In December of 2007 I will be an Arizona State
Alumni with a degree in Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies. This program is
appropriate for students who see the benefit in studying more than one major. The
degree is designed in a way that each student would take six classes of choice, some restrictions, from each concentration
area and four core classes.
Having the opportunity to study more than one
subject has a number of benefits. For me personally, this degree was perfect
because I am very interested in our educational system, however I do not want to be a teacher.
I chose to combine education with communication. These two concentrations
play off each other in many ways. Within the education concentration there is
the choice of focusing in diversity in the classroom, educational technology, and educational psychology. I focused my education classes on diversity in the classroom. My
passion is for students with severe and multiple disabilities. The BIS program
allowed me to enroll in the classes that interested me most without forcing me into the teaching program.
The education classes I chose to take consist of the following classes:
Educational Psychology- Studying human interaction in the educational setting.
Culture and Schooling- Theories of teaching including social, cultural, and political influences.
Understanding the Culturally Diverse Child- Studying many aspects of classroom language and cultural differences
among students.
Language Diversity in the Classroom- Language variations between students and differences in how they learn.
Exploration of Education- Viewing individuals and society through the eyes of education.
Education of the Exceptional Child- Studying the schooling of handicapped, gifted, and bilingual students.
Theory of Elementary Math- Understanding numerous ways to teach elementary math.
From the classes listed above I have learned
so many things and valuable lessons. One concept that I will always remember
came from a very special teacher I had in my Understanding the Culturally Diverse Child course. She taught us many different ways to interact with students who did not feel that speaking was the best
way to express themselves. We read child age books that had deeper lessons than
I would have ever imagined. From that class I learned that some children need
alternative ways to talk. For one reason or another, there are children that
draw or paint what they want others to understand, and that should be acceptable.
Another of my classes taught me how to really
interact with students and help them overcome their learning problems. During
Education of the Exceptional Child each of us were assigned to a student enrolled in an after school program to receive help
with their school work. Each student had a different story and we had to figure
out their best way of learning. It was a great experience and showed me that
teachers sometimes need to try alternatives to the standard ways of teaching.
In my Language Diversity in the Classroom we studied the different theories of teaching which
included Interpretation Theory, Conflict Theory, and Functionalist Theory. All
this information was new to me but very interesting. Many of my other communication
classes used these throughout the semesters, making it easy for me to understand.
My second concentration fits in perfectly because
as I am learning about different types of students, I am also learning how to communicate in various ways. My communications classes taught me different approaches to communicating, how to react in different environments
such as publically and privately, and how to work around language barriers. I
also learned how to properly speak to men versus women which is definitely important in the educational field as well as in
the business world.
Listed below are the classes I took to fulfill
my communication area of study:
Intro to communication- The basic theories and ideas behind human communication and general
interactions.
Public speaking- Learning appropriate and correct, verbal and nonverbal interactions between
people.
Small group communication- Skills necessary for group
interactions to be effective. Acknowledging group roles and how our attitudes and non-verbal’s influence communication.
Conflict,
communication, and negotiation- Understanding conflict theories and styles. Studying how to negotiate correctly for positive outcomes.
Gender and communication- Deep understanding of the
gender differences and how they influence and change communication.
Communication
approaches to popular culture- A thorough understanding
of what popular culture is and how it affects our society.
I learned
so many things in my communication classes it is hard to narrow them down. The
Gender and Communication class I took was incredible. I learned so many differences
between the ways men and women interact. One concept that sticks out in my mind
is “self-as-object”, a way of thinking about yourself which influences others to think that way as well. It is a type of identification you give yourself.
Throughout
my Conflict, Negotiation, and Communication course I learned many things about myself.
I realized the way I argued was ineffective and was able to learn how to change that by using skills like overcoming
my fears, asking for what I want, turning criticism into requests, and negotiation tactics.
This class was extremely helpful in my day to day life.
Public
Speaking was once one of my biggest fears. I am glad that it is a requirement
for the communication concentration because I would never have taken it on my own. This
class taught me about non-verbal presentation skills, clarity, and the ways to give a speech correctly. I learned the best ways for me to personally relax before a speech so that I may present myself, and the
information the way I hope to.
I feel very fortunate that I found a program which allows me to integrate the things that interest me
most. It is valuable to study more than a single type of course. Taking classes from two different colleges also gives me a variety of teachers I would not have experienced
if I chose just one of the majors.
