Courses: Digital Storytelling, Community Journalism. Objectives: This course is designed to introduce students to basic concepts in digital storytelling and community journalism. "Immersed in urban oil" is an interdisciplinary project-based, community-engaged course focused on documenting the historical and contemporary oil…

This inspiring tool demonstrates how project-based learning (PBL) projects can be used in a variety of settings and provides coaching for educators who aspire to create their own projects. Madigan's book delivers flexible, interdisciplinary, learner-driven projects that support the "National School Library Standards." Readers will find…

An authentic, interdisciplinary, research and problem-based integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project may be ideal for encouraging scientific inquiry and developing teamwork among undergraduate students, but it also presents challenges. The authors describe how two interdisciplinary teams (n=6) of undergraduate…

This research investigated the potential for curricula at the intersection of the arts and the sciences to develop creative productivity of students. The purpose of this research was to develop a series of rubric assessments to evaluate the content and creative and higher order thinking on a variety of teacher-made lesson plans and student-made…

This paper examines the implementation practices of a 6th grade middle school teacher enacting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) teaching in his classroom after participating in a 45-hour STEAM professional development. Case study is used to detail the process, successes, and challenges. Project-based learning, technology…

Latest standards-based reform documents from mathematics and science education organizations and communities bring forward one important issue--higher-order thinking skills, namely reasoning. In this article, we share our experiences and our approach to developing an integrated course for mathematics and science prospective teachers centered on…

This practical guide will help teachers to use the acclaimed "Literacy Through Photography" method developed by Wendy Ewald to promote critical thinking, self-expression, and respect in the classroom. The authors share their perspectives as an artist, a sociologist, and a teacher to show educators how to integrate four new "Literacy Through…

A lesson plan involves high school students in examining incidents in U.S. history as acts of political behavior, including an examination of the resources the participants possessed and the political techniques they employed. A list of 25 issues/events to investigate is presented. (AM)

Presented in this handbook are questions and ideas for students to consider while studying their environment out-of-doors. Developed to accompany the National Environmental Education Development (NEED) program, it was written to help the student learn to look at familiar places and things in new ways. It utilizes the concept of "strand"…

Presented are two visual aids, the Lesson Plan Tree and the Interdisciplinary Planning Wheel, which can serve as a framework and reference for student and teacher cooperative planning of an interdisciplinary studies unit. Both planning aids are illustrated with sample learning activities on pioneer life in Ohio. (SJL)

Educators can identify children's strengths early on and gain insight into each student's unique abilities by using the numerous ideas and informal assessments in this exciting guide. Gifted and talented specialist Ann Maccagnano offers K-8 teachers challenging activities and engaging lessons to develop and nurture gifted learners' talents.…

Since Howard Gardner first published "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences" (1983), educators began applying his theory in classrooms. This article describes the varied curricular approaches--multiple-intelligence-based lesson designs, interdisciplinary curricula, student projects, innovative assessments, and apprenticeships--that…

In Jacob Abbott's book, "Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal," Marco's cousin Forester explains to Marco that there are two modes of acquiring knowledge--through books and through observation. Students obtain more complete and meaningful understanding of a topic when provided with experiences that use both primary and secondary…

This handbook contains 17 teacher-developed elementary school industrial arts (ESIA) lesson plans and a bibliography of resources to assist in planning additional lessons. The handbook supplements an ESIA curriculum guide used in Pennsylvania. Each plan contains the name of the activity, its purpose, a drawing or photograph of the product, a work…

Two graduate teaching assistants (TAs)--one taught language arts methods and the other taught social studies methods--who were office mates at a large university in Florida formulated a plan to create one end-of-course project that would both satisfy requirements and combine the social studies and language arts. That way, students could see that…