The many forms of interdisciplinarity in higher education institutions and the various ways it has been used to advance curricular changes are examined. Definitions of interdisciplinarity and its variants (multi-, pluri-, and transdisciplinarity) provide a conceptual framework for the examination. In this study, interdisciplinarity is understood…

This document comprises the archival print edition of the first volume of a quarterly electronic journal providing a forum for information on leading-edge teaching innovations and research findings in the field of family science. The foci of the journal are the family science curriculum, instruction issues, evaluation and assessment, and…

Currently, demands are being made on schools from pressure groups involved in the so-called "back to basics" movement. This handbook was written in response to those demands with the stated purpose that curriculum workers need a system to distinguish valid educational options from current fads and trends. A model of these options is offered, which…

This pamphlet maintains that schools must address the needs (typically underserved or unserved in the schools) of students with oral communication disorders. The pamphlet states that such disorders range from language comprehension and/or production deficits to social communication problems, to low-level thinking skills, to hearing problems, to…

Four articles on higher education curriculum are presented. In "The Articulate Curriculum" an approach to curriculum description is presented that is designed to have minimal ambiguity concerning the intention, content, and processes of the curriculum and that will lead to questioning several discrete factors in the curriculum planning…

Ten papers on women's studies are provided, based on three workshops at Rhode Island College on May 20, 1986, September 27, 1986, and May 19, 1987. They include: "Reconceiving the Curriculum To Integrate Women" (Joan Rollins); "Models for Institutional Change" (Marilyn R. Schuster and Susan R. Van Dyne); "Western Women's Studies: Feminist but…

Presented as a practical guide and reference for reexamining or restructuring general education programs, this volume examines the aims of and rationale for general education at selected campuses and focuses on the process of curriculum reform at the campus and system levels. The 10 chapters are: (1) "General Education in the Heartland: Black Hawk…

These nine articles reflect the diversity of activities taking place in adult education and adult literacy in the Boston area. An introduction briefly describes each article; notes on the authors follow. In "A Different Third 'R'--Radical Math," Marilyn Frankenstein describes a mathematics course that, through content and method, both…

This issue of a quarterly newsletter focuses on the theme of critical thinking skills. "Critical Thinking Skills: An Interview with Dr. Richard Paul" (Barbara Christopher) is the text of an interview in which the director of research at Sonoma State University's Center for Critical Thinking examines the meaning of critical thinking and…

Continued communication about environmental education (EE) issues is a goal of UNESCO. This document consists of the four issues of the UNESCO-UNEP Environmental Education Newsletter published in 1993. Each issue contains a lead story, followed by regular sections that report EE activities in participating countries and regions, new EE centers,…

Using cognitive science as the knowledge base for the discussion, this paper reviews why many school learning situations are ineffective and introduces cognitive apprenticeship models that suggest what effective learning situations might look like. Five wrong assumptions about learning are examined: (1) people transfer learning from one situation…

An integrated system of academic and vocational-technical education is vital to the well-being of students and the nation. Approaches to integrated programs include requiring more academic coursework of vocational students; including academic skills in vocational courses; and integrating the entire high school. Key activities for successful…

Volume 4 of the League for Innovation in the Community College's Learning Abstracts include the following: (1) "Touching Students in the Digital Age: The Move Toward Learner Relationship Management (LRM)," by Mark David Milliron, which offers an overview of an organizing concept to help community colleges navigate the intersection between digital…

This theme issue covers "High School Programming" and approaches to meeting the needs of gifted high school students in Texas. The first article is "Thematic Interdisciplinary Curricula for Secondary Gifted Students in English and Social Studies" (Joel E. McIntosh and April W. Meacham). This approach is contrasted with the…

Renne (Oregon) Intermediate School offers an innovative program of personalized instruction to students in grades 6-8. Teachers work closely with individual students, following a continuous progress curriculum which allows cross-grade-level placement in the core areas of math, reading, and language arts. Based on cooperative district planning, the…