Health and behavior change programs play a crucial role in improving health behaviors at individual and family levels. However, these programs face challenges with engagement and retention and typically show modest efficacy. Cognitive load theory is an established and highly used educational theory that proposes individuals have a finite capacity…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainability-focused, cocurricular, interdisciplinary programming for graduate students at creating future leaders in sustainability, i.e. did interdisciplinary sustainability programming further prepared graduate students in sustainability leadership beyond the scope of the…

Purpose: In 2018, the Department of Bioengineering and the School of Nursing at University of Pittsburgh implemented an interdisciplinary partnership that integrated senior nursing students into the bioengineering capstone Senior Design course as part of a National Institutes of Health education grant. This two-semester course requires senior…

This study focused on the social context dimension to elucidate how students of different disciplinary backgrounds--Department of Childcare and Department of Design--share their learning and knowledge in a cooperative course and to evaluate the effectiveness of the integrated course operation. Design-based learning through a project activity…

This study investigates the integration of computer-aided design (CAD), a technology for creating digital drawings and models, into art education to enhance creativity and improve teaching quality. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach with a cohort of 150 students, the results demonstrate significant advancements in creativity (a 33.3% increase),…

Interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education and design thinking has risen as a way to equip students with 21st century skills, needed to solve complex real-world problems. However, integrating STEAM based design thinking challenges in the classroom poses challenges for educators, particularly in areas such…

A skills gap from theoretical knowledge to practical application is always a critical issue in Taiwan's education field. The launch of 12-year Basic Education Curriculum and the emergence of the educational innovation industry arouse the awareness of project-based competency-oriented curriculum design. Introducing design thinking into the…

Advances in the integration of smart technology with interdisciplinary methods has created a new genre, approachable modeling and smart methods -- AM-Smart for short. AM-Smart platforms address a major challenge for applied and public sector analysts, educators and those trained in traditional methods: accessing the latest advances in…

The Veterinary Perspectives Institute (VPI) was designed to address the challenges faced by underrepresented youth who are interested in veterinary medicine. This study examines the VPI, a tuition-free program that introduces students from under-resourced high schools to veterinary medicine and One Health through a hands-on, transdisciplinary…

The authors describe an instructional model of interdisciplinarity that aims to simultaneously develop undergraduate students' disciplinary knowledge and foster integrative skills. Two faculty members taught separate undergraduate courses in history and microbiology during which students came together at multiple points throughout the semester.…

Interdisciplinary STEM education is a particular pedagogical methodology in which learners learn the association and connection of the knowledge of science and mathematics through particular technological engineering. To achieve this, specific interdisciplinary STEM-based educational curricula should be developed, and teachers should be qualified…

Many universities offer some version of centrally offered professional development opportunities for graduate students seeking academic careers. Less is known about what impact these programs have on student career preparation and success and which design elements are most beneficial to each learner (Diggs et al., 2017; Schram et al., 2017). This…

Recent calls for reform in K-12 science education and the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century emphasize improving science teaching, students' engagement, and learning. In this study, we designed and implemented a curriculum unit for sixth-grade students (i = 1305). The curriculum unit integrated…

Professional societies and institutes have stressed the importance of a dialogue between scientists and the public over the past decades. Especially the life sciences include many highly relevant research topics pertaining not only to scientific progress but also to decision-making in society. Surprisingly, few educational researchers and…

Maximising students' creative potential to address contemporary issues and fostering cross-disciplinary learning are on the agenda of both top-down and bottom-up educational initiatives. Within the framework of research about cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration, this article argues for the capacity of cross-disciplinary online…