IDS3933 final
One of the critical thinking attitudes needed is the _____________ of your own biases.
self-awareness
The form of interdisciplinary that adopts an attitude of suspicion and calls into question not only research data, but also the researcher, the research design, and the interpretation of findings is called
Critical
______________ is a prerequisite for turning multidisciplinary work into interdisciplinary work.
perspective taking
_______________ regard integration as the key distinguishing characteristic of interdisciplinarity and the goal of fully interdisciplinary work.
Integrationist interdisciplinarians
If a discipline's experts have produced one of more insights into a problem, then the discipline is
relevant
A visual metaphor of the organizational units that constitute a university discussed in Chapter 5 is
a cluster of silos
The product of interdisciplinary studies refers to
a more comprehensive understanding of the problem
A collection of your work, which is gathered in a form that can be shared with an audience is called
a portfolio
Directing your attention inward, causing you to examine the assumptions and premises you have used to construct the logical argument presented in your work is called
a strong sense- critical thinking
To critically analyze scholarly work, we should
all of the above
authorial assumptions can include
all of the above
The story of your academic or intellectual journey told from your point of view is called
an intellectual autobiography
The great value of interdisciplinary studies is that it challenges us to confront difference but to do so in a way that respects different viewpoints. This value, needed especially in collaborative learning and research contexts, is
appreciation of diversity
To interrogate in an interdisciplinary sense means to
ask critical and probing questions of each relevant discipline
Which of the following best describes the interdisciplinary skill of "thinking outside the box?"
ask yourself how conflicting insights into the problem might both be right in some sense
Things that are accepted as true or certain are called
assumptions
The position of your textbook on instrumental and critical interdisciplinary is that
both conceptions share this commonality: they question the disciplines
The _____________ approach to integration defines "problem" broadly to include almost any line of inquiry that requires and interdisciplinary approach.
broad model
Your "cognitive" or "intellectual" ability to think, perceive, analyze, create, and solve problems is called
capacity
For interdisciplinary research, the first step in conducting a literature search is
categorize publications according to their disciplinary source
Careful analysis of a text that begins with attending to individual words, sentence structure, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold is called
close reading
That which is created between conflicting disciplinary insights, assumptions, concepts, or theories and makes integration possible is called
common ground
Disciplinary approaches typically view the problem of homelessness through narrow disciplinary lenses, which reflects their disciplines narrow perspective on reality. For example, political science typically views homelessness as a public policy issue, and psychology views it as primarily a mental health issue. An interdisciplinary approach would view homelessness as a
complex problem caused by multiple factors
Having multiple parts that are connected and interact in sometimes unexpected ways with each other is the definition of
complexity
Abstract ideas generalized from particular instances or symbols expressed in language that represent phenomena are called
concepts
A major strength of the ________________ integrative approach is its rigorous correlation of related knowledge and rich exchange in discipline-specific content.
conceptual
The _____________ integrative strategy is used widely in the sciences and is designed to take scientific and mathematical thinking beyond the facts to the level of the underlying concepts.
conceptual
The innate human ability to create new meaning by blending concepts and creating new ones is called the theory of
conceptual integration
If you wanted to study the subject of fresh water scarcity as a complex whole, Chapter 6 urges you to
consult the relevant disciplines in the social sciences as well as those in the natural sciences.
The circumstance or setting in which the problem, event, statement, or idea exists is called
context
A major strength of the ________________ integrative approach is that humanists enable readers and viewers to make highly creative and far-reaching connections among disciplinary insights.
contextual
The ____________________ approach to integration is used by humanists and those in the fine and performing arts to embed the object of the study in the fabric of time, culture, and personal experience.
contextual
A _____________ often occurs when different disciplinary perspectives and unrelated ideas are brought together.
creative breakthrough
__________________ is the belief that knowledge can be objective, but not certain and absolute as dualism assumes.
critical pluralism
The capacity to analyze, critique, and assess is called
critical thinking
According to Chapter 12 of the textbook, there are three proven strategies for critically analyzing disciplinary insights and locating their sources of conflict. They include all but the following:
decomposing the problem
The academic content of disciplines includes certain "thinking tools" that it uses to study "a set of objects or subjects." These thinking tools are called
defining elements
The purpose of interdisciplinary studies is to
develop your capacity to integrate and apply knowledge
Underlying the assumption of disciplinary inadequacy is the judgment that
disciplinary approaches are partial and biased
Disciplinary authors typically write from the perspective of their discipline, which could lead to
disciplinary assumptions
Favoring one discipline's understanding of the problem at the expense of competing understandings of the same problem offered by other disciplines is called
disciplinary bias
Divisions or colleges or schools or "faculties" including the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, the fine and performing arts, the applied fields, and the professions are
disciplinary categories
The view that the disciplines by themselves are simply not equipped to address complex problems comprehensively is called
disciplinary insdequacy
The development of __________ allowed geographically isolated specialists to keep abreast of the latest research and also give them a forum for presenting their own research.
