a minipost
Every field has its special teachers - those who have figured out how to inspire and raise the level of the students. About five years ago I wrote about Woodie Flowers and his passion for teaching. One of the most playful and play inspiring teachers I know about (the video on the page is a good intro).
Woodie had a famous course for engineering undergrads. I know of a few other similar, but different flavored, courses - mostly in mechanical engineering. ME72 a Caltech is one of these focused play classes and the final exam is a competition. The most recent exam was Airship Quadball. Here's a description with a cute linked video.
Some schools set up cross departmental collaborations. One physics dept I know matches physics students with creative writing students and art majors to create science fiction graphic novels. When it works you need students who have an interest in the other two areas. The original spark was producing physics students who could communicate more clearly, but it turned out to be fun and educational for each group.
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