Blog Topic #4

Research is a large part of our lives! We are always conducting research without even realizing it. We of course conduct research in our classes, but we also find ourselves doing research when buying a new car, looking for a good restaurant to eat at, or looking for a good deal in town for shopping. These are just a few examples, but there are plenty more! This week we would like you to answer the following questions:

1. How might we use research in our everyday lives? In school? At work?

2. Which specific skills are used when completing a research project?

3. How might these skills be translated towards future employment?

4. How might your ability to solve problems from and interdisciplinary perspective be valuable to a future employer? Current employer?

5. Create a potential (fictitious but believable) work scenario where your research and problem solving skills as an interdisciplinary thinker might come into play.

I actually have a real life example I would like to share with everyone. I used to work at the Wynn in Las Vegas as an assistant manager for hotel operations. Our vice president broke down the top ten problems of the hotel and created task force groups and hand-picked employees to be a part of them. I was one of the ones chosen and my group consisted of ten other employees from different departments. We researched the problem from every department’s perspective. It was amazing how each department was effected differently from the same problem. We had to research each department and analyze their procedures. We then put our problem solving skills to work. Using all of our different knowledge and skills set we were able to come up with one action plan. This plan was successful because we used different departments (or what we could call different areas of focus, just like what our majors entail). Using interdisciplinary research resolves problems more efficiently because we think of every aspect that relates to come up with one solution.

Blog Topic # 3

In this era of information overload critical thinking is of the up most importance. We have to be able to filter through information and figure out what is valid and pertinent based on what answers we are searching for. In relation to our interdisciplinary approach to study we have to be critical in the way we are able to integrate our various areas with valid and insightful information.

This week we will visit our own critical thinking and reasoning with the Virtual Philosopher.

1. Click the link below which will take you to an interactive exercise called Virtual Philosopher developed by Dr. Wade Maki from the Philosophy department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Virtual Philosopher Link (must have updated FLASH to play correctly): http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html

2. Comment on your critical thinking reasoning that led to your decisions for all three scenarios: the friend's problem, the lifeboat problem, the liver problem.

3. Explain where your critical thinking gave way to your values, ethics, and beliefs. Comment on the differences you perceive between "ethical" and "critical" reasoning and what kinds of problems it caused in doing or reflecting on this exercise and even in your academic experiences.

4. 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?

week # 2 Topic: Integration and Interdisciplinarity

In this week's topic we're going to talk about integration and understanding what Interdisciplinarity is all about. As Interdisciplinary Studies majors, the notion of integration is strongly emphasized throughout your coursework. In your book, Repko mentions the analogy of a fruit salad as well as a smoothie. Where the fruit salad is an example of multidisciplinarity,and the smoothie represents interdisciplinarity. Combining the use of all three of your disciplines into a unified, quintessential realm, where logic is utilized interchangeably to solve complex problems, continues to remain the most critical component of interdisciplinarity. Based from Repkos, "Interdisciplinary Research," and from your own knowledge, I would like you all to
respond to the following questions in your own words:

What is integration? What are some examples?

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

Why is integration of areas/minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal
developing?

How can your areas/minor be better integrated?

Remember to respond with complete sentences as well as the use of appropriate grammar.

Welcome to the Mentor/Mentee Blog!

I want to start of by saying that as a group we feel that we can really provide some good information and support for everyone, not just the mentees, to elevate education and career goals to the next level. As a group we will be separately posting the weekly topics, but we hope to all join in on the discussion as a whole, during the week.

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My name is Tim LeGendre, I am currently 24 yrs old and reside in Mt Dora. FL. I have been going to college for seven years now, and will graduate this semester with over 140 credit hours. I have been tossed around in the community college system, and even been batted around in the UCF system. I feel that I will be a great influence to any transfer students out there, because I have been in those shoes and I know what it is like.

I will try to keep this short, because we all know that every assignment seems to get longer and harder as you go along.

This week we would like YOU, to basically introduce yourselves, and start the discussion with something simple: Why are you doing this? I ask this because there have been many late nights where I would be working on an English paper and I would ask myself, why am I doing this? I would spend those last five minutes before going into a Biology test scrambling to look over my notes, then I would ask myself, why am I doing this? I would have spend all summer partying or working, then fall would come around and it would be time to pick classes, again asking myself, why am I doing this? It is so easy to get caught up in life, and lose your sense of direction. So I would simply like you to post an introduction and state why you are doing this?

This is a simple critical thinking type response. Feel free to be as creative as you like. For those that aren't use to a critical thinking type response, and need to see more of an outline/structure, then make sure you include these topics:

A: State your name and basics about yourself.

B: State your areas of study, including your minor.

C: State some advantages/disadvantages you feel apply to an IDS degree

D: State why you picked this degree, or state what you tell your friends why you picked this degree.

Keep the responses in complete sentences and use appropriate grammar. I suck at grammar and spelling, but if I can use a spell check, so can you!