Scholarship of Integration
According to Boyer, the scholarship of integration gives meaning to knowledge by making connections across disciplinary boundarys and fitting facts into larger patterns and contexts. Recent years have seen a significant rise in cross- and multi-disciplinary research efforts. National Science Foundation grant proposals must incorporate a discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed research.
As I mentioned in my thoughts on the scholarship of discovery, I naturally make connections between ideas and processes in seemingly unrelated areas. But my inquisitiveness does not end there - I am interested in why these similarities exist at all. At this point in my development, this part of my portfolio is primarliy reflective. However, the ideas that are gestating as I make these mental connections may be the foundations of new avenues of research in my (or my students') future.
