Over the past 50 years, the number of alternative schools for at-risk students have increased exponentially. However, the research concerning the students that attend these institutions has been, at best, unhurried. Even more wanting is the research regarding the development and critical evaluation of educational interventions that can motivate…

This article reports on the initial findings of an ongoing study that will see six preservice teachers placed in a nontraditional practicum placement as part of their bachelor of education program. Reported here is the examination of emergent professionalism of the initial two preservice teachers during their nontraditional practicum placement on…

Using an experiential learning model as a conceptual background, this article discusses characteristics and learning objectives for well-known foreign study programs such as study tours, study abroad, and internships and compares them with a less common overseas program called the "Global Marketing Program" (GMP). GMP involves…

Interdisciplinarity, problem-focused education, and experiential education must serve some larger goals and fit some larger framework or philosophy of education. Engaged education--with emphasis on relevance involvement, social problem-solving, and seen as opposed to traditional education--is discussed. (MLW)

The Field Studies Program is an undergraduate, interdisciplinary experience in field-related education at the University of California - Berkeley begun in 1971. Self-study has generated a model of field-related education based on doing, thinking, and communicating that leads toward increased competency and consciousness. (Author/LBH)

Examines contemporary models of undergraduate education, including their historical development and the reforms of the 1960's, asking whether the many social, political, and intellectual directions demand corresponding curricular responses or a new synthesis. Concludes that social complexity calls for emphasis on the aesthetic and intuitive as…

This paper describes the changes in American society which are initiating the need to develop programs aimed at new audiences with diverse needs and interests. The reaction of continuing education units to these needs is discussed and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach is emphasized. The authors describe their use of the Education…

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, in cooperation with the five other campus professional schools, has developed a comprehensive, interdisciplinary geriatrics training program for students entering the health care professions. A model is offered for medical educators interested in geriatric curriculum design. (Author/MLW)

Describing Poland's 1978 educational model based on what is termed the "open school" concept (a concept similar to what is known in the U.S. as community education), this document presents: (1) Data on the Polish People's Republic; (2) The Concept of an Open School; (3) The Role of School in the Transformation of the Rural Community and…

Experimental colleges are one attempt to provide more relevant educational experiences. They are characterized by the merger of counseling and instruction, the lack of grades and normative student rankings, interdisciplinary coursework, student input into curriculum planning, contract learning and independent study, off-campus learning…

This report presents a description of University College, Memphis State University (MSU). Created in 1975, this small, nontraditional college has prospered in the context of a large, state, urban university. It offers nontraditional students a way to create and finish individualized and interdisciplinary degree programs. Faculty can develop new…

Sixty-one papers are presented from the George Mason University (Virginia) annual conference on nontraditional interdisciplinary programs. They are grouped in the following categories, with three to ten papers per category: adjunct faculty; corporate/university linkages; experiential learning; graduate non-traditional programs; interdisciplinary…

A model for an interdisciplinary graduate degree program based on the Behavioral Science Graduate degree program at California State University at Dominguez Hills is described. In light of the declining resources available to higher education institutions it is recommended that curricular programs be accountable and responsive to the needs of the…