Biomimicry, the process of using nature to guide innovative thinking and development, can be useful in helping students grasp scientific concepts. Teachers interested in incorporating biomimicry into lesson plans might find that experiential learning at informal science institutions (ISIs) with natural models and artifacts is a valuable tool to…

Strengthening knowledge and skills in mathematics is critically important to preparing the next generation of innovators, problem solvers, and interdisciplinary thinkers. School-based agricultural education offers a valuable context to co-develop mathematics knowledge and skills alongside knowledge and skills in agriculture, food, and natural…

In this article we will describe the development of an interdisciplinary general education course focusing on water. As part of a faculty cohort charged with teaching and studying this topic, we considered a number of projects, including community outreach, teacher professional development, and collaborative research. We decided on an…

The IPN Oaxaca CIIDIR has a mission to train human resources to postgraduate level that contribute to sustainable regional development in the South-East of Mexico. This is a vulnerable region that boasts an important source of natural resources and a great social, economic and technological backwardness that is directly related to the educational…

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a "lift-the-flap" page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals' external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to enhance and complement teaching about resource system feedbacks and environmental modelling. Students were given an interactive exercise based on a research model (ForeseerTM), developed by an inter-disciplinary research team, that explores the interconnectivity of water, energy and land resources. Two…

In the face of a myriad of complex water resource issues, traditional disciplinary separation is ineffective in developing approaches to promote a sustainable water future. As part of a new graduate program in water resources, faculty at the University of Idaho have developed a course on interdisciplinary methods designed to prepare students for…

Discusses a graduate-level course in mariculture to help students synthesize what they have learned in traditional courses and apply that higher-level understanding in a systematic and explicit way in evaluating complex issues. (Author/CCM)

Describes the use of Forrester systems language as a framework for unifying an undergraduate interdisciplinary environmental science course. (MA)

Students spent two months designing and building model solar homes. During this time, they learned about science, geology, architecture, landscaping, and interior decorating. This article describes and illustrates their work. (MA)

Focusing on the third world nations, this paper discusses the need for global education and presents a teaching model which involves students in contemporary world problems. As background information, terms are defined, third world efforts during the last twenty years to equalize the distribution of the world's wealth are traced, and contemporary…

Focused on an interdisciplinary graduate program in water resources management, this case study illustrates how theory-into-practice integration occurred in a field course and clarified students' expectations that faculty model interdisciplinary ways of knowing.

Described is a model which responds to the need for a systematic, conceptual framework for understanding energy. The specific vehicle for enhancing this understanding for the model is postsecondary adult vocational education. The model is intended to assist educators in designing and developing curricula tailored to the needs and interests of…

Summarizing an Economic Research Service (ERS) publication, this guide to a balanced rural-urban growth describes the results of a computer based ERS model which examined seven strategies to improve rural economic development. Based on 1960-70 trends, the model is described as asking how much would be required of each of the following strategies…

Developed to provide teachers with specific directions for teaching about the environment, these guidelines for Washington state schools explain how environmental education can be integrated into every level of the school system. A general systems approach is proposed that emphasizes the interactions that exist within the natural environment. The…