Question 1

Problem centering
A) involves embedding the object of study in the fabric of time, culture, and personal experience.
B) uses issues of public debate, product development, or policy intervention as focal points for making connections between disciplines and integrating their insights
C) involves making meaning from different concepts that, on the surface, have no apparent connection or commonality.

Accepted Answer

Problem centering uses real-world issues as focal points to connect and integrate insights from various disciplines.

Question 2

What is interdisciplinary integration?
A) The cognitive process of critically evaluating disciplinary insights.
B) The creation of common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding.
C) Both "a" and "b" are correct.

Accepted Answer

Interdisciplinary integration involves both the cognitive process of critically evaluating disciplinary insights (a) and the creation of common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding (b). Therefore, both choices (a) and (b) are correct.

Question 3

Read the following: An assumption is something taken for granted, a supposition. These assumptions are accepted as the truths upon which the discipline is based. Stated another way, a discipline's defining elements-its theories, concepts, and methods-are simply the practical manifestations of its assumptions. Grasping the underlying assumptions of a discipline as a whole provides important clues to the assumptions underlying the writings of its experts on a particular problem […] . (Repko, 2008, p. 89).
We might deduce from this that
A) Assumptions shape the discipline's theories, concepts, and methods.
B) Assumptions might prove helpful in creating common ground because disciplines may share the same assumptions.
C) None of the statements above is correct.
D) Both of the statements "a" and "b" are correct.

Accepted Answer

The passage explains that assumptions shape a discipline's theories, concepts, and methods, and that understanding the underlying assumptions of a discipline can help in finding common ground between different disciplines that share the same assumptions. Therefore, both statements (a) and (b) are correct.

Question 4

When a new product is sought, a new policy intervention, a new medical treatment or a new response to an environmental concern, a good approach would be:
A) Problem Centering
B) Contextualization
C) Integration

Accepted Answer

When seeking a new product, policy intervention, medical treatment or response to an environmental concern, the first step should be to clearly identify and define the problem at hand. Problem centering involves starting with the problem and then working towards finding potential solutions. This approach ensures that the solution is aligned with the problem and is more likely to address the root cause of the issue. Contextualization and integration are also important, but they should come after the problem has been clearly defined.

Question 5

The concept "efficiency" has quite different meanings for economists (money out/money in), biologists (energy out/energy in), and political scientists
(influence exerted/political capital expended) (Newell, 2001, p. 19).
From this statement, we should deduce
A) That as interdisciplinarians we must often bring out common meanings, making them applicable to different texts and contexts.
B) It is impossible to integrate insights from economics, biology, and political science because the vocabulary cannot be integrated.
C) Economists, Biologists, and Political Scientists cannot define words accurately.

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests that efficiency can mean different things in different disciplines, but as interdisciplinarians, we should be able to find common meanings and make them applicable to different contexts. This highlights the importance of integrating insights from multiple disciplines to gain a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues.

Question 6

Contextualization involves
A) embedding the object of study in the fabric of time, culture, and personal experience.
B) making meaning from different concepts that, on the surface, have no apparent connection or commonality.
C) uses issues of public debate, product development, or policy intervention as focal points for making connections between disciplines and integrating their insights.

Accepted Answer

Contextualization involves embedding the object of study in the fabric of time, culture, and personal experience, which means it is an approach to understanding that takes into account the historical, cultural, and personal context for a particular issue, event, or phenomenon. This helps to provide a more complete and nuanced understanding of the subject, and allows for better analysis and interpretation of the available evidence.

Question 7

What are the four commonly used approaches to achieve integration?
A) Contextualization, Illustration, Problem Centering, and The Broad Model.
B) Contextualization, Conceptualization, Problem Centering, and The Broad Model.
C) Contextualization, Conceptualization, Problem Solving, and Diversification.

Accepted Answer

Contextualization involves relating new information to existing knowledge and experiences of the learner, while Conceptualization involves making connections between different pieces of information. Problem Centering involves using real-world problems or scenarios to connect different topics and improve understanding, and The Broad Model involves teachers connecting different subjects or areas of knowledge to create a more comprehensive understanding for learners. Diversification is not a commonly used approach to achieve integration.

Question 8

One way that humanist and fine and performing arts interdisciplinarians approach integration is to
A) pose philosophical or broad metaphysical questions
B) use quantitative analysis.
C) humanities and fine and performing arts interdisciplinarians do not use integration in their work.

Accepted Answer

Humanist and fine and performing arts interdisciplinarians often approach integration by posing philosophical or broad metaphysical questions that require input and perspectives from both the humanities and the arts. This can lead to a deeper understanding and exploration of complex issues and challenges.

Question 9

What does it meant to have a "more comprehensive understanding"?
A) By leveraging close reading and developing skills from the humanities, you will not need to incorporate insights from the natural or social sciences.
B) By leveraging the insights from multiple disciplinary perspectives, you will gain a more complete understanding of the complex problem that would have been gleaned from studying the problem from one disciplinary perspective.
C) This might be understood by considering the term "gestalt" - where the whole (understanding) exceeds the sum of its component parts (disciplinary insights).
D) Both "a" and "c" are correct.
E) Both "b" and "c" are correct.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does it meant to have a...

Question 10

A limitation of the contextualization approach is that
A) it limits the depth of disciplinary connections to disciplines and their insights that are epistemologically close.
B) it obscures the process by which integration occurs
C) it focuses on the sciences.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A limitation of the contextualization approach is...

