Topic 8:The Final Step: Reflection and Personal Philosophy

The Final Step: Reflection and Personal Philosophy

Wow, we are finally at the end of our mentoring blog. I hope that we all were able to learn from one another. This week we will be talking about Reflection. Do we understand what reflection is? Let’s all begin by stating what reflection means to us.

Reflection means so much to me as a student who begin the college journey back in 1992 and after trials and tribulations, I have finally reached my goal of a Bachelor degree and moving on towards my Master degree. As I reflect back to those days, I am to use those reflections to understand who I am and what my future holds.

I found this link to a fun a quiz which will give a psychological reflection of life. I hope you all have fun taking this quiz. Tell us what you have learned from this quiz.

http://www.personalityquiz.net/relational/reflectionlife.htm

We use reflection while developing e-Portfolio. Reflective writing can very hard for many students. Reflective writing offers way more room for personal insight and freedom of expression than the typical descriptive format we are all used to. Reflective tone allows writers to express themselves, the situation, their surroundings, or all of the above from a personal standpoint.

Here is a great short video with some pointers on reflective writing you can check out if you’re still not one hundred percent comfortable with the reflective writing style.

Share your understanding of reflection.

Tell us what you have learned from the quiz above.

Share how you're planning to use reflection in developing your e-Portfolio content pages.

Share some obstacles students may have when writing reflectively.

MAKE SURE TO RESPOND TO 3 OTHER POSTS!!!

Thank You!!

On behalf of the mentoring team, I would like to thank the cornerstone students for their hard work this semester. You have a fantastic journey ahead of you, and we wish you all the best in your academic career. We hope we taught you a little bit about what it means to be an IDS Major. Be proud of your field, and strive to be the best you can be.

Topic #7

Happy Monday!! My name is Sean Wells. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about creating your resume.

During this semester, we, your mentoring team, have talked about what interdisciplinary studies are, critical thinking, integration, interdisciplinary research, and problem solving. Now that you have a basic understanding of what it means to be an IDS Major, you need to learn how to make yourself as marketable as possible to potential employers. 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.

Rewind about 10 to 15 years. When you wanted a job, you would research potential openings, call the company to find out whom to send a resume to, and then hope for a call. If you got one, you knew you were one of the select few. 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. The reality is, however, that your resume is usually one of thousands.

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. Mentioning that you volunteered as a lifeguard last summer is perfect if you are applying for the Beach Patrol, or even a paramedic type position. But it won’t do much if you are applying for an insurance or banking position.

With the advances in word processing, and resume templates, there is no excuse for a resume containing typographical errors and poor formatting. This is one of the most important documents you will ever create. You are selling yourself to potential employers. Every computer program available has some type of spelling and grammar checker built in. Take advantage of them. Use every resource available, including us. UCF even has resources that can help you. 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

Now comes the fun part. Think about how these questions parallel your own questions and concerns about your resume. Choose any or all to answer.

· 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.

Your resume is your own personal advertisement. When someone is reading it, you have a perfect opportunity to introduce yourself, and show that you are the most qualified applicant for the position. Share your thoughts and opinions on what makes a great resume. Good luck!!

Sean Wells

Topic 6 -Interview Skills

This week we will be talking about interviewing. Hello everyone, my name is Tamaria Tate and so grateful to be graduating this semester! I am a non-traditional student finally back in school after over 10 years of raising a family. Many of my friends from my early college days are all working in their wonderful careers and I can finally say I will have my bachelor’s degree and working towards my masters degree. My two areas of study are Education and Behavioral and Social Sciences. My minor is in Entrepreneurship. I have worked over 10 years in the hospitality industry and realized that there was more for me out there. The purpose of getting our degrees is to then begin to enter into the careers world. To enter into the career world we have to get past those dreadful interviews. Interviewing was so terrifying for me when I was younger but now I love talking to people.

