In too many K-12 schools, notes Hoachlander, science, math, and technology are still taught in isolation from one another--and engineering is barely taught at all. Even when STEM content and skills are presented in an integrated fashion, they are rarely linked to the rest of the academic subjects or to real-world work in STEM fields. Hoachlander…

Striking differences between physics and biology have important implications for interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The author is a physicist with interdisciplinary connections. The research group in which he works, the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin, is…

Schools that are integrating the arts into literacy, math, and other core subjects are dispelling the notion that there's an either-or choice in education--either you focus on literacy and math or you provide a well-rounded curriculum in the arts and other subjects. Crayola grant-recipient schools are demonstrating that you can do both--and end up…

The final version of standards aimed at reshaping the focus and delivery of science instruction in U.S. schools was publicly unveiled last week, setting the stage for states--many of which helped craft the standards--to take the next step and consider adopting them as their own. More than three years in the making, the Next Generation Science…

Becoming a champion of arts education means establishing a culture that embraces a team approach toward integrating the arts. This article offers some practical guidance for developing a creative leadership team--and cultivating creativity in the whole school.

This article considers the conceptualization of physical education as a Leaving Certificate Examination subject and the place of physical education in a liberal education. Special attention is given to the conceptual evolution of physical education and its intrinsic educational values and to the developments in the idea of a liberal education over…

Despite the expectation that all students should achieve high academic standards, content area instruction and English for speakers of other languages instruction for English language learners (ELLs) have traditionally been conceptualized as separate domains, resulting in educational inequities for ELLs. This is because effective instruction to…

The neurological basis of learning disabilities (LD), and other handicapping conditions commonly found in school-age children, makes the integration of neuropsychology and school psychology plausible. However, there has been longstanding debate over the required level of education, training, supervision, and credentialing needed for the practice…

The French school system is a subjects-centred curriculum from the beginning of 1960s. This deep-rooted organisation tends to block the several attempts made to integrate the teaching of scientific school subjects. From an historical point of view, this paper describes the curricular system and the issue of its current change. It focuses on the…

Today's schools and teachers are challenged with meeting the demands of specific content standards, high stakes assessment, and developing students from diverse backgrounds to be capable of competing in a global market. These twenty-first century students must not only possess critical thinking skills and the ability to process information, but…

The acronym STEM--the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and math--now a familiar term in education, is evolving into STEAM--STEM plus "A" for art. Educational researcher Martin Storksdieck's studies have shown that infusing art into STEM allows for "a different way of perceiving and knowing and dealing with the world, as a means to…

Although strong arguments espousing the accolades of arts involvement are evident, the visual and performing arts continue to be underfunded and underused in K-12 schooling and teacher preparation. Valiant efforts from arts advocates have made inroads to reverse this negative trend, yet policies and practices that reflect a commitment to "arts for…

Integrated learning is well established in education, primarily in the classroom subjects. This article describes settings and ways for extending integrated instruction to physical education and music. Benefits of these connections include reinforcing content and better meeting the needs of students whose intelligences include the bodily…

Have your students ever wondered what NASA scientists do? Have they asked you what their science and mathematics lessons have to do with the real world? This unit about Earth's atmosphere can help to answer both of those questions. The unit described here showcases "content specific integration" of science and mathematics in that the lessons meet…

Literature is viewed as a natural "thinking" medium to help children experience learning in a contextual setting (Ward 2005). Though, as Draper (2002) contended, mathematics is a subject that children are often unable to recognize as useful in their lives, literature with mathematical components may be able to address this concern. Combining…