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.

What makes modern art valuable? In the past, art was typically contracted — and the value of the materials and time it took to create determined its value. Now, it is up to the interpretation of the viewer and owner to decide its value. Have the class examine these contemporary modern art pieces: are they valuable? What makes them beautiful? Not beautiful?

Research the state of “flow” and connect it to the hobbies you love (or take on a new hobby!) Document how understanding a “flow state” changes, for better or worse, your interest, engagement, or motivation in conducting your hobby.

Connect the ideas in the lesson below to historical inventions. What would a pitch look like for various historical novels: such as the printing press, telephone, or radar? Would all constituents be for their use? Who would be for and against these ideas? Were they accepted during their time?

Examine mythology and folklore of various ancient religions. Identify the morals of various stories, dissecting why these stories were written and the goals the authors had for their work.

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?

Do you think there’s something that everyone should learn about? Prepare a formal proposal for changing your school’s curriculum and present it to building leaders.

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Communicating through the written word is linguistically beautiful, but often heavily focused on the aesthetics of laying out and formatting type. Examine how typography and layout are used to convey poetry. For example, Harlem by Langston Hughes indents after the first line, or [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by e.e. cummings, which features all lowercase letters, heavy indentation, and a lack of traditional spacing.

How can artificial intelligence be used to improve our understanding of mathematics?

One way AI can be used to improve our understanding of mathematics is by providing a way to visualize mathematical concepts. For example, consider the concept of a function. AI can be used to create a 3D graph of a function, which can help us to better understand how the function behaves. Additionally, AI can be used to create models of mathematical problems, which can help us to better understand the underlying principles at work.

What is happiness? What is extreme happiness? Beyond the simple act of being content, it’s something else entirely to be euphoric. Conceptualize an art project that manifests a state of mania.

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.

When most learners think of science, they consider people like Charles Darwin or Albert Einstein. In most curriculums, the specific people we focus on learning about are from Western countries (e.g. the United Kingdom, France, and USA) and male.

Highlight the contributions of female scientists and non-Western thinkers. Who are they?

Read about how school affects burn out. This guide written for teachers can be analyzed with students to identify pain points, recognize ways to improve the classroom, and have an open dialogue about stress and frustration.

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 discriminatory behavior in the field of mathematics. Although this is rapidly changing, a social norm exists across most of the world that STEM subjects are reserved primarily for men. Look at concepts like the stereotype threat and consider how this applies to the subject you teach. Offer a class discussion on the ideas

Read about the ways that financial earnings and class are connected to the way we speak. Typically, rich, middle, and working class people all have different dialects. Check out this article to understand what this looks like in New York City.

Incorporate philosophical principles through the use of meditation and mindfulness. How can finding inner-peace lead to making conscious decisions? Utilize the ideas of silence and Zen thinking to focus on both movement, physical activity, and self-reflection.

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What local sites are vital to your own cultural heritage or those of others in your community or region? Research or visit these to understand their impact and importance!

Similarly to science and math, our understanding of art is highly influenced (in traditional curricula) by Western, male artists (e.g. Picasso, Michelangelo).

Highlight the contributions of female scientists and non-Western thinkers in both historical and modern settings.

Music is heavily connected to one’s culture and the entire concept of music theory shifts depending on where one lives. Learn about the differences between chords and key signatures across the world, such as quarter tone scales in the Middle East.

Have a business or invention idea? Prepare a formal presentation for your product or service. Utilize the concepts presented here, as well as other resources on presentation skills, to make a pitch deck on your idea.

Identify a local non-profit organization that is working to solve the hunger crisis. Reach out to the organization and find ways that you can assist, such as designing marketing resources, hosting a funding drive, or working directly at the organization’s headquarters.

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.

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.

There’s a lot of amazing people doing work to make change. However, they’re often not aware of each other and therefore not having as much of an impact as they could. Act as a community liaison, researching all of the community action groups and individuals doing work in a certain sector of your community, arranging meetings and helping these groups coordinate with each other.

Repeat the Value Sort activity (in this lesson) with adults in your community: have students repeat it with parents, have teachers complete it in your building, have different groups in your community complete the value sort. Compare responses: what stands out as notably similar or different? What accounts for generational differences, or those explained by culture, religion, class, ethnic background, etc.?

Many people who have difficulty seeing or reading information on computers use screen readers to browse the Internet. However, many websites are not designed properly for these screen readers to function. Learn about accessible web design. Perform an audit of your school’s (or community’s) website(s) and offer suggestions to increase accessibility.

Explore and assess the impact of fast fashion production on the communities and cultures in developing nations where production is concentrated (eg., Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Turkey, etc.) .

How does production disrupt traditional cultures and ways of living? How does production connect developing nations to global markets? In what ways are these connections positive and negative for the people and communities in these areas?

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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.

Achieving a state of calm is paramount to being content. By finding a healthy, manageable, and enjoyable exercise, we can relax and de-stress. Perform a series of basic exercises to help students find ways to expel energy.

Why is it that people in urban, rural, and suburban areas all have different dialects and vernacular? How are people from these different places perceived? Why is it important to counteract stereotypes about SLI?

Getting started with a creative endeavor requires the right headspace. Help students embrace a positive mindset by creating a quiet, distraction-free environment where creativity can flourish. Encourage students to start an art project out of thin-air – providing resources to get started and seeing what happens!