What are some examples of cross-curricular content that can be integrated into project-based learning?

Science and art are too often branded as alternative pathways! Yet, creativity is fundamental in science and understanding science can lead to real excellence in artistic pursuits. A great example of this that I've seen is the WOOFYT. An instrument that reveals the inner workings of a pipe organ, it shows students how pipe organs work and explains the science of sound, whilst providing opportunities for creative expression through making music. Students can see the intertwined nature of music, science and even design technology in these workshops and it's one of the best examples I've seen of cross-curricular content being made accessible to people of all ages. From my teaching experience, cross-curricular learning is always a win!

A aprendizagem baseada em projetos permite a integra??o de conteúdos transcurriculares. Exemplos incluem a constru??o de pontes com infográficos, escrevendo para um congressista, iniciando um negócio, comparando um filme e um livro, criando uma campanha de angaria??o de fundos, criando uma árvore genealógica, planejando um evento comunitário, ajudando empresas locais a aumentar o impacto ambiental e usando um calendário de rastreamento para monitorar o crescimento da planta. Esses projetos ajudam os alunos a aplicar conhecimentos de várias disciplinas para resolver problemas do mundo real.

Cross-curricular is something that usually teachers don't use. However, it's never too late to start using it. Although Science and art are 2 completely different things, it can be combined. There's no rule that says that it must be separated. For example, when you're teaching Science, you could ask the students to draw things like animals and plants. This can help them to remember better as they would be seeing the visuals instead of just plain, boring words. When you're teaching art, you could ask them things like how are rainbows formed if you're asking them to draw a rainbow. There are many other things that could also be liked to Science and vice versa.

Maths and social studies are easier to use together. Things like statistics can be used to measure a population in an area. Maths can also be used to measure the number of depressed or even abused people. This would be of great help to solve these type of problems. Without social studies, the figures obtained through Maths can't help the society. This is because without social studies, who is going to solve the problem?

I used the Geometry topic, Points, Lines, and Planes, and Social Studies topic, Presidential Campaigning, to develop a PBL unit. In a nutshell, I ask my students to create a presidential campaigning map/trip across the USA. They develop their ideas and choose their cities by researching the history of campaigning and different topics such as swing states and Democrat vs Republican vs Independent. Once they have a campaign trip thought out, they map out their cities (points) on a map (plane) and create a path (lines) that their campaign will follow. We then perform some geometry on this map such as distance and midpoint calculations. Students will then polish up their campaigns, write a short report, and submit.

Two topics that I rely heavily on for PBL projects, is Math and Art. Those two topics go hand in hand and I feel it is really easy to implement projects using these two topics. For example, Triangles and Art, Circles and Art, Proportions and Art. Other topics that I blend for PBL are Building Science and 2D/3D shapes (Math), Transformations (Math) and Game Design (Computer Science).

PBL assignments I have designed where students incorporate into Research papers, Drama, Field Projects, Presentations, etc., include- ??History & Economics (Students curate the historical events and how economies are affected) ??Statistics & Economics (Numbers support narravtive) ?? Movies & Economics (students review movies & create a script) ?? Finance & Economics (Dig into financial markets & Economic theories)

Language and art can also be taught together. Some languages especially old-fashioned languages that we no longer use sometimes look like art. The way these things are written makes it look like patterns to us. If students are taught in an artistic way, they would definitely remember these writings. If we can master art, it would help us to master these type of languages and vice versa. Even modern day Chinese writing looks like art and symbols to those who don't write it. In life, we need to know as much things as possible. Whether it's languages or just plain general knowledge.

In art, there is always work for building technique like better lines and smoother colors. The start of this work is taught, but is largely improved with practice. Practice and habit-building is important for students in every subject. The other parts of art like responding, creative thinking, and experimentation can easily integrate with other subjects. For example, examining Durer's Rhinoceros gives students a chance to intersect art, science, and history. Students can then use observation and literacy skills to write descriptions of animals, and the class can practice drawing from the descriptions, then draw the animals from observation. The lesson series gives students space to improve art technique, and understand other subjects.