This paper brings together general principles for teaching inquiry across disciplines with those generally employed in mathematics classrooms. It describes some broad principles of teaching inquiry to first-year writing students and shows how these can be employed in the context of a course on game theory in popular culture. Although undergraduate…

The importance of music education in American schools is well established, with 93% of Americans agreeing that music should be a part of a well-rounded education (Harris, 2005). Students preparing to teach in the elementary classroom (elementary education majors) in American colleges and universities typically take a music class (sometimes two) as…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of a middle school flexible interdisciplinary block schedule would increase eighth-grade students' reading scores, as measured by the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). A 90-minute middle school flexible interdisciplinary block schedule served as the independent variable and…

The purpose of this case study was to describe, assess, and compare the cognitive level of instruction, course objectives, instructional strategies, assessments, and the transdisciplinary nature of two post-secondary degree programs in sustainability. Instructional strategies in these programs included such methods as class presentations, group…

Educators are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability and the need to educate for sustainable change within higher education. This article addresses the growing need to focus on how teaching and learning can be re-oriented towards sustainability, and more specifically how educators can effectively address increasingly well-known…

This article analyzes the findings of a pilot project conducted in 2008-2009 as a partnership between University Studies, Portland State University's interdisciplinary general education program, and the University's Russian Flagship Language Partner Program. The project proposes a new approach of integrating non-English speakers' language skills,…

Rigor, relevance, and relationships are three elements that provide the hallmark for education today. These three elements are integrally connected; if one is missing in a teacher's teaching practices, he or she is not doing his or her best to prepare students for success in school and in life. To ensure the inclusion of both rigor and relevance,…

The use of content-based language instruction (CBI) offers an innovative and effective method for teaching core geographic concepts and skills while students study a second language. This article focuses on a collaborative initiative developed and tested by university and high school level geography and second-language educators. The goal of the…

This article describes a successful project that demonstrates the effective practice of two important trends in art education today: (1) creating space for art education that is informed by scholarship on community-based pedagogy and environmental design; and (2) collaborating to achieve more comprehensive learning outcomes. The project was a…

This is one of two teacher's guides for a three-year integrated biology, chemistry, and physics course being prepared by the Portland Project Committee. This committee reviewed and selected material developed by the national course improvement groups--Physical Science Study Committee, Chemical Bond Approach, Chemical Education Materials Study,…

Because the earth has a limited amount of natural resources which are used by individuals in their everyday living situations, living patterns should reflect the limits and conservation of these resources. This packet (consisting of introductory material, lesson plans, filmography, bibliography, and glossary), provides suggestions for infusing…

Reports on interviews with 18 Oregon social studies teachers about what justice is and how they teach it. Provides 13 recommendations on where to include justice in the curriculum. Concludes that adolescents should be taught about the difficulties of setting standards for social justice and to value the struggle to do so. (CFR)