Have you ever thought that learning could move beyond isolated subjects? In recent years, terms likeinterdisciplinary and project-based learninghave gained much attention—but what do they really mean, and why are they so important?
In the real world, challenges like “melting glaciers,” “designing energy-efficient buildings,” and “decoding the stories behind ancient bronze artifacts” are never confined to a single subject. That’s why at Dehong Shanghai Secondary School, we insist on breaking down disciplinary boundaries through interdisciplinary, project-based learning. We integrate knowledge from various subjects into real-world projects, returning learning to authentic contexts—guiding students to think and act like future researchers, engineers, and creators as they take on multifaceted, complex challenges.
So what does this approach mean for students? Throughout their project-based inquiries, students draw on tools and methods from different disciplines. They not only consolidate knowledge and strengthen their ability to use language in real situations, but they also gain early exposure to the problem-solving approaches common in overseas universities and future professional environments. More importantly, they develop future-ready competencies such as problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, innovation, and public speaking.
Dehong Secondary students have engaged in a series of vivid and insightful interdisciplinary projects—from polar ecosystems and energy-efficient houses, to reflections on life and the evolution of civilizations. Now, let’s step back into the exhibition hall and see how these students make sense of the world, tackle real problems, and grow through the process.
Geography × History: The Development and Application of Copper
Grade 7 students launched an interdisciplinary inquiry themed "The Utilization of Ancient Chinese Copper Resources", starting from the "China's Natural Resources" unit in geography and combining the development and application of copper resources in different periods from a historical perspective.
The project took four historical periods—Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, Qin and Han Dynasties, and Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties—as the research framework. Students in each class freely formed four groups, each delving into one period to explore the diverse roles of copper resources in politics, military, economy, culture and other aspects: the Spring and Autumn and Warring States group focused on the military application of bronze swords, reflecting the institutional characteristics of the war-torn era; the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing group paid attention to the casting of ritual vessels, coins and farm tools, reflecting the tilt of copper resources to ritual system and economy after social stability. Students also understood the improvement of resource utilization efficiency driven by technological evolution by comparing the innovation from malachite smelting to blast furnace technology.
The final achievement display was carried out in the form of an interesting garden party. Each group not only exhibited hand-drawn tabloids, but also reproduced representative bronze artifacts such as Sanxingdui masks and the Four-Sheep Square Zun with clay, 3D printing and other forms. More notably, each group also independently designed small games such as "City Offense and Defense Tower" and "Ritual and Music Knowledge Q&A", further understanding the application methods, technological evolution of copper resources in different historical periods and their profound impact on social development in the exchange and experience with teachers, students and parents.
Through this inquiry into the "Development and Application of Copper", I not only acquired knowledge, but also sincerely admired the problem-solving abilities of the ancients under limited conditions, and began to understand the "weight" of civilization—now when I see bronze artifacts in museums, I will naturally think about the mine, craftsmen, ritual system and even the spiritual world of the whole era behind a tripod.
More importantly, I have gained a new "perspective" to examine the present. The significance of copper mines for the Bronze Age may be just like that of chips, data and clean energy for us today. This makes me can't help thinking: what is the key "resource" of our era? How is it driven by social needs and quietly changing everyone's life, social structure and even the face of the world? — Cultural relics are never just objects about the past, but a story about how "changes" happen.
——G7C2 Bella
This time-traveling exploration of copper resources not only made students understand the profound connection between the evolution of civilization and the utilization of resources, but also sowed the seeds of "learning from the past to understand the present" in their hearts—from bronze tripods and ritual vessels to chips and data, the form of resources is changing, but the underlying logic that it drives social changes and shapes human destiny remains the same.
Chinese × Biology: Humans and Animals
In the "Humans and Animals" interdisciplinary project, seventh-grade students carried out an in-depth exploration of the relationship between life through the empathy of Chinese and the analytical ability of biology.