disciplinary journals
There is a close connection between an author's ______________ and the kind of supportive evidence the discipline considers reliable.
disciplinary perspective
A discipline's unique view of reality that is like a lens through which it views the world is called
disciplinary prespective
A branch of learning or body of knowledge such as physics, psychology, or history is called
discipline
Developing a data management system will help
easy retrieval of critical information from the insights being analyzed
In the context of interdisciplinary writing and research, to "critically analyze" means to be critical of ______________ and to locate sources of conflict between insights.
expert evidence
Decomposing a problem is almost always aided by
externalizing the problem
Creating a table in Word or Excel is the only acceptable way to organize your information.
false
The relevance of a discipline can be judged by the quantity of research available.
false
In the context of interdisciplinary studies, this intellectual capacity is a positive attitude that recognizes the limits of one's training and expertise and seeks to overcome these limits by drawing on expertise from multiple disciplines.
humility
Step 5 of the Broad Model:
identifies the key elements of insights and locates their sources of conflict
to gain a more comprehensive perspective on any complex problem, you must be able to
identify which disciplines are potentially relevant to the problem
As the modern university took shape, disciplinarity was reinforced in two major ways: disciplines recruited students to their ranks to produce a new generation of teachers and researchers, and
industries demanded and received specialists from universities
Scholarly contributions to the clear understanding of a complex problem, object, or text are called
insights
The problem-centered approach is also known as the _________________ approach.
instrumental
Interdisciplinary studies fosters this intellectual capacity which is at the heart of the interdisciplinary process and involves critically evaluating disciplinary insights and locating their sources of conflict, creating common ground among them and constructing a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. This capacity is
integration
__________________ is the product of the various contributing interdisciplinary insights into the problem. The resultant interdisciplinary whole stands as more than the sum of its disciplinary parts.
integration
One of the critical thinking attitudes needed is the _____________ to challenge your own beliefs and worldviews and to disagree with your friends and family.
intellectual courage
The putting of elements together - integrating them - to produce something that is new, coherent, and whole is called
interdisciplinary creation
The cognitive process of critically evaluating disciplinary insights and creating common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding is called
interdisciplinary integration
______________ is no linear, but rather involves reflecting on and possibly revising earlier decisions as new information comes to light.
interdisciplinary process
A cognitive process by which individuals or groups draw on disciplinary perspectives and integrate their insights and modes of thinking to advance their understanding of a complex problem with the goal of applying it to a real-world problem is the definition of
interdisciplinary studies
Diane Halpern states, "Better thinking is not a necessary outcome of traditional discipline-based instruction. However, when thinking skills are explicitly taught for transfer, using multiple examples from several disciplines, students can learn to improve how they think in ways that transfer across academic domains." The point she is making is that
interdisciplinary studies shifts one's focus from a narrow disciplinary context to a broader interdisciplinary context.
The core of the integrationist position is that integration
is generally achievable
The significance of Bloom's revised taxonomy of levels of intellectual behavior for interdisciplinary studies is that
it elevates the cognitive abilities of creating and integrating to the highest level of knowledge
The textbook's position on interdisciplinarity, particularly in its instrumental form is that:
it is not a rejection of the disciplines but is firmly rooted in them and offers a corrective to their dominance.
One key to making the transition from being a passive recipient to and active participant is to ask of any scholarly work: Are the conclusions reached ____________ by the supporting arguments and evidence?"
justified
Part of being critical of expert evidence, especially if you agree with the author, is to analyze carefully the _____________ the author privileges, and know ________________.
kind of evidence; how the author uses the evidence
"Minimum Depth" refers to
knowing the perspective of each discipline relevant to the problem
A discipline's "thinking tools" or "defining elements" constitute it
knowledge domain
The more time you spend in college, the greater your awareness of the _____________ of expertise.
limitations
Thinking critically about disciplinary insights is aided considerably by deconstructing a complex problem to reveal its disciplinary parts. This is called
mapping connections
The awareness of your own learning and thinking processes, often described as "thinking about your thinking" is called
metacognition
Particular procedures or processes or techniques used by a discipline's practitioners to conduct, organize, and present research are called
methods
As an interdisciplinary studies student, you need a basic understanding of theory because
more than ever before, theory dominates scholarly dicourse
The approach that typically views the complex problem through the lenses of a few selected disciplines, in a serial fashion, much as the men did in the fable of the elephant and blind men is called
multidisciplanry
Experiencing several plausible yet contradictory explanations of the same phenomenon is called
multiplicity
Bloom's taxonomy notes that students often begin their college careers as ___________________, but (hopefully) complete them as ________________ of knowledge.
