Fostering interdisciplinary learning in biology will require significant changes in the way one teaches science to K-12 students. The perspective on interdisciplinary biology teaching and learning in this essay is based on the author's experiences as a former research cell biologist, high school science teacher, and developer of secondary science…

Malcolm Knowles' theory of andragogy is best known in the world of adult education as a conceptualization of how and why adults learn. The following practice-based article that has applied Knowles' theories and precepts to an undergraduate program reflects on how those concepts work with people whom Knowles might well have not considered "adults."…

For many years there has been a growing concern, particularly among researchers in biology education, about the extent to which research findings from one discipline (most usually physics education) can be applied directly to other disciplines (particularly biology education). This paper explores the issue through the use of one particular…

A participatory culture driven by user-generated content has emerged in the world outside schools. Each day, more than 100,000 videos are uploaded to YouTube alone. According to the Digital Ethnography group at Kansas State University, 80% of the two-minute video clips are created by the users who post them--teenage authors working outside school.…

Examines some basic considerations in planning instruction that connect social studies, science, and mathematics using an exemplar unit to illustrate one approach. Provides an eight-step strategy for developing and teaching the integrated units. Concludes that the integrated approach increases both the quality and quantity of learning. (LS)

A model for Continuous-Integrated-Sequential (C/I/S) curricula for social studies education is presented. The design advocated involves ensuring continuity of instruction from grades K-12, an integration of social studies disciplines, and a sequential process of refining and reinforcing concept and skills from grade-to-grade along the K-12…

A pedagogy appropriate to college level courses and comprised of interdisciplinary content, multidisciplinary faculty, and students from diverse academic backgrounds and with varying levels of skills merits development. A taxonomy of some of the difficulties in the construction of such a course in Mexican American studies, for example, focuses on…

Discusses the integrated curriculum and the California Framework for History-Social Science Education as an example of the integrated curriculum. Shows how the Framework unifies the curriculum and offers a model to combine the content and processes advocated by the Framework. (LS)

Reports on the experiences of 12 students--three senior undergraduates majoring in chemical engineering, five master-level, and four doctoral students--in a course titled "Interdisciplinary Studies in Multi-Scale Simulation of Concrete Materials". Course objectives focused on incorporating team-oriented interdisciplinary experiences into the…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2011 proceedings, see ED518589.]

Examines ways in which teachers may follow the California Framework for History-Social Science Education prescriptions in integrating and correlating the history-social science curriculum. Suggests three possible departures from current practice which might prove valuable for teachers. (LS)

Use of peer mentoring to improve college instruction and the concept of mutual mentoring are discussed, drawing on four faculty mentoring projects in which mentor faculty were paired with other teachers to develop new, alternative teaching methods/materials or gain new knowledge. Cross-disciplinary mentoring and mutual faculty benefits are…

Many educators suggest that deteriorating academic quality in schools can be addressed with the help of an approach to curriculum development called "curriculum integration," which presents a holistic view of knowledge to learners. One reason among many to move from subject-focused curriculum to curriculum integration is that the former fails to…

Discusses the essential components and objectives of multicultural education and considers how to foster and integrate these into social studies teacher education programs. Describes several strategies designed to move students from norms of passivity to interactive pedagogy. These included collecting oral histories and critiquing textbooks. (MJP)

The science of physics teaches the world to look beyond what is known and to be creative about visions of the future. Educators, like scientists, are responsible for pointing forward, for looking around and beyond the realm of what is known, to the realm of what could be. Yet, most institutions are restrained by traditional frameworks. Education…