Disciplinary lenses are essentially different ways to explore a topic. They can be compared to having five pairs of glasses when analyzing an idea. Each time a new pair is put on, it reveals new perspectives and insights that may not have been considered before. The scientific lens focuses on observation and evidence, while the mathematical lens emphasizes data and patterns. The historical lens encourages students to consider how things change over time. The ethical lens helps students reflect on values, morals, and how actions affect others. Lastly, the artistic lens highlights creativity and self-expression. According to Portillo-Blanco (2024), relationships among disciplines help link ideas and support deeper understanding rooted across multiple fields.

I created a concept map that explains the role of each disciplinary lens. This visual tool helped me connect the lenses based on their descriptions. For example, observations made through the scientific lens naturally connect to data collection through the mathematical lens. Roehrig (2021) explains that students learn best when they are encouraged to connect scientific, mathematical, artistic, historical, and ethical reasoning while exploring new topics. This concept map can be especially beneficial for teachers during lesson planning because it clearly illustrates how disciplinary lenses intersect. In the video General Education Lenses: Shifting Perspectives, each lens is explained and followed by a chart displaying questions generated through each perspective. Seeing all of these questions together helped me realize how much deeper understanding becomes when a topic—such as global warming—is explored through multiple lenses (SNHU Academic Support, 2023).

For our unit on weather and seasons, my second-grade class will explore daily weather through all five disciplinary lenses. Students will begin with the scientific lens by observing the weather each day and recording details such as temperature and cloud formations in their journals. This lens can also connect to the artistic lens if students choose to draw what they observe. Through the mathematical lens, students will track how many days are sunny, rainy, or cloudy over the course of a week and create a bar graph using their data. Altindis (2024) explains that connecting disciplines supports accurate graph interpretation and stronger predictions, demonstrating the value of interdisciplinary learning.

Using a historical lens, students will compare the current week’s weather to weather conditions from the same time period ten years ago. They will research and examine photographs and videos to identify similarities and differences. Through the ethical lens, students will explore how weather affects people, animals, and communities, including how limited resources such as warm clothing can impact individuals during extreme weather. Finally, through the artistic lens, students will design a poster representing the week’s weather using materials such as cotton balls for clouds, glitter for rain, and paint or markers for other elements. By exploring weather through multiple lenses, students will strengthen their observation, critical thinking, and creative expression skills.

Teachers can support this learning by using lens-specific questions to guide and extend students’ thinking. Salmon and Barrera (2021) emphasize the importance of asking meaningful questions to deepen student understanding. Another effective strategy is placing students in groups of five, assigning each student a disciplinary lens, and having them share how their perspectives differed while observing the same topic. This approach allows students to recognize how different lenses shape understanding (Cohen, 2024). By encouraging students to use all disciplinary lenses when analyzing new topics, teachers foster deeper learning and an appreciation for multiple perspectives.