This paper describes the arguments made for using interdisciplinary approaches in school curriculum. Specifically examined are the historical antecedents that inform discussions of interdisciplinary studies; how interdisciplinary studies are organized; whether differences exist across content areas; general assumptions made about teaching and…

Explains a hands-on approach to teaching quantum mechanics that challenges the belief shared by many physics instructors that quantum mechanics is a very abstract subject that cannot be understood until students have learned much of the classical physics. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes an experimental environmental education course in rural schools in India's central Himalayas. The course was designed to introduce environmental and livelihood issues into the mainstream curriculum. The course focuses on land degradation, which is the region's major environmental problem. (Author/MM)

The Integrated System for Workforce Education Curricula (ISWEC) project is designed to integrate academic and vocational education in a curriculum framework for grades 9-14. Pedagogical advantages to integration include the following: humans learn by connection-making, students can apply their knowledge and skills to new and unfamiliar situations,…

Identifies characteristics of a viable social studies program for African nations, urging multidisciplinary and integrated approaches. Offers a cyclical framework for planning a curriculum which includes defining the problem, setting objectives, identifying methods of implementation, evaluation, and regeneration. (LS)

Curriculum planning, even in a developed country, is not without problems. Curriculum planners in developing countries are faced with dilemmas at almost every level of decision making. The revision of the Malaysian physics curriculum is detailed in this article. (PB)

Whole language learning, which is often defined in abstract terms, is discussed in terms of its rationale, its practical applications, its implications for how communication skills are taught, and its classroom implementation. (JL)

The Cambridge Conference on School Mathematics (CCSM) was an association of prominent mathematicians who had a concern for mathematics education at school level, from kindergarten through grade twelve. These mathematicians organized three main conferences in three areas of mathematics education, and have carried on activities related to the…

Michigan's curriculum framework is a resource for helping the state's public and private schools design, implement, and assess their content area curricula against state and national content standards. The framework emphasizes the following: using continuous school improvement to align all school district initiatives to increase student…

A study analyzed the experience of eight schools that had begun working to integrate their academic and vocational education programs several years before passage of the 1990 Perkins Act amendments. The following common themes were identified as collectively defining integration as a distinct reform effort: (1) richer, better sequenced curricula…

Presents seven examples of integrating language arts into the curriculum through the use of community connections: (1) exploring curriculum with themed instruction; (2) promoting discussion; (3) using oral language; (4) introducing "found poetry"; (5) writing across the curriculum; (6) sharing an interpretive reading activity in a readers'…

This report presents findings of a Florida task force that focused on the integration of career, technology, and economic concepts into the academic curriculum. It contains the mission statement for the public school experience, lists student outcomes to be assessed at high school graduation, and defines career development and economic,…