessed with the show. The reason I love Dexter, is because there is drama, action, and humor all in one show. The concept is original and the characters are like onions, lots of layers (as Shrek once explained) Dexter is a serial killer, but he only kills really bad people. He and his sister work at the Miami Homicide Department. No one knows who is truly is…a killer.
http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.sho#fbid=x1jLNqknEld

At UCF, I just created my own social studies club, called the Association for Future Social Science Educators. I am also an officer in Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education.
http://www.kdp.org/

I want to be a social studies teacher when I graduate and that is one of the reasons I created the Association for Future Social Science Educators. UCF did not have a club yet for social studies majors and this is a place where we can meet and exchange ideas on how to better our profession.

My two areas of studies Humanities and Behavioral and Social Sciences with a minor in education. IDS is the best major for me because I get to take a customized class schedule of things I will need for when I am a teacher! I wanted to take more history and political science classes then I would have been able to as an education major. IDS is a great major for people who want to be specific or general because you have so many options as to what classes to take. The only disadvantage for me in that I do not get a built in internship.

Make sure to reply as a comment and not a new post!