As I reach the end of my undergraduate career in the Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences program at the University of Washington Bothell, I’d like to reflect on how the five Learnings Goals of the IAS program played a role throughout my academic career. The five goals, equally valued in no particular order, are Collaboration and Shared Leadership, Critical and Creative Thinking, Diversity and Equity, Interdisciplinary Research and Inquiry, and Writing and Communication. To relate these goals to my experiences, I will be defining the terms in the goals, highlight what each goal means in the larger picture and/or to me, then draw connections between each goal with an artifact in my archive to showcase how the work I’ve done as a student exemplifies the skills outlined in each goal.
The first learning goal of the program is Collaboration and Shared Leadership.
Collaboration is defined as the act of working with others in order to create something or reach a shared goal. Shared leadership as defined by Russ Linden in “The Discipline of Collaboration,” is the process of people from different backgrounds coming together to work in a non-hierarchical manner in order to accomplish something that isn’t as effective with just one person or people from one background. Together, these terms would create the process of people with different perspectives emphasizing their strengths and utilizing skills such as communication and organization to create relations in which everyone is equally valued to complete a goal. This goal is significant to me because I know from my life experiences that although I do my best to learn and apply myself, I cannot accomplish everything I want to on my own. Many of my accomplishments in one way or another can be credited to the help and collaboration of others who inspired me with their unique ideas and helped me with their individual skills and experiences. Collaboration and shared leadership were common themes throughout my academic career, as I worked many times alongside others who came from varying backgrounds and possessed unique perspectives. This goal was demonstrated especially in my map creation project in the class BISGST 303 History and Globalization. In my group of five, I worked with group mates who were from the Global Studies, Media and Communication Studies, Law Economics and Public Policy, and Business majors. Although our perspectives on how best to approach the project were different because of our different backgrounds, each voice in the group was heard and valued. Through communication, we learned the strengths, weaknesses, and interests of each member, and this led to a smooth creative process and the outcome of having the best final project that we could have created.
The second goal of the program is Critical and Creative Thinking.
Critical thinking as proposed by educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, “encourages individuals to affect change in their world through social critique and political action in order to self-actualize” (Wikipedia). Creative thinking is to come up with solutions that are innovative and don’t repeat ways of doing and being that have been done previously. Together, critical and creative thinking entails observing one’s world and promoting thoughts and actions that change outcomes for the future. Critical and creative thinking are important because, throughout history, only progressive and innovative thinking and action which stem from critical observation has brought about meaningful changes. Improving society requires looking at why things are the way they are and coming up with new ways to restructure what is not currently working. Especially being in the midst of a global pandemic that feels like a turning point for humanity in some way and is revealing the patterns in our world, it will become more crucial than ever to be able to come up with new ways of being and doing. Critical and Creative Thinking is something that I learned in almost every class that I took in the IAS program. My professors encouraged myself and my classmates to not just accept things as they are, but to really look into why they are the way they are, who is benefiting and suffering, what role we play in the system, and what we can do to change outcomes regardless of how large or small the actions. This skill was demonstrated most effectively in my essay critiquing the film Born into Brothels which was written in BIS 337 Risk and Resilience. The paper critiques a film about a western woman who implemented an intervention program to save children living in poverty in India. In writing this paper, I critically analyzed why the intervention program was ineffective by looking at the issue of focus from multiple levels and identifying whom the program was really benefiting. Then, the paper also discussed what an effective intervention program would have to entail and focus on, which required creativity.
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The third learning goal of the IAS program is Diversity and Equity.
Diversity is a state of inclusivity for people of a variety of backgrounds. Equity, as defined by the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board, is creating and perpetuating a just, humane, and democratic society with diverse cultural groups. Together, these definitions would promote an environment in which people from varying backgrounds are valued and are assisted in creating just opportunities. Diversity and equity can be related to the first two goals which are about collaboration and creativity. Our world consists of people that are vastly different, and this can be a source of division and conflict, yet, our differences are why the world can function well as people work together while embracing differences. Diversity is significant in this respect because, without it, the world would be a dull and unprogressive place. Equity is necessary in alignment with diversity, as it is important to create means of equally valuing different groups of people. As a mixed-race female who is the first in my family to graduate university, the value of diversity and equity and having my perspective be valued are personally significant to me as well. Without these values, I would not have been able to reach this point in my life. These are also values that I try to highlight in my work in the world. As a volunteer after school tutor at an elementary school in a marginalized community, I worked with children coming from different ethnic backgrounds whose families were not privileged. In this position, I tried to value the individual experiences and character of each child and tried to promote a community in which every child was getting the resources necessary in order to be successful.
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The fourth learning goal of the IAS program is Interdisciplinary Research and Inquiry.
Interdisciplinary research is the process of gaining knowledge through the lens of multiple perspectives/fields. Interdisciplinary inquiry as defined by William Newell in “Educating for a Complex World” is the process of problem-solving which may not be adequate to do through the perspective of just one discipline or profession. Together, the definitions entail a process by gaining knowledge and solving problems through many different perspectives. BIS 300 Interdisciplinary Inquiry is a required class at the beginning of every IAS student’s entrance into the program, because of the nature of the program which is inclusive of many fields and studies. Working in alignment with the first goal of collaboration and shared leadership, interdisciplinary research and inquiry facilitate a more in-depth understanding of a topic by looking at it from different perspectives and promotes a more holistic creative process that values the perspective of multiple fields. Being a part of the IAS program, especially as a double major, I experienced first-hand what it means for a program to be interdisciplinary. In each class, there were students from a variety of majors which added depth to the study of the subject, and every class did not necessarily fall into one major, as most classes can be beneficial to people from different disciplines. I believe the learning goal of interdisciplinary research and inquiry was demonstrated especially in my presentation on the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis that was created in BIS 300 with my peers who are in Global Studies, Community Psychology, and Media and Communication Studies majors. In this project, we analyzed the issue of focus from the perspective of all of our majors, all of them being categorized as equally significant and working in alignment with one another. The project highlighted that almost everything in the world can be looked at through different lenses to create a more holistic understanding, as well as that workers from multiple fields are involved in every issue separately and in collaboration with each other, for many different reasons.
Lastly, the fifth and final IAS learning goal is Writing and Communication.
The definition of writing could be the activity of marking words made of symbols meaningful in languages to communicate on visual media such as on paper and online platforms. As defined by Merriam Webster, communication is the process of relaying messages and information through language and symbols. Together, writing and communication entail relaying a message with a purpose through collectively understood symbols and formats. Communication and writing are fundamental to human and societal development, as it is the most accessible and common way of spreading awareness and connectedness. Communication in writing or other forms are crucial in relaying ideas, in scales ranging from confessional love letters to a single person or reporting the news of a nation to the masses. Throughout my own academic journey, communication and writing have been crucial aspects, as it is for most if not all students. Specifically, in the IAS program, I partook in many communicative and writing experiences in order to relay my thoughts and perspective to my audiences within the created contexts. I communicated with my professors and peers, as well as other school faculty or community members. Writing was done in almost every class in order to indicate to the professors of my learning. The artifact which demonstrates my communication and writing skills in the most effective way is my research output document from BIS 315. Most of my writing examples from the IAS program are in the format of essays, but this document uses qualitative and quantitative information including charts and graphs, as well as descriptions and analysis to highlight information about societal questions. I think this artifact exemplifies my writing skills, especially because it highlights that there are many ways of writing and that different forms of writing are necessary in order to convey different messages.