Though there has been disagreement about the particular emphasis on the disciplines with literacy, there is a great deal of agreement that the disciplines matter. This article describes a course designed to prepare beginning teachers to engage in disciplinary literacy, or literacy-related ways of knowing in a discipline. After researching a topic…

There is increasing enthusiasm for teaching approaches that combine mathematics and biology. The call for integrating more quantitative work in biology education has led to new teaching tools that improve quantitative skills. Little is known, however, about whether increasing interdisciplinary work can lead to adverse effects, such as the…

Many educational researchers across the United States have found that inquiry-based learning (IBL) supports the development of deep, meaningful content knowledge. However, integrating IBL into classroom practice has been challenging, in part because of contrasting conceptualizations and practices across educational fields. In this article, we (a)…

For many years there has been a growing concern, particularly among researchers in biology education, about the extent to which research findings from one discipline (most usually physics education) can be applied directly to other disciplines (particularly biology education). This paper explores the issue through the use of one particular…

The squeeze on instructional time and other factors increasingly leads educators to consider mathematics and science integration in an effort to be more efficient and effective. Unfortunately, the need for common understandings for what it means to integrate these disciplines, as well as the need for improving disciplinary knowledge, appears to…

Proposes a practical definition of "interdisciplinarity" that reduces some of the uncertainties surrounding the term and focuses on its essential attributes. Indicates that "interdisciplinarity," the uniting of distinctive components of two or more disciplines, involves interdisciplinary knowledge, research, or education as its main objects of…

A growing number of education reformers are justifying their reform strategies by pointing to the findings of developmental brain research, theories of information processing, and the needs dictated by today's information-rich world. They advocate integrative education, which places students in a holistic context. This digest describes the…

Understanding U.S. culture is difficult, because the information explosion creates an increase in the number and complexity of various cultural relationships. American Studies is a valuable and unique discipline because it directly addresses this problem, the basic purposes of education, and the relationships that shape students' culture. This…

Shares experiences of a member and team leader of an eight-credit integrated studies learning community called "Self as Citizen" for first-year students in New Century College at George Mason University. Explores the practical aspects of teaching such an interdisciplinary, team-taught course. (EV)

Teaming incorporates an ever expanding curriculum, without an overlapping of subjects, by a collaboration of teachers and students learning from one discipline to another. Through the teaming approach to teaching, the child gains from the emotional, motivational, and enrichment of interrelationships of different subject teachers. Stimulation for…

This paper analyzes the positioning of technology education within the tradition of classical liberal arts education. The author proposes ideas for mutual enrichment of classical liberal arts disciplines alongside technology education. He contends that technology education is general education for a technological world. His proposition is to…

This paper reports from an observant participant's point of view on a theme study conducted in a fifth-grade classroom at a laboratory elementary school of a small, private liberal arts college in Georgia. The "Theme Study" is a student-centered approach that "emphasizes a coherent and holistic approach to learning through the study…

Environmental Education (EE) is described as a process of moving individuals toward stewardship and ultimately a union view of the relationship of people with nature. This document presents a general tenet of EE and explores some prevalent precepts that can be a guide to fully incorporating EE into all teaching settings. The percepts are explored…

How Hungarian educators interrelate the arts in education is examined. To integrate aesthetic education, they use two teaching approaches: (1) linguistic integration, i.e., parallel exercises in music, visual arts, literature, and the sciences; and (2) cultural integration, which unites the histories of arts and sciences into one coherent account…

Interdisciplinary education has been considered a key element of middle level education since the 1960s. Interdisciplinary teaching teams and multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary units of study have been frequently found in middle level schools since then. Although changes have been incorporated to support it, actual implementation of…