This book provides an international platform for educators from different STEM disciplines to present, discuss, connect, and develop collaborations in two inter-related ways: (1) sharing and discussing changes and innovations in individual discipline-based education in STEM/STEAM, and (2) sharing and discussing the development of interdisciplinary…

Recent research on disciplinary literacy has called for a paradigm shift among secondary content teachers from perceiving themselves as disciplinary content transmitters to disciplinary literacy teachers who model and engage students in reading, writing, inquiring, and doing like experts within each discipline. How do content teachers incorporate…

In the English-speaking world, university Schools of Education are usually heavily involved in the professional preparation of teachers. Yet, in England and the USA in particular, the role of universities in teacher education has increasingly seemed under threat as alternative providers of training have come on the scene, often with the overt…

In this article, a retired long-time geography teacher offers his perspective on what a geography teacher needs to keep in mind when teaching geography. The author notes that geography is a useful school subject because it helps young people make their way in the world by giving them some tools to become lifelong learners. The author encourages…

An interdisciplinary approach to teaching involves leveraging the different perspectives of each discipline to better understand an issue or problem. The most ideal topics for interdisciplinary study are those whose very nature is also interdisciplinary. Nanoscience--which combines biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics--is one…

Undergraduate business law courses typically utilize traditional textbooks organized by topic. Individual chapters, address the usual topics including contracts, torts, the court system and ethics. An innovative approach to facilitating a business law course involves segregating sections of the course into common business disciplines. Rather than…

This article reports on a study of senior academics' views of their disciplinary and interdisciplinary affiliations. It questions the idea that academics have a firm and fixed disciplinary identity from which they then act and suggests that academic work in the contemporary university challenges and changes how individuals view their disciplinary…

There is an increasing need for an effective method of teaching bioinformatics. Increased progress and availability of computer-based tools for educating students have led to the implementation of a computer-based system for teaching bioinformatics as described in this paper. Bioinformatics is a recent, hybrid field of study combining elements of…

The number of doctorates being awarded around the world has almost doubled over the last ten years, propelling it from a small elite enterprise into a large and ever growing international market. Within the context of increasing numbers of doctoral students this book examines the new doctorate environment and the challenges it is starting to face.…

This article addresses the interrelated questions of why it is important to teach students about the nature of interdisciplinarity and how this material might be best communicated to students. It is important to define for students what is meant by disciplines and interdisciplinarity. Having distinguished interdisciplinarity from the disciplinary…

The squeeze on instructional time and other factors increasingly leads educators to consider mathematics and science integration in an effort to be more efficient and effective. Unfortunately, the need for common understandings for what it means to integrate these disciplines, as well as the need for improving disciplinary knowledge, appears to…

This collection is designed to assist new and experienced faculty members who are teaching in interdisciplinary settings and who want to advance the integrative learning of their students and administrators who want to encourage integrative and interdisciplinary teaching in their institutions. Following an introduction, Laying a Foundation for…

This discussion paper examines the trend toward increased interdisciplinarity in the academy. Part 1 provides an overview of current trends, with emphasis on three areas: disciplinary change, interdisciplinary fields, and general education. It addresses the question of why interdisiciplinarity is taking hold in the academy today. Part 2 presents…

Drawing on many years of research, this book shows how knowledge is structured and how professors and students perceive learning in their fields. It also offers strategies for constructing and using knowledge that will help postsecondary institutions promote students' intellectual development within and across disciplines. The chapters are: (1)…

Reports results of several surveys that show that social studies teachers would rather teach history than other courses. Concludes that researchers need to ask teachers why they prefer history. Argues that history is important in its own right and as part of an interdisciplinary social studies program. (DK)