Interdisciplinary project database

Although people are living longer, that doesn’t mean that they’re living healthy. Many people are falling apart, mentally and physically, as they age. Is this biological or something we can treat with physical activity? Talk about the importance of physical health in preserving one’s ongoing health.

Consider how the design thinking process compares to the Scientific Method. Is there a possibility that one could replace the other? Read this challenge from the Oxford University Press.

As people begin to demand more opportunities for personal time, more and more workplaces are offering 4 day workweeks. What impact does this have on the world? Examine how this practice impacts society.

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.

A symbol and gathering spot of one’s local community is often a mural: something that highlights the community, its history and inhabitants. Conceptualize what a mural would look like for your school or local community. What would it include? Make a proposition: is this something you could take on?

Analyze the science of standing up for yourself. Developing the confidence to speak up and demand action is incredibly difficult, and it’s more difficult for some than others. This research highlights assertiveness and what it means to make these decisions.

Read about how people fall into homelessness and the struggles that people face, including financial barriers to gaining housing.

Many websites offer resume templates for different professions. Find a template for a profession you see yourself involved in and design a “dream resume” for yourself in that field. Pair this with your five-year plan to set and align short-term goals!

Partner up with another family and analyze each other’s lifestyle. Learn about what they do everyday, their family traditions, and what they enjoy doing. Compare and contrast how this differs from your own. If time, expand this analysis to other families to showcase and celebrate the differences of your classroom community.

Is there a contentious issue in your neighborhood? Look at building development, environmentalism, traffic/road servicing, and more, and see what people are talking about. Interview different perspectives on the topic and showcase how their opinions differ but could be compromised on.

Interview a parent/guardian/community member about their vocational/career path. What factors led to where they are today? What do they wish they had known when they were the students’ age?

Investigate how street and subversive art has been used in historical movements, such as Solidarity in Poland, Marcel Duchamp and the Dada movement, Al Weiwei in China, or David Koloane in South African Apartheid.

Using Nick Sousanis’ Blind Accessible Comics as a resource, redesign/remix existing art pieces to improve accessibility to art and culture for a range of impairments and disabilities.

When having conversations, it’s sometimes easy to get lost in one’s train of thought. When this happens, we’re no longer fully engaged in the conversation — we’re not listening. Introduce and practice the idea of visual notetaking to help learners utilize sketching and drawing to connect together ideas and engage in the art of listening.

Perform in-depth research about a community in your neighborhood. Interview and speak to the residents and learn about their traditions, celebrations, and lifestyles. How does it differ from what you do at home? Prepare a report that can be shown off to other residents.

Learn about how linguists use the scientific method to understand the use of, and develop of, language. Utilize this technique to analyze audio files and determine dialects, regions, or language development.

Connect with one of the volunteer organizations in your community that is connected to one of your personal goals. Network with members of the organization to figure out how to accomplish your long-term goals and become more involved in the organization.

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.

Consider historical events, works of art, novels, movies, and music that are popular in other countries but not your own. Using subtitles or a translation service, analyze the works and highlight their popularity in the other country. Create a collection of various works that can be shown off to others to appreciate the culture.

Analyze how bias and historical context are relevant within school curriculum (e.g. how schools teach about certain subjects, especially current events and major historical time periods).

Examine the great debate between the Ptolemaic system and the Copernican system. Why did people believe in both of these ideas? What conflicts emerged as a result of Copernicus’ theories? How did our modern view of the Earth revolving around the Sun emerge as mainstream knowledge?

Creativity in the arts is a necessity, but creativity is often perceived as less useful outside of the arts or as a skill one either does or doesn’t have. Increasingly, however, creativity is viewed as a top industry skill, so how can we teach and cultivate creativity in students?

Create a cost-benefit analysis of living in your current country vs. living in a completely different environment. What would your life be like? What lifestyle changes would you need to make? Would this be something you’d want to explore?

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)!

Finding reliable health and nutrition information is incredibly difficult. There is so much mis- and disinformation about health, nutrition, and fitness. How do you know what to trust? Create a health misinformation guide with students to sort out what is reliable from what is false or potentially harmful. To show that they know the tricks, have them use those tips to create their own health and nutrition disinformation ad or video.

Consider the use of self-driving cars, moral questions, and the "Trolley Problem" through this resource, reflecting on its other applicability in real life.

Perform additional research about green spaces, third spaces, and other forms of city planning. Dive into a deep analysis of your community and see what types of spaces are available. What changes could be made? Prepare a full blueprint or model and present it to local stakeholders.

Infographics help us make sense of complicated ideas through visuals and seen connections. Research how infographic designers understand and work through complex problems, then design your own infographic to convey information about an idea.

The link between physical activity and well-being is undeniable. Brainstorm or research the barriers to physical activity for individuals and groups in your community. What can you do to help remove those barriers and improve the well-being of your community through accessible physical activities?

Are there economic practices that put cultural or environmental heritage at risk of being damaged or lost? What can be done to mitigate those concerns and preserve our cultural and environmental heritage?

Look at how sports, culture, and art all influence each other. For example, the graffiti and skateboarding “scene” has a specific “look” each decade. How does this compare to the look of say, golf? Tennis? Basketball? Why is it that different sports have different artistic and cultural styles?

Use the Credibility Game as a starting point or design your own quiz game to help students understand and evaluate reliable, credible sources.