The whole inquiry started with understanding the complexity of relationships: through classifying pictures and sharing their own experiences, students gradually distinguished the multiple connections between humans and animals such as "intimacy and companionship", "utilization and service", "viewing and control", and "conflict and harm", thus establishing a more three-dimensional and complete cognition of the connection of life. The learning of relevant knowledge was carried out in parallel in Chinese and biology: in Chinese class, students studied classic texts such as The Cat, Come Back the Wild Geese and The Wolf, learned how to depict animal images through descriptions of appearance and personality, felt how popular science articles integrate literary appeal with scientific knowledge, and experienced the wisdom shown by humans and animals in the survival game in classical Chinese narratives; in biology class, everyone systematically understood the classification characteristics of animals, how their body structures adapt to the environment, and the protection significance behind them through activities such as observing charts, doing dissections by hand and classification practice.
In the final interdisciplinary inquiry, each group focused on a type of animal, discussed from four dimensions: insight into survival wisdom, analysis of real threats, exploration of the relationship with humans, and proposal of protection measures, and integrated what they had learned in Chinese and biology into their achievements: they not only rigorously sorted out the survival wisdom and protection status of species through bilingual animal handbooks, but also conveyed sincere understanding and empathy for life through Animal Diaries narrated from the first perspective of animals.
We designed this one-month project hoping that students can not only analyze animals rationally with a scientific perspective, but also empathize with life with a humanistic mind. Students advanced step by step in accordance with the IB inquiry cycle and had full autonomy—choosing animals by themselves, determining the expression angle by themselves, collecting data independently and completing the display board design and speech.
One group studied Asian elephants, both rigorously analyzing the ecological causes of their habitat fragmentation and writing a "migration diary" of being forced to leave the forest in the tone of elephants; another group discussed the Yangtze finless porpoise, marking the scientific principles of its sonar system in the handbook, and describing how they "listen to each other's songs" in the turbid river water with poetic language. This inter-weaving of rationality and sensibility is the most precious value of this interdisciplinary inquiry.
——Barbara Li, MS Academic Coordinator
In this interdisciplinary inquiry journey, students walked into the world of animals, understood their survival and emotions, and also reflected on the relationship between humans and nature. When they stood in front of their works and told the audience about the survival predicament of each kind of animal, they were no longer just learners, but also messengers of life stories and awakeners of ecological awareness.
Geography × Biology: Polar Bear Guardians
In the "Polar Bear Guardians" project, Grade 6 students conducted a vivid ecological exploration from the integrated perspectives of geography and biology. Starting from the knowledge of the "Weather and Climate" unit in geography, and combining biological observations of polar bears and their food chains, they delved into the environmental stories behind the Arctic ecosystem.
Students' learning unfolded infour sequential sections: they first got to know the living environment and food chain of polar bears, then analyzed the survival crises caused by natural changes and human activities, further traced the root causes of phenomena such as global warming and glacial melting, and finally focused on how to create a better habitat for polar bears through creativity and action.
During the achievement display, some students vividly presented the living picture and crisis warning of polar bears through thematic posters; others built three-dimensional models by hand, expressing their design and conception for the protection of polar bear habitats through tangible spatial creation.
It took about one and a half months from the assignment of the project to its final presentation. The original intention of designing this interdisciplinary project is actually simple: if we only talk about concepts such as weather and climate, children may feel they are too far from life. So I chose to start from the specific life perspective of polar bears, allowing them to understand the climate and environment of the Arctic by caring about a real species, and ultimately think about how humans and nature should coexist.
In the process, I tried my best to hand over the initiative to the students. They could freely choose the most interesting sections to conduct inquiries—some focused on analyzing the living environment, others dug deep into the sources of crises. What touched me deeply was the children's creativity: one group built a glacial melting model with recycled materials to simulate the erosion of polar bears' homes by rising sea levels; another group made a handwritten newspaper into a "crisis early warning report", comparing ice sheet changes with data.
