Interdisciplinary Learning Activities Research Articles

Linear Algebraic Nodal Analysis: An Applied Project for a First Course in Linear Algebra

Many students who enroll in a first course in linear algebra major in STEM disciplines other than mathematics. Teachers who serve such students may find it difficult to provide authentic problems from these broader areas that ignite students' interest in linear algebra. In this paper, we highlight an interdisciplinary learning activity that engages students in using linear systems of equations to model the behavior of practical electric circuits. This exercise fits nicely into standard introductory linear algebra curricula and is designed to excite students majoring in engineering, physics, or applied mathematics. We also include references to a collection of open-access resources to support instructors who want to use this material in project-based, flipped-learning, inquiry-oriented, or independent-study environments.

Power of microbes: utilization of improvised microbial fuel cell (IMFC) as an interdisciplinary learning activity in teaching bioelectricity.

Bioelectricity is an interdisciplinary concept that encompasses the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology. It is the scientific study of membrane transport mechanisms that govern the formation and dissipation of ion gradients. Teaching and learning across disciplines, such as bioelectricity, are known among science teachers to be challenging and complex. One of the critical problems is that only a few teaching materials and learning resources specifically support interdisciplinary teaching, especially in science. This paper described the development of an improvised microbial fuel cell (iMFC) as an alternative activity that addresses scientific concepts of cellular respiration, reduction-oxidation reaction, and electricity generation in an interdisciplinary approach. In this activity, students designed, constructed, and tested their iMFCs. The learning gains of the students were measured using parallel pretest/post-test and analyzed using descriptive statistics and dependent t-tests. The perceptions of teachers and students on using the iMFC activity in teaching-learning bioelectricity were obtained from a survey questionnaire and interviews. Results revealed that the iMFC activity significantly improved students' learning gains in bioelectricity, for the topics cellular respiration (t(239)=45.03; P < 0.01), reduction-oxidation reaction (t(239)=39.85; P < 0.01), and electricity (t(239)=31.1; P < 0.01), with computed normalized gains of 0.45, 0.50, and 0.39, respectively. Furthermore, seven subthemes emerged from the teachers' and students' perceptions, namely, knowledge acquisition, student engagement, academic emotions, affordability, student satisfaction, distractions, and cleanliness. Overall results indicated that the iMFC activity can be an effective teaching material for providing an authentic learning experience in a multidisciplinary topic like bioelectricity. Future investigations on the iMFC activity and its impact on other aspects of learning, such as students' motivation, self-efficacy, and engagement, are recommended.

The Connotation Value, Real Difficulties, and Design Ideas of Mathematics Interdisciplinary Learning Activities

The Connotation Value, Real Difficulties, and Design Ideas of Mathematics Interdisciplinary Learning Activities

DIGITAL HERITAGE&amp;DESIGN THINKING: THE RAILTOLAND WORKSHOP AS AN INNOVATIVE PRACTICE IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SCENARIO

Abstract. The higher education scenario is constantly evolving and COVID-19 restrictions traced a demarcation line with previous behaviours and practices. Even though the European Commission spends many efforts to monitor the progresses, indicate the challenges as well as to give the perspectives, innovating the way in which we teach, especially about heritage &amp;amp; design, is rarely a priority.The article presents an interdisciplinary learning activity carried out within the RAILtoLAND (RtL) project, a co-funded Erasmus+ project under the Key Action 2 “Cooperation for innovation”. RtL is a collective ideation platform to develop innovative tools to communicate the European Cultural Landscapes by train and it has the goal to explore the social and educational value of the railway landscape as a common heritage and as a catalyst for European identity.The workshop was carried out in the Sub-Apennine area dealing with two complementary and fundamental topics “Digital Heritage &amp;amp; Design Thinking”, experiencing virtual events and innovative practices for the knowledge, narrative and design of heritage and landscape. The workshop stemmed from an interdisciplinary approach: experts in digital cultural heritage, survey and representation techniques, geomatics, and urban and landscape designers brought together their expertise and performed a ground-breaking study activity. The learning activities involved areas in the Marche Region (Italy) through on field activities, and the Porto-Vigo railway line (Portugal-Spain) through the experience of a virtual trip.

Cultivating a Jewish Eco- Education Framework: The Toronto Heschel School’s Teaching and Learning Garden

Over the last century, global food systems have increasingly shifted towards a scientific, input-based industrial paradigm whose adverse ecological impacts are well documented. In response, global agricultural movements, such as the agroecology movement, have sought an integration of contemporary science and indigenous agricultural knowledges. Scholars in the field of Jewish ecology similarly propose that biblical Hebrew scripture may provide a framework for thinking about, and acting upon, issues of ecological sustainability in agriculture. In educational settings too, learning about ecology is increasingly approached in an intimate and tangible way in the form of school garden programs. In this work, we highlight the case of the Toronto Heschel School, a Canadian Jewish day school for children in which a Teaching and Learning Garden fosters student learning on ecology and their Jewish identity in tandem. Reporting the thematic results of qualitative interviews with two educators and five alumni from the Heschel School, this study highlights key similarities and differences between this school’s garden program and those taking place in secular school settings. Like secular school gardens, the Heschel program implements experiential, interdisciplinary learning activities within a scientific ecological knowledge (SEK) framework. That said, the Heschel program supplements and deepens these SEK activities with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) rooted in Judaic traditional teachings. The resulting educational outcomes appear at once universally applicable while specifically relevant to the Jewish identities of learners.

