Integrating Multiple Academic Disciplines through Decomposing Innovative Products

Innovations demand contributions from multiple STEM disciplines and often rely on non-STEM disciplines as well. Therefore, the ability to understand interdisciplinary connections is critical for students’ academic success and professional preparedness. A two-part classroom activity that utilizes active learning, teamwork, and collaboration was designed and administered with students. The students engage in guided exploration of an innovative product and academic disciplines outside their major. They create concept maps highlighting contributions of their major and other academic disciplines toward the innovative product. In doing so, students’ learning and perceptions related to interdisciplinary connections improve, which can have a positive impact on their academic trajectory. During this workshop, the presenters will share the activity, which can be adapted into any discipline using the established repository of resources without burdening the instructor or the course. Attendees will participate in an accelerated version of the activity during the workshop.