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IDS 3150 - Portfolio Guidelines

Fall 2005

I. General Concept of the Portfolio
IDS 3150 provides students with an introduction to the concept of portfolio creation and development. Students will become familiar with the IDS portfolio requirements and procedures, and will complete several requirements for the portfolio in this class. Students in the class will also sponsor a Portfolio Day for all other IDS students, who are required to submit portions of their portfolios for evaluation each semester.

II. Portfolio Requirements

• Signature sheet
• Table of Contents
• Resume

1. Define interdisciplinarity and explain your answer, illustrating with examples from your own concentration as well as other authors writing on the topic; or discuss why and in what ways you are interdisciplinary, similarly with reference to published authors analyzing interdisciplinarity (medium/a optional). While your own experience will be central to this assignment, external sources must be cited.
   
2. Provide
   • (a).  An annotated list of 10-20 "matrices of meaning" (e.g., books, articles, films, museum collections) central to understanding your concentration. Proper bibliographic format must be used. Your annotation should indicate both what the item is, what it is about, and why it is important to your concentration. This list should be such that faculty in your concentration would agree that these are central or very important to the field.
   •  
   • (b)  your reviews or responses to at least three of the items on this list (more would be better if the quality remains high)
     
3. • (a) Describe as many methods of doing interdisciplinary work as you can (at least five), explaining why these methods foster interdisciplinarity
   •  
   • (b) Demonstrate that you know how to use three or more.
      
4. • (a) Describe as many transdisciplinarities as you can (at least five)
   •  
   • (b) Demonstrate that you know how to use three or more.
     
5. Explain your concentration as an interdisciplinary and polymethodic enterprise (check with your advisor if you wish to use a medium other than writing).
   
6. Demonstrate skills in the following areas, with a brief explanatory paragraph (in general, samples of coursework will satisfy this requirement, but it is possible for non-class material to do so):
   • a. integration
   • b. research
   • c. speaking
   • d. problem-solving
   • e. collaboration
   • f. ability to create a computer generated presentation that takes advantage of non-text capacities of computers

   • g. use of at least one medium not dependent on writing (dance, music, clay, print-making, video, paint, performance art, etc.). Check with your advisor if you are not sure whether a medium will qualify.
     
7. Include your proposal for and evidence of accomplishing a senior project (medium/a optional, but must incorporate a significant written component).
   
8. Anything else you wish to include to demonstrate your experience or understanding of interdisciplinarity or your concentration.

NB: Whatever the medium, all sources must be acknowledged; plagiarism or academic dishonesty of any kind could result in dismissal from the program or from the University.

III. Portfolio Presentation and Evaluation Methods:

At the end of each semester, students will present their portfolios to IDS faculty during Portfolio Day (sponsored by current IDS 3150 students). At that time, the portfolio will be left with the student's advisor, who is responsible for monitoring her or his progress. The advisor, in consultation with other faculty, will sign the Portfolio Signature Sheet when the student has satisfied components of the portfolio requirements. The Signature Sheet must be presented with the portfolio for advisor and Portfolio Day review (copies of the Signature Sheet will be kept in the student's advising folder). The advisor will return and discuss the portfolio with students during the required major's meeting each semester, when presentations on portfolio topics may also be made. If improvement is needed on the most recent portfolio submission, faculty will advise the student in writing. The final portfolio, minus the final project and presentation, will be turned in to the student's Senior Seminar instructor six weeks before the end of the student's last semester, and will be reviewed by the student's advisor. Satisfactory completion of the portfolio (as indicated by faculty on the signature page) is required for graduation of all IDS majors. The portfolio will be the result of in-class and out-of-class efforts by the student, who is responsible for all elements of the portfolio.

Portfolio Signature Sheet