——Qingyu Wang, SS Geography Teacher
This interdisciplinary journey not only connected the knowledge context of geography and biology, but also made students truly understand the complexity of environmental issues and try to voice their ecological protection in the process of research, creation and display, sowing the seeds of caring for nature and thinking rationally in their hearts.
Science × Design Thinking: Energy-Saving Hut
In the "Energy-Saving Hut" project, Grade 6 students integrated science and design thinking to carry out a project-based learning themed "Building an Efficient and Energy-Saving Living Space". Starting from the research on energy characteristics, they gradually completed the whole process from conceptual conception to model construction, experiencing the realization path of green architecture in real creation.
First, in science class, students deeply understood thecharacteristics and application scenarios of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind energy and hydropower through data collection and field observation; then, in the design thinking course, they used the process control knowledge they had learned to draw the layout blueprints of the energy-saving hut by hand, rationally configure equipment such as solar panels and wind turbines, and continuously optimize the energy efficiency scheme through tests.
At the final achievement display, each group not only presented a uniquely creative energy-saving hut model, but also clearly explained its design logic and energy-saving highlights to the sixth-grade teachers and students through physical demonstration, completely showing the process from energy collection, conversion to application.
This project lasted about a month, from the initial knowledge preparation to the final model display, and students carried out inquiries in groups of about four people. In each group, students divided their work according to their own interests and strengths: some were responsible for building models, some focused on data measurement and analysis, and others took on the task of making PPTs and presenting achievements. What made me pleased was that the children showed a strong sense of initiative in cooperation—one group not only considered the tilt angle of solar panels, but also tried to combine small wind turbines to achieve "wind-solar complementarity"; another group designed a multi-layer thermal insulation structure and verified the thermal insulation performance of the hut with measured data.
Throughout the project, the teacher's role is more like a "supporter" and "guide". In the early stage, we first guide students to understand key concepts such as renewable energy and non-renewable energy, and teach them methods of measuring temperature, recording data and drawing charts; in the practical stage, I mostly observe the cooperation of each group and only provide targeted guidance when needed, truly leaving the space for exploration and problem-solving to the students.
——Sherry Luo, MS Science Leader
This interdisciplinary practice not only helped students transform energy science knowledge into operable solutions, but also opened a door to green technology for them. In fact, Dehong students’ exploration of energy begins as early as elementary school. In English classes, they engage in whole-book reading to delve into the theme of “Eco-Town.” While learning about scientific and environmental concepts, they also work in groups to plan the layout, energy systems, and population structure of their envisioned town.We look forward to the day when these "little engineers" can turn their designed "energy-saving huts" into realizable reality through continuous learning, exploration and creation, truly empowering a sustainable future.
From ecological protection, sustainable energy and the evolution of civilization to life empathy and emotional connection, these projects are not only the integration of disciplinary knowledge, but also the shaping of values—in the process of understanding nature, culture, resources and life, students gradually learn to think, care, empathize and create, which is an important cornerstone for the cultivation of global competence.
In fact, such learning does not begin in secondary school. At Dehong Shanghai, starting from the elementary school, we systematically implement inquiry-based and project-based learning (click here to view 👉🏻ES learning outcomes and cases👈🏻). This establishes a coherent pathway for competency development, helping students gradually adapt to the demands of future overseas universities and society for interdisciplinary talent. In curriculum design and project planning, emphasis is placed on continuity and deepening across stages, forming a growth trajectory of spiral progression in knowledge, skills, and thinking. Students continually consolidate prior learning while integrating new knowledge at different stages, achieving both depth and breadth of learning through authentic challenges. In the future, Dehong Shanghai will continue to carry out such interdisciplinary inquiry projects, supporting students to learn, think and practice in real situations, thus establishing core competencies to cope with future challenges. This semester, more interdisciplinary projects for EML courses will be launched. Let us look forward to more collisions of ideas, germination of inspiration and blooming of growth.
