Mentorship Blog Project: The Topics and Schedule

The schedule for the Mentorship Blog Project topics is listed below along with the deadlines for each initial post and ensuing dialogue. After reading this post, if you have any questions just post them in the comments section and I'll answer them here or discuss at the next class meeting as appropriate.

Here's what is expected of each mentoring team:

1) Both students (i.e. the whole team) will work together collaboratively to create a single new post each week based on the provided list of topics. Not sure what to talk about? That's why we've included talking points with the topics to get the conversation started and headed in the right direction. Your post should be insightful, informative, and engaging - so much so that your mentees will actually want to participate in your discussion (not just because their grade will go into freefall otherwise). But wait, there's more...

2) Once the initial new post has been made by you for the week, your Cornerstone mentees are supposed to engage in the discussion by telling their story, asking questions, or a combo of the two - you must keep communicating. Respond to their responses, responding to your initial post, and keep going until the week ends and you introduce the next topic the following week.

3) DISCLAIMER: I made a promise to the Cornerstone instructors that you all will have to keep - under absolutely no circumstances can your initial post for the week be late (not even by a minute). This doesn't mean I want you to go through and make all the initial postings for the entire semester all at once - don't - seriously. Keep to the schedule and post before the Sunday, 11:59pm deadline but only have one discussion active at a time. If you're wondering what happens if you miss a deadline... the Cornerstone instructors will reassign your mentees to another mentoring team and you will lose any remaining credit for the Mentorship Blog Project. That's the deal I struck and that's the arrangement we're all bound to for this semester so stay sharp, stay focused, and don't miss a deadline.

4) Additional fine print: The goal of the mentoring team is to have you work together collaboratively to provide guidance and leadership to the students in the Cornerstone course this semester. The mentoring team is not an opportunity for two people to exercise a division of labor and do half the work to get things done.

Stated mathematically:

Collaborative approach

Mentor A (100% participation) + Mentor B (100% participation) = a grade of 100% for both Mentor A and Mentor B

Division of labor approach

Mentor A (50% participation) + Mentor B (50% participation) = a grade of 50% for both Mentor A and Mentor B

Here's the schedule and topics:

Wk 3: initial post due by Sunday, Sept. 13, 11:59 p.m.
Introductions: Getting to Know You
Explaining the IDS degree
Who are you? What are your areas / minors? What year are you?
How do you explain IDS to others?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education

Wk 4: initial post due by Sunday, Sept. 20, 11:59 p.m.

E-Portfolio
How will your e-Portfolio demonstrate your interdisciplinarity?
What is the audience / purpose you're thinking of using?
How would you envision your e-Portfolio looking like? What would you like to stand out?
What things are you thinking could be used as evidence?

Wk 5: initial post due by Sunday, Sept. 27, 11:59 p.m.

Understanding Interdisciplinarity
Integrating Areas
What is integration? What are examples?
How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?
Why is integration of areas/minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal developing
How can your areas/minor be better integrated?

Wk 6: initial post due by Sunday, Oct. 4, 11:59 p.m.

Critical Thinking
How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?
Comment on how the Virtual Philosopher scored your response. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning? How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?

Wk 7: initial post due by Sunday, Oct. 11, 11:59 p.m.

Professional Opportunities & Job Skills
How have you used your interdisciplinarity in your professional life?
What has been your professional history?
What are your strongest and weakes job skills?
What can you do to develop and improve upon your weak skills?
Identify two professional clubs or organizations that are useful to your chosen career.
How have internship or externship helped your professional development?

Wk 8: initial post due by Sunday, Oct. 18, 11:59 p.m.

Cover Letters & Resume
What are ways your resume can highlight your interdisciplinarity?
What are some questions about cover letters you've have?
Share your best cover letter
What are questions about resumes that you have and/or share some advice?
Share any resources you've found about cover letters and/or resumes.

Wk 9: initial post due by Sunday, Oct. 25, 11:59 p.m.

Personal Philosophy, Career Goals, & Academic Opportunities
Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life
How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?
How have your career goals altered?

Wk 10: initial post due by Sunday, Nov. 1, 11:59 p.m.

Interviewing Part I
Complete the Informational Interview Assignment provided by Capstone mentors
Discuss the results of your interview practice

Wk 11: initial post due by Sunday, Nov. 8, 11:59 p.m.

Interviewing Part II
Discuss the best way to answer some of the standard and non-standard interview questions
How to deal with phone interview and panel interviews
When is the time to talk about salary?

Wk 12: initial post due by Sunday, Nov. 15, 11:59 p.m.

Reflection
Share how you're planning to use reflection in developing your e-Portfolio content pages
Share your understanding of reflection. How is it different from description?