passive recipients, critical analysts
A process in which researchers scrutinize and critique each other's work in search of possible shortcomings or alternative explanations is called
peer review
Allowing your own point of view (e.g., your politics, faith tradition, cultural identity) to influence how you understand or approach the problem is called
personal bias
A discipline's unique view of that part of reality that it is typically most interested in is called
perspective
The intellectual capacity to view a complex problem, phenomenon, or behavior from multiple perspectives, including disciplinary ones, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of it is called
perspective taking
The intellectual capacity to view a problem or subject or artifact from alternative viewpoints, including disciplinary ones, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of it is called
perspective thinking
Viewing a problem as a whole and making connections help us end up with a list of disciplines that are
potentially relevant
A major strength of the ______________ integrative approach is its emphasis on the development of a solid understanding of the relevant disciplines with an activist view of how to put the disciplines at the service of the problem and other human concerns.
problem centered
The _______________ approach to integration uses issues of public debate, product development, or an intervention such as one designed to improve health and well-being as focal points for making connections between disciplines and integrating their insights.
problem centered
A key element of interdisciplinary research is
reflection
The following is an example of _____________________: "How has this process enlarged my understanding of the problem or project as a whole?"
reflection
Part of the attraction of interdisciplinarity, according to Chapter 6, is its embrace of epistemological pluralism, which
rejects notions of absolute truth and embraces the ambiguity that arises out of conflict and difference
Self-conscious, careful thinking about your behavior and beliefs, why you made certain choices at various points, and how these choices have affected the outcome is called
self-reflection
Concerning interdisciplinary learning and disciplinary specialization, your textbook takes the position that interdisciplinary learning
should strive to balance disciplinary specialization with interdisciplinary intergration
__________________ means reading a publication cursorily, not with the intent to fully comprehend the author's argument and findings.
skimming
____________ kind of thinking makes it less likely that you will be able to answer the larger, more important, practical questions of life.
specialized
Perspective taking exposes the
strengths and limitations of disciplines
Branches or specialties within disciplines are
subdisciplines
The grouping of things according to their common characteristics is called
taxonomy
"No one can predict the issues that science and society will consider most pressing in the decades to come. But if we look at some high priority issues and pressing research questions of today, we can predict that future issues will be so complex as to require the insights from multiple disciplines" (National Academies, 2005, p. 26) The point that the National Academies is making is that
the complex reality makes an interdisciplinary approach necessary
The underlying premise of interdisciplinary studies is that
the disciplines are themselves the necessary foundation of the interdisciplinary enterprise
Understanding the past is relevant to interdisciplinary studies because
the present dominance of the disciplines is rooted in the past
The engine of knowledge production that far outstripped any other method of learning devised by any previous civilization consisted of
the university and the disciplines
A generalized scholarly explanation about some aspect of the natural or human world, how it works, and how specific facts are related is called
theory
A generalized scholarly explanation about some aspect of the natural or human world, how it works, and why specific facts are related, that is supported by research and data is called
theory
Driving the growing interdependence of industry and education in the twentieth century was an economic system that increasingly depended on the availability of specialists and professionals. Under this system, the disciplines and the universities served two vital functions: They trained persons for careers in government and business, and
they fave these new professions legitimacy and status by providing them with academic credentials
"Decomposing" a problem means
to break down a problem into its component
Externalizing a problem means getting the problem down to some simplified form to show its main variables, parameters, or elements and how these relate to each other.
true
Interdisciplinarians interrogate disciplinary perspectives by asking three questions: 1. What is the discipline's perspective on the particular subject? 2. How does each perspective illumine our understanding of the subject as a whole? 3. What are the strengths and limitations of each perspective?
true
The term "skewed" refers to the degree to which an insight reflects the biases inherent in the discipline's perspective and thus the way an author understands the problem resulting from the author's deliberate decision or unconscious predisposition to omit certain information that pertains to the problem.
true
There are differences between disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to critical reading and thinking
true
Whether integration is "partial" or "full" is not as important as whether or not integration actually occurred.
true
When highly educated individuals are unaware of the social, ethical, economic, and biological dimensions of a policy or action and are unable to calculate its possible impacts, this is called
tunnel vision
The term "epistemic position" refers to your
understanding of the nature of knowledge and how you determine truth
Foundational to learning is
understanding why things are the way they are
The statement that each disciplinary perspective is only partial means that
we may miss the big picture of the issue
One of the first questions interdisciplinarians ask as they begin studying a complex problem is:
which disciplines are relevant to the problem
