Much like medieval, feudal nations, professional fields such as gifted education can take shape as centralized kingdoms with strong armies controlling their compliant populations and protecting closed borders, or as loose collections of conflict-prone principalities with borders open to invaders. Using an investigative framework borrowed from an…

Increasing complexity is one of the most pertinent issues when discussing the role and future of design, designers and their education. The evolving nature of digital media technology has resulted in a profession in a state of flux with increasingly complex communication and design problems. The ability to collaborate and interact with other…

In this article the author examines the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to argue for changes in "standards-based" perspectives and practices that grew out of No Child Left Behind. Drawing on an article by David T. Conley, cochairman of the Validation Committee for the CCSS, the author offers a new model for the professional…

This paper aims at shedding light on what students can "construct" when they learn science and how this construction process may be supported. Constructivism is a pluralist theory of science education. As a consequence, I support, there are several points of view concerning this construction process. Firstly, I stress that constructivism…

Various studies have promoted instruction in the history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science classes, but the best way of putting this perspective into practice remains undetermined. To contribute to this issue, we developed a pedagogical project in some high schools in Brazil that aimed to present science content using an…

In the last decade, there has been a major interest in content-based instruction (CBI) and content and language integrated learning (CLIL). These are similar approaches which integrate content and foreign/second language learning through various methodologies and models as a result of different implementations around the world. In this paper, I…

Since the election of 1796, buttons, slogans, and, most importantly, symbols have become a mainstay of the American election system. The log cabin symbolized the childhoods of Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln; the sun represented hope on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election posters. Many people without formal instruction in what symbols…

This article makes the case for the education sector an untapped opportunity to combat climate change. It sets forth a definition of Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development that is comprehensive and multidisciplinary and asserts that it must not only include relevant content knowledge on climate change, environmental and social…

This paper describes a novel Electrical Machine and Power Electronic Training Tool (EM&PE[subscript TT]), a methodology for using it, and associated experimental educational activities. The training tool is implemented by recreating a whole power electronics system, divided into modular blocks. This process is similar to that applied when…

In this essay I pose questions to literacy teacher educators and classroom teachers to inspire them to review their epistemological beliefs about teaching, learning, and knowledge. I also provide some history of transdisciplinarity, and introduce readers to "Miss Smith", a composite of five middle school teachers who hold a transdisciplinary…

Which potato chip is healthiest: (1) regular; (2) baked; or (3) sour cream and onion? This problem requires critical and numerical skills in order to read and compare nutrition labels. The question has applications in mathematics and science classrooms but also in teachers' lounges and school cafeterias. It is a problem that addresses the five…

The authors provide a brief case study of a three-strategy approach for teaching undergraduate research methods that (1) incorporates active learning assignments and discussion-based learning, (2) integrates a cross-discipline and cross-method faculty guest discussion facilitators series, and (3) focuses on the challenges and rewards of conducting…

4th International Scientific and Professional Conference Intercultural Education and especially this proceedings of scientific and professional papers authored by scientists and practitioners contributes to greater sensitivity to diversity and the creation of an inclusive culture of life in educational institutions and in a multicultural…

Through an ethnographic study of one suburban elementary school, the delivery of services to English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities was investigated. The data analysis revealed that often disability-related and English as a Second Language (ESL) services were in contention, as scheduling, teacher expertise, school culture, and ESL…

This research study was built upon findings in neuroscience of the brain's natural ability to physically change itself through cognitive modifiability by creating new pathways and neural connections. The purpose of the research was to investigate instructional music applications for improvement in basic math skills with students who are on the…