In education, contemporary discussions of standards and standardisation often appear incidentally, as part of the critique of particular standardisation projects, such as national or international assessments and comparisons. This review essay focuses not on particular standards but more broadly on how standards develop, how they participate in…

The curriculum package, "The Voyage of the Mimi," uses computer, videocassette, student text, and workbook for integrated study of the great whales and the impact of social actions on society and the environment. This review suggests that the package also offers many ancillary teaching opportunities. (CB)

While traditional literature reviews have functioned to clarify a single field, the interpretive review may contribute to research that challenges the perceptual habits of reviewers and extends the ways in which research questions can be constructed and studied. The interpretive review may bring many disciplines together for a new approach to the…

Presents and discusses seven books in which practitioners grapple with the move toward wholeness in their classrooms, offering the practitioners' own blueprints for holistic curricula laid upon a foundation of Vygotskian principles. Notes also three collections that package popular, high-quality children's books into a variety of theme units. (SR)

The River of Words contest encourages students and teachers to explore their local watershed environments, then produce student poetry and artwork that is judged in grade categories. The contest teaching guide promotes this interdisciplinary approach, and includes excerpts from longer books on watershed ecology, essays, classroom activities, an…

This document consists of the three issues of the journal "Design & Technology Teaching" for the 1994-95 publishing year. This journal focuses on developments in design and technology across all phases of education. It provides a forum for sharing and developing expertise in all the contributing areas of design and technology: art and design,…

Heubert's "Law & School Reform Report" is an interdisciplinary exploration of schooling litigation and legislation since 1950. Superficially resembling a primer of successful law-driven reforms, the book actually reveals the great gap between legal victories and educational successes. Child advocacy is needed to redress inequities.…

Offers a review of nine books, presented in the form of an imagined conversation between the authors (leading scholars in the English-language arts today) as they discuss changes in language-arts curriculum, interdisciplinary curriculum, community-building in the classroom, teaching rather than showing films, and literature as a living tradition.…

Reviews LESSONS FOR LEARNING: HANDBOOK OF MUSEUM-RELATED LESSON PLANS which contains 20 lessons designed to correlate art with other subjects in the elementary and middle school curriculum. Assesses strengths and weaknesses of the handbook, concluding that, although lessons are uneven in quality, many original and interesting ideas are proposed.…

Reviews five books for teachers: "Connecting the Curriculum through Interdisciplinary Instruction" (Lounsbury); "Caring for Our Children. National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs"; "Families and Schools in a Pluralistic Society" (Chavkin); "Team Building through Physical Challenges" (Glover…

Describes a reference source for middle school students on biotechnology that is useful for science and social science curricula as well as interdisciplinary approaches. Explains the four-volume format and various features that make it useful to media specialists and students. (LRW)

Examines the dark analyses of modern higher education presented in Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind" and Northrop Frye's "On Education." The University of Toronto proposes an Integrated Studies (Unity of Knowledge) program which would involve students in interdisciplinary studies in humanities, social sciences,…

Reviews eight European histories by Dorothy O. Helly, Ed., and Susan M. Reverby, Ed. (1992); Joy Wiltenburg (1992); Margaret L. King (1991); Joan DeJean (1991); Jacques Gelis (1991); Barbara Duden (1991); Jane Lewis (1991); and Sheila Rowbotham (1989). This sampling shows women's historians use an interdisciplinary approach and consistently deal…

Describes computer software for use with various age groups. Topics include activities involving temperature, simulations, earth science, the circulatory system, human body, reading in science, and ecology. Provides information on equipment needed, availability, package contents, and price. Comments of reviews are presented by classroom teachers.…

Reviews the growing body of work that examines reading as a process occurring within a social context and having social consequences. Three categories within this literature are examined: studies of literacy and its sociocultural role; the history of the book; and the meaning of reading as an activity. Notes and a bibliography is appended. (15…