When I first began attending Arizona State I didn’t have an idea of what major I wanted to declare. I attended my first two years as undeclared taking many types of classes to try to figure this out. I then discovered the option of the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program. This seemed like the answers to my problem of not being able to decide what major I was most interested in. Upon applying to this major, I had a very vague idea of what to expect and even of what interdisciplinary even meant. I knew I was intrigued by my Family and Human Development classes and my Communication classes came easy and enjoyable, so I knew I wanted to learn to apply what I learned in both to one single career path. I think that flexibility and creativity are some of the values that belong to this discipline verses single or double major programs.
In the past education has been mostly based upon compartmentalized knowledge. Recently there has been a shift however more towards needing more of an integrative process of teaching and learning. According to the Article "Why Integrative Learning, Why Now?" “…It could be argued that in most arenas outside the academy-from the workplace to scientific discovery to medicine to world and national affairs-multi-layered, unscripted problems routinely require an integrative approach.” (Humphreys 1) The growth of BIS is a powerful tool in this shift. I wish that I had been informed earlier on in my education is this form of thinking an also that this sort of study was available to me as a program for a bachelors degree. I also believe that the values of integrative studies should be introduced at the lowest level of learning. Teaching children these skills early on with help them in adaptability, compromise, and more open-minded problem solving.
Evidence of the growing need for more integrative knowledge is also being seen the professional world as well. Humphryes states that the business community, too, is calling for integrative capacities in employees. With the shape that the economy is in employers are looking to hire people who have fresh, new ideas and new ways of doing business. Employers are looking for problem solving skills that stretch father than the obvious solutions. “"workers are expected to identify, and integrate information from diverse sources" and that they "should understand their own work in context of work of those around them ... [and] understand how parts of systems are connected" (Humphreys 2) Having a better idea of what some of the values and importance that integrative knowledge has to offer made me more confident in my choice of study.
Still I was not clear as to what was going to be expected out of me for this discipline. I wasn’t even sure if understood what the definition of Interdisciplinary Studies was.
Upon studying the fist few chapters of Repko I gained a more accurate idea of what was to come and many more terms that I would need to learn. It was really beneficial to me the way Repko broke down the word interdisciplinary into two parts, integration and discipline. I also was able to understand it better when the process was described as, “creating common ground between conflicting insights into a particular problem from two or more disciplines.” (Repko 7) Going into detail about the differences between multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinarity also made understanding more clear. Assignment number 2 was very helpful in learning how to apply the idea of creating common ground and using ideas both positive and negative from both sides of the issue and creating a new idea to help solve this problem. It was an opportunity to think outside of the typical ideas and see how skills from an opposite discipline might still have a positive influence now how the problem could be solved. This assignment not only helps to look at two opposite disciplines but also made me think of things that my two focuses had in common as well. It helps you to realize just because on problem solving skill belongs to a certain discipline it can also be used in another.
I also really enjoyed assignment 3 applying our concepts and summarizing the news stories, then commenting on the issues from 3 different disciplinary perspectives. This offered and even wider perspective of how different disciplines can have an impact on each other. It also allowed us to apply these concepts to news issues that were occurring at the time making us more educated on some important effects. I also felt the NPR story: “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything" gave a better understanding of how technology and communication changes are effected by interactive growth.
I found it interesting to take a further look at how your cognitive way of thinking is affected by learning integrative skills. Repko explains some types of cognitive abilities necessary for Integration are perspective-taking, (seeing a problem from another’s viewpoint), role-taking (apprehending how others see the world by identifying with them) and balancing conflicting views from different disciplines. This is also evident in the Article "Why Integrative Learning, Why Now?" “… Calls for integrative learning are supported by cognitive research.” (Humphreys 1)
My goals for the rest of my BIS classes is to keep practicing what I am learning and applying new processes to everyday life experiences to keep them fresh in my mind. Staying current on terminology and new process will help when applying to new jobs and showing my possible employer my integrative thinking and problem solving skills. I feel it is very important to keep an open mind when evaluating new problems and Interdisciplinary thinking allows for this to happen. One thing that I need to change in order for this to happen is my habit of critiquing problems as my main solving skill. I need to stay open to other techniques such as metaphors or narratives. I am glad I chose the BIS rout, it shows a promise in growth and the formation of new knowledge and was the best fit for me. I look forward to continuing to learn more.