Capstone experiences have high educational impact with a number of approaches for biology. In most capstones, students produce a major project, typically as an undergraduate research experience, with a primary goal to integrate students' learning. At Augustana, our senior biology capstone uses history and philosophy to frame students' reflections…

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

This article discusses a systematic approach to designing significant learning experiences, often referred to as the "backward design process," which has been popularized by Wiggins and McTighe (1998) and is included as a central feature of L. Dee Fink's model for integrated course design (Fink, 2003). The process is referred to as backward…

Describes an advanced high school course which incorporates an industrial approach into the chemistry curriculum. Presents three case studies as examples taken from the local chemistry industry--the production of copper, bromine, and plastics. (CS)

Summarized are the proceedings of the third annual conference of the Federation for Unified Science Education (FUSE), held in December, 1968. Includes are brief summaries of reports on unified science programs at Millburn Senior High School, New Jersey; Monona Grove High, Wisconsin; Barringer High, Newark, New Jersey; Tamaqua Area Senior High,…

Updates the results of a six-year experimental course in physics whose goal was to translate the physicist's approach to science into an approach to the teaching of physics. Provides a course description and rationale and outlines the instructional procedures used. (GS)

Provides rationale and objectives for presenting chemical reactions in a unified, logical six-stage approach rather than a piecemeal approach. Stages discussed include: introduction, stable electronic configurations and stable oxidation states, reactions between two free elements, ion transfer/proton transfer reactions, double displacement…

Describes a series of environmental education instructional units for grades K-6 developed by the Think Earth Consortium that cover topics such as conservation, pollution control, and waste reduction. Provides testimony from one sixth-grade teacher that field tested the second-grade unit. (MDH)

Suggested is an approach to general biology which may be effective in sustaining student interest and infusing an appreciation for science. The goal of the approach is to foster life-long learning and capability to make connections and draw inferences. Examples using the levels of biotic organization are given. (CW)

Describes an integrated freshman course sequence which combines biology and chemistry and uses the process of energy flow as a unifying concept. Provides a description of the three-quarter course sequence, along with lists of topics covered in both disciplines. Includes a rationale for developing such interdisciplinary courses. (TW)

Examples of the interface of science and society are offered as several persuasive reasons for integrating science and social studies curriculum in elementary and secondary schools. These reasons include: (1) the search for new personal and societal values as a result of scientific and technological development in prolonging human life, in…