Integrating the Use of Interdisciplinary Learning Activity Task in Creating Students’ Mathematical Knowledge

This study investigated the use of interdisciplinary learning activity task to construct students’ knowledge in Mathematics, specifically on the topic of scale drawing application. The learning activity task involved more than one academic discipline, which is Mathematics, English Language, Art, Geography and integrating the Brunei Darussalam national philosophy of the Malay Islamic Monarchy. A quantitative method using a pre-experimental design focusing on one-group pre- and post-test design was used for this study. The participants were selected from a convenient sample of 43 Year 9 students in one of the secondary schools in Brunei. The findings were also triangulated with the students’ collected reflective journal artifact documents. Each student journal was analyzed using the identified learning activity stages within the RBC-model, where the R denotes Recognizing , B is Building with and C means Constructing . The results showed an improvement in the students’ achievement, and they were able to construct the mathematics knowledge by means of collaboration among group members. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Mathematics teachers be encouraged and supported to design authentic and interdisciplinary learning activity that are learner centered catering to the different needs of our students and also to meet the 21 st century skills demand.

Critical Inquiry Across the Disciplines: Strategies for Student-Generated Problem Posing

Problem posing is a higher-order, active-learning task that is important for students to develop. This article describes a series of interdisciplinary learning activities designed to help students strengthen their problem-posing skills, which requires that students become more responsible for their learning and that faculty move to a facilitator role. Developing students’ problem-posing skills and allowing them to grapple with course content can lead to deeper levels of understanding and improved critical thinking. In turn, students are more likely to be able to move their newfound knowledge beyond the classroom.

Concept Mapping Assessment of Media Assisted Learning in Interdisciplinary Science Education

Acquisition of conceptual knowledge is a central aim in science education. In this study we monitored an interdisciplinary hypermedia assisted learning unit on hibernation and thermodynamics based on cooperative learning. We used concept mapping for the assessment, applying a pre-test/post-test design. In our study, 106 9th graders cooperated by working in pairs (n = 53) for six lessons. As an interdisciplinary learning activity in such complex knowledge domains has to combine many different aspects, we focused on long-term knowledge. Learners working cooperatively in dyads constructed computer-supported concept maps which were analysed by specific software. The data analysis encompassed structural aspects of the knowledge corresponding to a target reference map. After the learning unit, the results showed the acquisition of higher-order domain-specific knowledge structures which indicates successful interdisciplinary learning through the hypermedia learning environment. The benefit of using a computer-assisted concept mapping assessment for research in science education, and in science classrooms is considered.

Using space imagery in the science classroom: Efforts of the CASDE Project

This article describes the ongoing curriculum development efforts of the Consortium for the Application of Space Data in Education (CASDE), which is an evolving consortium of educators, engineers, scientists, and other professionals dedicated to providing the educational community with vast amounts of NASA imagery, tools, and interdisciplinary learning activities, distributed freely over the Internet. The article particularly details the curricular approach taken by CASDE, which involves the concept of “curriculum building blocks” that contain tools, data, tutorials, curriculum standards, assessments, and a sample lesson or instructional activity. The article also describes the student interactive DataSlate software, developed by engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to help teachers use space imagery conveniently with students in the science classroom. In addition, the article discusses the consortium's approach to providing ongoing training to teachers, and also describes the efforts of the consortium to evaluate some of the educational activities undertaken by participating teachers. Finally, a web-based link to all of the consortium's resources and curriculum activities is provided to the reader for their possible use and reference.

Showing, Not Telling, at a Writing Workshop

HOW DOES A TEACHER OF WRITING ENCOURAGE COLLEAGUES in other disciplines to pay more attention to student writing? And, once encouraged, what specifically can teachers of history, biology, or business do in their classrooms to foster student writing? One approach, of course, is to tell them what they ought to be doing: Look! You should require those history students to keep journals. You can mail out broadsides, write editorials, and deliver seminars on the virtues of across the curriculum. If your colleagues have strong self-concepts and are not scared off by your enthusiasm, some will actually try what you suggest. But telling teachers how to use writing in their classes is very close to telling them that you know a better way to teach their subjects. Very touchy business. A more politic way, it seems to me, is to show other teachers some writing techniques and exercises that work but allow them to pick and choose among them, making up their own minds about what is useful and what not. Showing, not telling, is a principle often taught in freshman English classes; readers can make up their own minds about the narrative's importance. So too is this idea effective at writing across the curriculum workshops. Most teachers in disciplines other than English understand well that writing, like reading and mathematics, cannot be the sole province of teachers in any one discipline. As Dan Fader and James Britton have argued before me, writing is an interdisciplinary learning activity with a place in every classroom. But not all teachers know how to integrate writing instruction easily into their pedagogy, nor are they comfortable teaching it outright. Each teacher is already a professional, practicing writer in his or her own field, yet few have ever been trained to teach writing to others. There is a wealth of knowledge about writing in the pool of teachers who do not teach writing or who think they do not know how to teach writing. Who knows better than the geographer whether or not first person narration is acceptable in professional geography publications? Who knows better than the physics teacher whether or not to use passive construction in laboratory reports? Furthermore, most teachers have a fairly solid grasp, themselves, of the elements of style according to Strunk and White or Turabian; it matters little that they cannot label a particular