Ecological learning is enriched when students can apply course content to their own communities and gain an understanding and experience for deploying sustainable practices. Such merging of content, application, and place requires an interdisciplinary approach to grapple with the ecological and cultural issues more holistically that sustainability…

Improving student achievement in math and science has become a priority in the United States. As instructional leaders, principals can influence instruction in these vital subjects by working with classroom teachers to improve their instruction. Surprisingly, the research about the principal's role in supporting instruction in these subjects is…

This study was presented at the American Educational Research Association 2012 conference in Vancouver, Canada. The study explored how action research of arts-based teaching (ABT) impacted at-risk students in three urban public schools in southern California, USA. ABT was defined as using arts, music, drama, and dance in teaching other subjects. A…

In this article, the author discusses how it is time for higher education to think seriously about alternatives to the traditional undergraduate "major," which, in the large majority of cases, tends to be focused on just a single field of inquiry. The author observes that the current idea of a major (or minor) subject may have made more sense in a…

This study describes the application of temperament styles to school-based mental health practice in an alternative school and illustrates how a multidisciplinary team consisting of a special education teacher, health educator, and social worker used temperament to maximize effective interactions with a student who had been placed in the school…

Describes the origination of the journal, "Simulation & Games" as an outgrowth of the Academic Games Project at Johns Hopkins University in the late 1960s. The Project developed simulation games, pretested them, performed teacher training, and compared the effects with traditional pedagogy. Discusses the planning and implementation…

Illustrates the inability of conventional education to meet the needs of today's children. Describes the BONGO Program, an interdisciplinary team-taught approach that uses drama to teach academic subjects. Students learn by doing and then present their projects to the public, thereby becoming active participants in society. Highlights the success…

Describes in general terms the nature of Alternative Schools, and more specifically discusses the program at Alternative School East, which serves four public school districts in the Philadelphia area. Outlines the curriculum and teaching methods used in biology. An interdisciplinary approach and learning activities in the community are…

Considers St. Louis Community College's interdisciplinary efforts in terms of teaching strategies used and the programs and activities at particular campuses, including the development on an interdisciplinary studies program and an interdisciplinary core course; the use of weekend, evening, and telecourse instruction in the Program of Liberal Arts…

Examines how interdisciplinary teaching teams were used in a midwestern middle school to produce a nontraditional work environment. Describes the following features of this environment: (1) interdisciplinary organization; (2) shared leadership; (3) focus on children; (4) principal's influence; and (5) integrated programing of children. (JS)

In the fall of 1997, a senior level course was taught as an interdisciplinary class for learning the processes in food product development. The course implemented many new teaching methods and technologies. It was an effort between two departments: food science and agricultural economics. Students worked in teams with industry mentors who assisted…

Presents the profile of an elementary teacher who, dissatisfied with her teaching performance, returned to college, visited innovative schools, then created a nontraditional public elementary classroom with an interdisciplinary approach. Currently, she wants to open a charter school shaped around her teaching method. (SM)

Describes an alternative elementary school where teachers work together to offer dance as a complement to writing and the study of literature in a whole language approach. Encourages teachers to add new ideas to their curriculum, to use individual talents, and to collaborate with other teachers. (MS)

Diverts from the traditional approach to teaching ecology and moves toward a more interdisciplinary approach by engaging students in a field trip to the Rocky Mountains. Using examples and insights, the author describes and identifies opportunities for promoting knowledge, understanding, and awareness of the environment and its surroundings. (ZWH)

In the fifties and early sixties, United States colleges and universities shied away from courses about communist insurgencies because of the repressive influence of McCarthyism. Vietnam was eliminated from classroom investigation, forcing students to take the issues to the streets. In an effort to expose and examine issues that arose from the…