For several decades there has been a broad consensus on the need to promote scientific literacy and, ultimately, to promote the full development of student competency from an early age. However, many of the results recorded in the educational field are not very encouraging. Although interdisciplinarity has a more extensive trajectory, the…

This study explored teachers' conceptualizations of integrated computational modeling in secondary physics by exposing twelve experienced physics teachers to programming and then analyzing interview responses. Responses revealed that teachers fell along a spectrum of disciplinary boundary-stretching mentalities. This paper presents a preliminary…

Purpose: To develop a framework for conceptualizing and managing integration in STEM learning, that can help address key issues in its research and implementation worldwide. Design/methodology/approach: Integration in learning is a complicated but not a well-defined concept and therefore it is difficult to illustrate in theory and practice how to…

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in teachers' instructional behaviors during Year 2 implementation of the A+ Model of arts integration. Forty-six (i.e., 23 control, 23 experimental) randomly selected teachers from six school sites (i.e., 3 control, 3 experimental) were observed over a two year period. In addition, six teachers…

This paper provides a curricular critique of an environmental education policy framework called "Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow" (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). Answers to the following two curricular questions: "What should be taught?" and "How it should be taught?" frame the critique. Scrutiny of the latter…

This study integrated the Spiral Curriculum approach into the Robust Learning Model as part of a continuous improvement process that was designed to improve educational effectiveness and then assessed the differences between the initial and integrated models as well as the predictability of the first course in the integrated learning model on a…

The demand for college graduates with skills in big data analysis is on the rise. Employers in all industry sectors have found significant value in analyzing both separate and combined data streams. However, news reports continue to script headlines drawing attention to data improprieties, privacy breaches and identity theft. While data privacy is…

This article describes an instructional model for integrating children's literature and language arts into the elementary school science curriculum. This science-literacy instructional model is an adaptation from the original 5E model of scientific inquiry. The model demonstrates how reading, writing, listening, and speaking can be incorporated…

This article describes an integrated, 10-day unit that was designed using the sport education model in physical education. English language arts and social responsibility were integrated into a unit of table tennis in fifth-grade physical education. The student roles were adapted to best fit the needs of the unit. Through the integration of three…

This author has often heard teachers refer to kids as "experts" when it comes to using technology. She has found, however, that, while they may be great at navigating a new app or figuring out how to use the latest gadget, kids are not experts when it comes to properly communicating and ethically handling everything that goes along with…

Democratic problem-solving necessitates an active and informed citizenry, but existing research on service-learning has shed little light on the relationship between pedagogical practices and civic competence outcomes. This study developed and tested a model to represent that relationship and identified pedagogical catalysts of civic competence…

This experimental study examines the effects of Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) on 4th grade elementary gifted and talented students' academic achievement, creativity and critical thinking (Control Group N= 10, Experimental Group N= 11) in the social studies classroom context, in Istanbul, Turkey. Integrated Curriculum Model was utilized to…

Response to intervention (RTI) was included in the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), specifically as part of an assessment process to determine if a child has a disability. Although IDEA's focus is on students with disabilities, 10 states have developed policies that attend to students with gifts and…

As teacher educators, we are tasked with preparing prospective teachers to enter a field that has undergone significant changes in student population and policy since we were K-12 teachers. With the emphasis placed on connections, mathematics integration, and communication by the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve in Next generation…

Musicians, like athletes, daily face the stark reality of physical and psychological health issues that can negatively affect or end their careers. Research shows compelling reasons for making changes to the value systems and in the educational process under which musicians are trained to help alleviate these problems. Changes would include…