Thinking about Work
The electronic presentation portfolio develops from the first interdisciplinary core course where students are asked to begin thinking about their skill areas within the context of interdisciplinarity to the capstone where they put into practice the notion of functional interdisciplinarity across workplace environments. The process of collection, selection, reflection and collaboration fosters solid connections between workplace skills and knowledge and the practice of an interdisciplinary approach. Interdisciplinarity is no longer an abstract theory. As they immerse themselves in the process of organizing the portfolio, students are identifying and describing skills. Many of these skills cross disciplines, and in the naming and reflecting, students develop a much more applicable sense of interdisciplinarity in the workplace. In defining and articulating their skill areas, they see how their academic and workplace knowledge informs an interdisciplinary approach.
Michelle, in her self-assessment for the capstone course, reflects on the eportfolio process as a vehicle for understanding interdisciplinarity.
The portfolio really shows how linked, or interdisciplinary, my skills and work experiences have been. I never thought about the interdisciplinary nature of my work until I started this portfolio. Every job I have had held I got because of the work I had done before. They all fit together like pieces of a puzzle to create my next career path, a position on the personnel board for the State of Mississippi. Without each of those interdisciplinary pieces I would not have been offered this position.
The IDS core courses have focused on the roles of collaboration and feedback within an interdisciplinary workplace setting. The purpose of the capstone essay on interdisciplinarity is for students to analyze, integrate, and articulate what they have learned about interdisciplinary theory and practice through the lens of work. They ponder the place and benefits of interdisciplinarity in the work environment, possible explanations for a range of audiences, and tools for counteracting myths and misconceptions.
Excerpts from the capstone essays demonstrate the students’ theory making on interdisciplinarity in the workplace.
Bill: Interdisciplinarity may be seen as teamwork. In an article titled, Future Directions in Science Education, Patrick Holmes states: “It is clear that the modern trend toward teamwork has at its roots the need to combine differing skills; in fact, interdisciplinary and teamwork might well be regarded as synonymous” (1997). It may be seen as collaboration. Workers must work together, share assumptions and differences, research various options, think of consequences and costs and present results to management. This is utilizing the very essence of interdisciplinarity. The ability of the worker today to develop an interdisciplinary approach emboldens autonomy that helps to create the ability of genuine empowerment to work in the workplace allowing delegation to successfully occur. This does not occur in training or in a weekend conference. To do this, one must truly become familiar with the methods and concepts utilized by different fields. This occurs throughout one’s lifetime and, for me, has only begun to take place.
Lena: In this work, I am always required to stretch my critical thinking muscles to find new solutions and to present my ideas professionally among varied nationalities. I regularly begin projects by asking certain questions: What is the goal of the project? What conclusions should others draw from the finished product? What information and arguments will support these conclusions? Where will I find that information? Who are the experts I need to consult? I address these issues, while keeping in mind that people from more than a dozen countries will view my work. Collaboration, critical thinking, open-mindedness, and a willingness to stretch beyond limitations characterize this interdisciplinary approach. Interdisciplinary study programs as well as interdisciplinary perspectives in the workplace will undoubtedly provide valuable opportunities and added professional options – at a time when the need for organizations to utilize information, experts, and resources grows ever stronger. More and more, collaboration will be the basis of good business in the future.
Lena: The New Interdisciplinary Professional
Sabbatini and Cardoso (1998) describe a new kind of professional who will be necessary in the coming years. This individual will not have in-depth knowledge of a particular disciplinary domain, but rather will have a “reasonable command” over more than one. Additionally, this new professional will be able to work comfortably and interact simultaneously with more than one single-discipline expert. This individual will hold the big picture – the “vision of what the project is about, and how and when the different disciplines are going to interact (heading: The Interdisciplinary Profession).”The new professional Sabbatini and Cardoso describe can perhaps best be described as a project leader with vast, though not complete, knowledge of more than one discipline – enough knowledge to formulate proposals, integrate members, and coordinate action. Tomorrow’s interdisciplinary team leaders will need knowledge and experience in multiple areas to facilitate the new developments available through interdisciplinarity in the workplace."
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Working (on) Electronic Portfolios
Connecting
Academic Work and
the Workplace