Base de datos interdisciplinaria de

Advances in Community

Consider how massive advances in your community have been made as a result of struggle and debate on a certain historical issue. Visit a local library, community center, or community activist and learn about what struggles the community has faced. Then, prepare a presentation on this issue, demonstrating to your peers why compromise is important.

Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness is a trait studied in athletes that, like grit, has been linked to athletic success. Research the characteristics of mental toughness - goal-setting, self-talk, imagery, etc. - and make a hypothetical or real plan for how to address mental toughness in young athletes.

Biotechnology and World Hunger

Consider the impact of biotechnology on world hunger. Will the implementation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) alleviate the hunger crisis? Is there any danger to the production and consumption of GMOs?

Research on Child Advocacy

Consider the unique benefits that children, adolescents, and adults offer society. It’s not that we’re all the same, but that we all contribute equally fascinating perspectives to the world around us. Check out the research on this!

Walkable Cities

Analyze the impact of walkable cities on where one chooses to live. How much of a health difference does it make to work in an area where you can walk and commute to work? To the places you want to go? What about access to public transportation?

Sound Waves

Learn about how sound waves connect to pitch, volume, tempo, and rhythm, noticing how the creation and manipulation of sound is heavily connected to frequency. By understanding sound waves, we can create music that goes beyond traditional sounds (e.g. through digital manipulation).

What is Success?

Consider why someone may lose hope or passion overtime. Could it be an unrealistic view of “success”? A lack of confidence in school? Feeling like one stands out? Self-doubt? Address this issue by conducting research and presenting your findings.

Religious Navigation

Continue to examine how various religions interact in the world today, especially how these impact countries: their politics, culture, economies, and more. How do leaders navigate the world stage in light of various faiths?

"Good" and "Bad"

Analyze your community and consider what it means to have a “good” and “bad” part of town. Create an infographic and/or map that highlights how environmental racism and discrimination has played out in your community.

Why Do We Age?

Consider how and why we age biologically. Using scientific data, examine the ideas presented during this lesson and consider if it’s actually possible to expand one’s lifespan. And if so, how much we don’t know about the process.

Tenacity

Find an adult mentor, role model, or someone you look up to and talk to them about how they demonstrate tenacity. Ask them to take the Grit Scale quiz (see below) and discuss their own barriers to grittiness.

"Perfect" Language

Analyze what the “perfect” form of your language is. Why is it perceived this way? What does it mean? Where is it found? What is its history?

Spent

Play the online free web "game", Spent, to understand how people become homeless. It simulates the decisions that people make (and the catastrophes that happen) that cause homelessness.

Faith and Art

Analyze how various faiths around the world have been heavily tied to art, noticing how many great works have been as a result of faith-based initiatives. Compare the world religion’s different works and how they’re stylistically different.

Soft Skill Analysis

Perform an in-depth analysis of a certain “soft skill”: teamwork, communication, time-management, etc. Why is that skill valuable and needed? Where can you find examples of it in action? How can that skill be better taught in a school curriculum? 

Art for Change

Climate-themed art is no new concept, but #Fridaysforfuture lends the trend a new urgency and a heightened need for real-life application.” Check out how artists are communicating the need to act on climate change and create your own #FridaysForFuture art contribution!

Focus Groups

Coordinate and host a focus group session in your community over a topic, such as something involving your school or an initiative you’d like to see happen. Gain permission and record the conversation, analyzing what people have said and making a policy proposal incorporating their perspectives.

Employer "Skills"

Survey teachers, family members, community members, local employers and employees, about the top 10 skills they want to see in their students, kids, and future employees. Compare their top 10 list with this one from the World Economic Forum. What is similar or different?

"Dead Languages"

Much of the beauty and understanding of historic, classic languages have been lost to time. “Dead languages”, which are no longer spoken or have morphed into something completely different, still can teach us a lot. Research and present on a dead language, such as Sakhalin or Kuril Ainu.

Analyzing Rap

Music, rhythm, math, and lyricism are all intrinsically connected. Learn about how lyric-based music, especially rap and hip hop, utilize language to convey meaning and messaging, all-the-while adhering to strict rules about rhythm (and therefore, math)!

Highlighting Dialects

Embracing the different languages of the world can lead to a flourishing, multicultural society. However, there is a fear that these languages will “replace” the mainstream language of the area. Showcase your community’s various speakers and dialects, highlighting the importance of a diverse community.

Models of the Past/Future

When considering city planning, it’s worthwhile to imagine our communities in the past or in the future. Either by conducting historical research or by looking at upcoming initiatives, create a model of your community in the past or future. Document how it differs from today and why that matters.

Empathy

“You can't understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes.”

Using this quotation as a starting point and sample questions from resources like this from CAMBIAR Education, develop and conduct an empathy interview to better understand your peers. Expand the empathy interview to any group that might be relevant or interesting!

Color Over Time

Just as mathematical concepts have changed over time, so has our understanding of art. Consider how the use of color has changed in significance and practice. In addition to understanding color theory, our historical knowledge of colors adds additional significance and holistic understanding of our world.

Sports Stereotypes

Consider the impact of stereotypes and biases in regards to gender, disability, race, religion, and more in regards to sports and competitions. Why do people hold these viewpoints? What can be done to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and justly?

Surveillance and Propaganda

Find examples of propaganda, surveillance, or marketing in your neighborhood. Document how these things are used, challenging or supporting their existence.

Creating Ethical Solutions

Understand the intersection of math, data, and algorithms in the world of wicked problems. For example, is it always the case that the more problems something causes, the less likely we should do that thing? Or does it matter who the problem affects? Analyze how math connects to the humanities in making ethical solutions.

Textbooks of the Past

Compare a historical textbook (e.g. using Archive.org or materials from previous years) and compare what was learned and how history was taught in the past versus what was learned and how history is taught now.

Why is it that we learned about things differently in the past? Was there anything we were incorrect about? What implications does this have for learning history?

Recycled Art

Consider how environmental activists use the medium as the message: such as recycled art and art made of trash to symbolize the need for change.

Rorshach Test

The Rorschach Test is one of the most easily recognized assessments of the subconscious throughout pop-culture. But how should it be used and its results understood? Is it science or pseudoscience, how would we know?

Science and Faith

Consider how scientists work together with their faith, recognizing that many scientists are religious, such as through intelligent design theory. Point to times in which science and faith have been in conflict, both historically and in current events.

Chemicals in Fast Fashion

Analyze the chemicals used within the fast fashion industry. How does wearing these clothes impact one’s body? Consider operating a lab that studies the impact of wearing different clothes, with their materials and production components, on one’s body.