Also check out the UCF Career Services Interviewing Skills Website

(http://www.career.ucf.edu/categories/Students/Undergraduate_Students/50_30.aspx ) to read the prompts and take the “Perfect Interview” short mock practice interview to assess your current skill level.

Consider the factors that make an interview stressful…

o Interview setting (in person one-on-one, in person with panel, phone interview)

o Uncommon interview questions

o Discussing one’s personal interests (salary, benefits, vacation time).

They’re many benefits gained from each interview through experience, no matter the

outcome. Think about the results of your Perfect Interview assessment and comment on the following various prompts

o Prompts:

 What surprised you most about the results?

 Where do you think you need the most improvement? Do your thoughts coincide with the interview assessment?

 Is there one particular area you feel you have always struggled with?

Make sure to respond to AT LEAST 3 other posts!!!

Topic 5 - Professional Opportunities and Job Skills

Hello everyone, my name is Vanessa Perez and I am very excited to be graduating this semester! My minor is Communication Sciences and Disorders, and my two areas of study are Education and Behavioral and Social Sciences. I am also a member of the women’s softball team here at UCF and we are currently in the middle of our season. I am also a member of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association and am continuously involved in many community outreach programs year round. I encourage all of you to join clubs and get involved on campus and in the community. Besides the fact of it looking great on your resume it is what a lot of jobs and graduate schools look for, which leads us into our next topic.

This week we will be discussing professional opportunities and job skills. It is important to make yourself the best candidate possible and leave a lasting impression on future employers.

Activities:

1. Identify one company you would like to work for and explain why in 2-3 sentences.

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

Here are two websites with numerous organizations that might help you out:

https://www.uwcf.org/comm/Article.jsp?ArticleID=196

http://volunteerorlando.org/org/opp/dir-A-1.html

3. Go to this website, http://myinterviewsimulator.com/My%20Interview%20Simulator-Online%20Edition/player.html It is an interview simulator that gives questions and tips on answering interview questions. Before doing the activity, browse around by clicking “Basic Interview Questions” and “Behavioral Interview Questions.” After looking around the website go back to the main menu and click “Simulations.” Click “Set 1” and post 5 of your questions answers on the blog. Then, discuss whether or not this website was helpful for you.

Make sure to respond to AT LEAST 3 other posts!!!

Topic 4 - Interdisciplinarity in the Real World

Interdisciplinarity in the Real World

Hello folks! I’m Hope Diehl, a senior here at UCF in the IDS program. I, like many of you, wanted a degree that suited my needs, not the other way around. My subject areas are American Sign Language (Health) and Sociology (Behavioral and Social Sciences) with a minor in Writing/English. Through the IDS program, I have created a Deaf Studies curriculum that has enabled me to study the disability, deafness from a cultural perspective, and the language nuances of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. 

Watch this brief click to get an idea of what a sign language interpreter does: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWzZcebdJjQ&feature=related  I wish I could find one in the education setting but all I kept finding were sarcastic, funny little bits to alleviate some of the misunderstanding of roles interpreters are often faced with so this will have to do. 

As a Sign Language interpreter for D/HH children, I’m always using interdisciplinary thinking to solve problems and make connections. For example, if a teacher is making an analogy that involves the child waking up due to their parent’s alarm clock going off I have to automatically consider the child’s frame of reference (most deaf kids have never woken up to any sound since you don’t wear hearing aids to sleep) and instead use bright light from another room or hallway as the awakening factor in my interpretation. How do you use interdisciplinarity in daily situations? 

One way to discuss what interdisciplinarity is, is to point out what it is not. What is not interdisciplinarity?

As I mentioned above, much of my job entails interdisciplinary thinking. Who do you know that has an interdisciplinary profession?

Not everyone integrates their disciplines the way the program is built to support. Say whether you are integrating your disciplines or not, and explain how if so.

Lastly, list any opportunities (personal, professional, or academics) that can increase our interdisciplinarity. And don’t forget to respond the other’s posts to get full credit!

