Interdisciplinary Problems: Connecting Math to Science and Life

We can look at mathematics instruction as question and answer or as an opportunity to examine, think, and draw conclusions. Is it strictly one or the other? No—students need to develop not only skills with straight-forward problems, but also understanding with problems where the approach is not stated and the answer is not a forgone conclusion.

If you want to nurture students who are problem solvers, you must make them comfortable with the practice of explaining their solutions and methods. Converting a typical mathematics problem into a problem solving activity can be challenging work for teachers. But any problem—big or small—that the student does not know exactly how to approach can be an opportunity to foster problem-solving strategies. A teacher who encourages students to explain their methods and solutions can turn most lessons into meaningful problem-solving and learning experiences. The teacher's approach is essential to making mathematics challenging in ways that are deeper than those found in doing drill-type lessons with progressively harder numbers.

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The Gulf Stream Voyage http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/gulfstream/index.shtml

This multidisciplinary project uses both real-time data and primary source materials as students learn about the science and history of the Gulf Stream. Students investigate ocean currents with activities in fields that include marine and Earth science, math, history, and language arts. MSP full record

Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances? http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lessons/lotto/lotto.html

Here is a one-day lesson where astronomy and probability are used as students apply problem-solving, reasoning, and communication skills to compare the probability of winning the lottery with the likelihood of intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe. MSP full record

Math in daily life http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/

Examine how math principles can be helpful when deciding whether to buy or lease a car, following a recipe, or decorating a home. The site is organized into six themes that offer hands-on application activities. MSP full record

Puzzling and perplexing problems http://www.fi.edu/school/math/index.html

Here is a mixture of open-ended problems, problems that incorporate social studies topics, and problems with a linked web site for data. The problem sets, often containing background historical information, are listed by month and highlight holidays, seasonal events, and sports. To solve problems, students may be asked to create graphs, read information from tables, and execute multistep computations. MSP full record

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Copyright March 2005 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.