Student Centered Science Activities In Lay Science Disciplines

In the spirit of Northeastern University’s (NU) Academic Common Experience and Illinois Institute of Technology’s Interprofessional Projects, we present examples of cross-disciplinary science activities intended to broaden and enrich the value of learning experiences of undergraduate lay science students. At NU, science activities for lay science students were developed by means of student involvement in an engineering graphics course, and within an introductory physical science course intended primarily for lay science students. Interactive-engagement activities were introduced into lectures and conducted by students. Students were also assigned term projects to propose science activities based either on a lecture activity or on a topic within the student’s own major discipline or extracurricular interest. Activities were required to be crossdisciplinary and of direct relevance to study within a discipline other than science. From among more than eighty student contributions, eleven science activities and experiments are summarized, which may accompany a course in visual studies foundations for art majors.