~Hope

Topic 3- Critical Thinking

Hello Cornerstone students. My name is Jodi Farbish and this week’s topic will be about your critical thinking skills. For me, I define critical thinking as analyzing and applying information that was gathered by previous experience. It’s another way to apply knowledge to something unfamiliar.

Critical thinking could be considered in dealing with everyday occurrences in life, whether it’s solving a problem or deciding what action to take. Interdisciplinary studies can be used to integrate multiple perspectives when analyzing, evaluating, or interpreting a situation. Both critical thinking and being interdisciplinary can go hand in hand; it helps you think beyond your normal everyday understandings, and to look beyond your common sense knowledge.

First, please visit the Virtual Philosopher website:

http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/ethicsTechnology/video/VP/ethics_vp4/vp4.html When you complete the activity, please remember to post your responses and answer the questions as followed:

1. Were your responses consistent or inconsistent?

2. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?

3. How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?

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

5. Reply to at least one person’s response and give your insight about the virtual philosopher.

Don’t forget to respond to your classmates!

Topic 2- Integrating Areas

Hi Cornerstone Students!! It was great getting to know you last week and we are looking forward to working with you this semester!

My name is Sara Farinelli. My focuses are Education and Physical Sciences with a minor in Health Services Administration. My future plans are to become a science or health teacher at the secondary level. I chose this major because there isn’t a science and health education major, just one or the other. I felt like this was a great way to get the education that I wanted for the types of classes I want to teach. Integrating each of my areas is very important for what I want to do. I can pull knowledge from all three areas. I think this is what this major is all about. It took me a very long time to figure this out. I have had many major changes throughout my college career.

This week we are talking about integration and how it ties into our major. Integration is defined, by Webster, as a way to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole.

Please answer the following questions in detail.

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

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

· How can your areas/minor be better integrated?

Read this article,

http://www.hhmi.org/news/nexus20110608.html

This article shows how four universities are working together to create a new interdisciplinary science program. Tell us what you think about this article and how integration takes place here, in a few sentences. Then find your own news story and explain its importance of interdisciplinarity or what an interdisciplinary solution might be for the problem raised in the story. Post the link so others can view.

Don’t forget to comment on one of the other students posting! Good luck!

Meet and Greet Topic 1

Welcome IDS Students to the Cornerstone/Capstone Mentoring blog! We are very excited about this opportunity to get to know all of you and to be able to help you through your first semester of the Interdisciplinary course of study. My fellow group members and I will be posting a designated ‘blog topic’ each week for you to comment on and for us to respond to. We ask that in order to reply to us you COMMENT on our links instead of posting new blog topics, so that we can stay organized and respond to you as needed. We will be available to answer any questions you have throughout this course, so please don’t hesitate to ask us... & now let’s get started!

To begin I’ll tell you a little about myself- each week a new group member will be posting on the blog, and they will introduce themselves as well.

My name is and I am a senior (graduating in May, yay!) here at UCF. When I first began taking classes, I was very unsure of what path I wanted to take career wise. A friend of mine introduced me to the Interdisciplinary program and right away I knew it was the correct choice for me. My areas of study are Commerce and Education, with a minor in Mass Communications. I am looking forward to hopefully working in the Marketing field when I graduate; and eventually owning my own firm. I try to stay active and I am currently a member of UCF flag football and soccer intramural teams; I am definitely going to miss all of the extracurricular activities available here at our school when I graduate.

So to begin, tell us about you! Remember to comment to respond to this post; we look forward to hearing from you all.

What is your name and what do you like to do for fun?

What made you choose an IDS major, and how to do you explain it to others?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of an Interdisciplinary education?

Activity- After answering the above questions, tell us your areas of study and minor as well as what your dream job might be. Explain how you plan on integrating your education to work at this job, and then find us an example of this dream job online (using craigslist, monster.com etc.). Post your reply in a comment, and then reply to one other Cornerstone student. Thanks guys, have a great week!