Step 1: Become familiar with the interdisciplinary creative process. The process here loosely reflects the Broad Model approach to interdisciplinarity as explained in Chapter 10 of your textbook. I have altered it slightly to make it more applicable to addressing complex problems in real-life contexts rather than focusing solely on formal research.

Step 2: Choose an article relating to a current news story. From that article, identify a relevant complex issue.

Step 3: In a minimum of 3 well-constructed and thorough paragraphs, identify the issue and why it's important.

In this portion of the assignment, this is where you will answer the "so what?" question. The answer may be to solve a problem, to learn more about an important issue, or to simply explore the topic because it is inspirational or motivational. You can add a personal touch to this portion if you'd like. Examples and stories are always helpful.

Step 4: List at least 10 variables, explaining how the variable impacts and/or is impacted by the main issue.

In this section, you want to identify as many aspects of this issue that you can think of. We might call these variables. For example, in the parking issue, the variables included: enough spaces, public transit, belief systems (identity of having a vehicle being associated independence and status), large campus, and so on and so forth. The point is to identify as many variables as you can (kind of like brainstorming) and explain how they are connected to the main or overall issue.

Formatting example:

1. Parking Spaces: each year more passes than spaces available are sold. This creates competition for parking spaces which can make it more difficult for students to manage their time and could create unnecessary tension between students.