Question 11

Interdisciplinary integration is
A) An aspect of multidisciplinarity
B) The culmination of all interdisciplinary research
C) The cognitive process of analyzing common ground
D) The cognitive process of critically evaluating disciplinary insights and creating common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding

Accepted Answer

Interdisciplinary integration involves critically evaluating disciplinary insights and creating common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding. It goes beyond simply identifying commonalities and overlaps between different fields and seeks to actively integrate and synthesize knowledge from multiple disciplines.

Question 12

The Broad Model
A) subsumes the approaches of contextualization, conceptualization, and problem centering.
B) subsumes the approaches of conceptualization and contextualization but not problem centering.
C) is superior to the approaches of conceptualization and contextualization but not problem centering.

Accepted Answer

The Broad Model includes all three approaches of contextualization, conceptualization, and problem centering. It is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning that takes into account the context, the concepts being taught, and real-world problems that need to be solved. Therefore, option A is the best choice.

Question 13

Van der Lecq (2012) was able to achieve an integrated understanding of the evolution of human language capability by reconciling different usages of the word "evolution" by different authors. In some cases it may be necessary to identify different meanings of a term (Bergmann et al., 2012). This is an example of
A) The redefinition strategy for integration.
B) The organization strategy for integration.
C) The extension strategy for integration.

Accepted Answer

The strategy being used in this example is the organization strategy for integration, which involves grouping different concepts or ideas into larger categories based on their similarities or differences. In this case, van der Lecq is organizing different usages of the term "evolution" by different authors into a cohesive understanding of the evolution of human language capability.

Question 14

The problem centering approach to integration would be highly appropriate for
A) human cloning, stem cell research, and organ transplantation
B) analyzing a work of art
C) both "a" and "b" are correct.

Accepted Answer

The problem centering approach to integration focuses on identifying and addressing specific issues or problems within various fields, such as science and medicine. Human cloning, stem cell research, and organ transplantation are all controversial areas of research that present ethical and societal challenges that require a problem-centered approach to integration. Analyzing a work of art does not necessarily require a problem-centered approach to integration.

Question 15

Read the following: [Scientists in the twenty-first century] do not lack technical expertise; they lack wisdom. We live in a world where biology enables our ability to manipulate the human genome . . . [which] is far ahead of our legal or philosophical ability to regulate how to use this knowledge in fruitful ways. . . . How do we help scientists think in an ethical context? How do we help scientists decide whether or not certain questions should be pursued? (Nikitina, 2006, p. 260)
Nikitina is advocating:
A) That scientists should not be able to manipulate the human genome.
B) That scientists should integrate other disciplines from the humanities into their own disciplinary expertise to help incorporate ethics (philosophical insights) into their practices.
C) That scientists should have good lawyers.

Accepted Answer

Nikitina is advocating for scientists to integrate other disciplines from the humanities (such as philosophy and ethics) into their own expertise. This will allow scientists to think about the ethical implications of their research and make informed decisions about whether certain questions should be pursued.

Question 16

There are 4 key strategies for integration or creating common ground. Name 3 of them.

Accepted Answer

The answer of There are 4 key strategies for integration...

Question 17

Answering the question "Why did the American Civil War break out in 1861?" involves integrating insights from science and technology (to explain the significance of the invention of the cotton gin), economics (to explain the slave-owning South's dependence on cotton production and the plantation system), religion (to explain the splits within the major Christian denominations over the issue of slavery that provided theological underpinnings for abolitionist and pro-slavery stances), literature (to explain the profound impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin on the North), psychology (to explain the emotional impacts of increasing incidents of violence such as John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry), and politics (to explain the rise of the Republican Party and the election of Abraham Lincoln). This is an example of
A) History as integrative context.
B) Conceptualization.
C) Problem Centering.

Accepted Answer

History as integrative context involves synthesizing multiple perspectives and disciplines to understand a particular historical event or period. In this case, the reasons for the American Civil War are too complex and multifaceted to be explained by any single discipline, requiring an integrative approach.

Question 18

There are 4 core premises underlying the term "more comprehensive understanding". Name 3 of them..

Accepted Answer

The answer of There are 4 core premises underlying the...

Question 19

The problem facing the researchers was how to help farmers in the highly eroded and steep hill country of Victoria, Australia, change their
Farming practices in the face of deteriorating climate conditions would best benefit from a
A) Problem centering approach to integration
B) Conceptualizing approach to integration
C) Contextualizing approach to integraion

Accepted Answer

Problem centering approach to integration focuses on the specific problems faced by farmers in the highly eroded and steep hill country of Victoria, Australia, and seeks to develop solutions that address those problems.

Question 20

There are several limitations to the problem centering approach, name 3 of them:

Accepted Answer

The answer of There are several limitations to the problem...

Quiz 9: Thinking Critically About Integration and Its Results

Problem centering

What is interdisciplinary integration?

When a new product is sought, a new policy intervention, a new medical treatment or a new response to an environmental concern, a good approach would be:

The concept "efficiency" has quite different meanings for economists (money out/money in) , biologists (energy out/energy in) , and political scientists (influence exerted/political capital expended) (Newell, 2001, p. 19) . From this statement, we should deduce

Contextualization involves

What are the four commonly used approaches to achieve integration?

One way that humanist and fine and performing arts interdisciplinarians approach integration is to

What does it meant to have a "more comprehensive understanding"?

A limitation of the contextualization approach is that

Interdisciplinary integration is

The Broad Model

The problem centering approach to integration would be highly appropriate for

There are 4 key strategies for integration or creating common ground. Name 3 of them.

There are 4 core premises underlying the term "more comprehensive understanding". Name 3 of them..

The problem facing the researchers was how to help farmers in the highly eroded and steep hill country of Victoria, Australia, change their Farming practices in the face of deteriorating climate conditions would best benefit from a

There are several limitations to the problem centering approach, name 3 of them: