One of the most effective methods for teaching social studies events, concepts, and issues incorporates the fine arts into lesson plans. The fine arts, such as photography, architecture, paintings, tapestries, and sculptures reflect the core cultural values, political ideals, and religious beliefs of a civilization and offer excellent…

The intersection of design and learning is a new and burgeoning area of interest in all levels of education. "Pedagogy and Space" combines architectural design information with early childhood theory to enhance children's learning and educators' experience within the space. Filled with colorful, inspiring photographs of intentionally…

Some years back, the author found the following problem in a spatial puzzle book: how many ways can you put four blocks together, face to face (with no vertical rotation symmetry)? He gave each student just four blocks and they collectively tried combinations to eventually agree on the answer of 15. He used to think it was a halfway decent task,…

This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. When the author was young he used to think that the ideal design for a concert hall would contain walls that were composed of sound-absorbing material, like foam or egg cartons or such. He noticed, though, that this was not the case. Most concert halls contain curtains…

The United States is dependent on innovations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields for the growth of its economy and improvements to quality of life, but too few students are prepared for them. To help meet the challenges in filling the STEM pipeline, teachers of gifted elementary students can nurture important talents,…

In this article, the author describes a project designed for fourth-graders that involves making clay relief sculptures of houses. Knowing the clay houses will become a family heirloom makes this lesson even more worth the time. It takes three classes to plan and form the clay, and another two to underglaze and glaze the final products.

Both Greeks and Romans placed the building of temples and sanctuaries high on their list of architectural priorities, as these structures were a source of public pride. The temples were built as shrines for the all-important gods and goddesses of the ancient world. The Parthenon is a great example of this. The frieze on the Parthenon shows scenes…

This article invites teachers to let their students' imaginations soar as they become part of a team that will design a whole new kind of living technological museum, a facility that celebrates the world of infrastructure. In this activity, a new two-story building will be built, occupying a vacant corner parcel of land, approximately 150…

This article argues that a design studio can be a dynamic medium to explore the creative potential of the complexity of sustainability from its technological to social ends. The study seeks to determine the impact of an interior design/architecture studio experience that was initiated to teach diverse meanings of sustainability and to engage the…

According to the authors, five years ago their school district embraced Understanding by Design as the organizing framework for curriculum. The emphasis on enduring understandings and essential questions led the sixth grade social studies teachers to reevaluate what they were teaching in their World History Curriculum. Together the authors worked…

This article discusses the process of a study designed to develop university students' sketching skills in schools of architecture. Acknowledging the relationship between cognition and writing, it aims to investigate the role of writing in learning sketching among architecture students and to examine how students regulate their thoughts by writing…

The interaction of the history of mathematics and mathematics education has long been construed as an esoteric area of inquiry. Much of the research done in this realm has been under the auspices of the history and pedagogy of mathematics group. However there is little systematization or consolidation of the existing literature aimed at…

Students sometimes find introductory drafting and design a boring subject. They must learn the basic skills necessary for drafting and architecture and this may require repetition in order to reinforce those skills. One way to keep students interested is to have them draw objects they encounter in their own lives instead of abstract machine parts…

Sustainable design is a philosophy adopted by people concerned with the health of society and the natural environment. The practice of sustainable design works toward the improvement of the quality of the built environment, while reducing or eradicating the negative impact on the natural environment (McLennan 2004). It is a philosophical approach…

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) state-level analysis provides policymakers, educators, state government officials, and others with details on the projections of STEM jobs through 2018. This report delivers a state-by-state snapshot of the demand for STEM jobs, including: (1) The number of forecast net new and…