Integrating engineering and science in the classroom can be challenging, and creating authentic experiences that address real-world problems is often even more difficult. "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012), however, calls for high school graduates to be able to undertake more complex engineering design projects related…

Field-note poetry is the product of the authors' efforts to combine current research in learning and cognition with integrated geoscience and language arts activities. In this article, they present a fun and effective activity that teaches students how to record detailed field notes and sensory observations that become the framework and…

The recreational fishing activity presented in this article provides a hands-on, problem-based experience for students; it unites biology, math, economics, environmental policy, and population dynamics concepts. In addition, the activity allows students to shape environmental policy in a realistic setting and evaluate their peers' work. By…

Science teachers today need engaging projects to help students build 21st-century skills (NSTA 2011). Contemporary young adult literature (YA lit) can form the basis of one such project. YA lit--a genre of fiction geared toward 2 to 20-year-olds--opens a powerful avenue to connect with students and cover science topics in greater depth. YA lit is…

Along with the need to make their curriculum more comprehensive and reflective of the national and state standards, one school district also searched for ways to make students more passionate about learning science. As a result, they developed a new integrated science course that is centered around the environmental and Earth sciences with an…

Provides five important dimensions of integrated science at the high school level: (1) the importance of level of integration; (2) success of a conceptually coherent integrated curriculum; (3) rationale for integrated science; (4) the role of teachers and administrators in implementing an integrated science program; and (5) the process of…

Introduces an eco-column activity that provides an integrated approach to earth systems science education. Provides a list of the National Science Education Standards addressed in the activity. (YDS)

When learning, students yearn for meaning, challenge, and relevance. Integrated learning fulfills these desires by limiting the compartmentalization of learning--providing a more coherent learning environment. Too often, mathematics and the physical sciences are taught as separate entities. Yet, many commonalities exist, especially between…

Presents activities on evolution and describes how to integrate lessons on evolutionary biology. (YDS)

A rationale is presented placing the teaching of science in a more meaningful context for the layman and requiring new synthesis of subject matter, less oriented to emphasizing the structure of disciplines. (DF)

Science outside the classroom is integrated by dealing with real problems in a real world which is opposite the precise, neat, and nonrelevant science that the student receives in school. (DF)

Discusses strategies for and benefits of integrating music into science courses. (JRH)

Describes a Science Technology and Society (STS) course for nonscience-oriented students in grades 10-12. The program comprises a collection of modules that present the scientific concept, its technological manifestation, and its societal relevance. (SAH)

Introduces the integrated/coordinated science (ICS) curriculum used by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Discusses the effects of ICS on student achievement. (YDS)

Interdisciplinary modules that are interchangeable can be arranged to emphasize the interrelationships of science and to open many flexible options in science curriculum. (DF)