Presents a social studies lesson, Head-Smashed-In, based on inquiry and cooperative learning principles, that asks students to hypothesize about the mystery of an Indian buffalo jump. Provides clues and topographical maps for the Head-Smashed-In jump in Alberta, Canada. Objectives include understanding the relationship between physical environment…

Maintains that environmental education in New South Wales is supported as an interdisciplinary priority area. Describes an environmental education/social studies unit using children's literature. Describes six lessons and presents samples of student writing in response to assignments. (CFR)

Presents a classroom lesson based on a simulation of a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the issue of coal mining on Arizona Indian reservations. Provides background information for student roles that include government representatives, coal company executives, and both traditional and progressive representatives of Native American tribes. (CFR)

Certain contemporary technical advancements and social developments can influence curriculum content and delivery. Multidisciplinary conceptions and multidimensional modes of curriculum implementation may replace subject-centered focus. Although curriculum should reflect the needs of changing societies, achieving balance between integration of new…

This report on the status of undergraduate programs in environmental science (ES) comprises information from 76 of 262 institutions that offer a bachelors degree in ES. The following areas are discussed (1) administrative arrangements, (2) curriculum requirements, (3) enrollments, and (4) directors' perceptions of the problems and positive aspects…

Discusses the Global Lab Project, developed to reform science education through the implementation of experiential, student-based collaborative inquiry. The use of telecommunications, affordable scientific tools, and innovative curricula to create a global community of student researchers engaged in real-world, hands-on investigation of global…

Argues that the preservation of areas like the Shoreline Park (California) wetlands depends on educating students about the value of natural resources. Describes the creation of a Web page on the wetlands for third-grade students by seventh-grade art and ecology students. Outlines the technical process of developing a Web page. (DSK)

Reports on a field project that allowed students to engage in problem solving, gather field data, and apply geographic concepts and tools. Students conducted a topographic survey of a shoreline and classified, counted, and weighed litter collected from the shoreline. Discusses the classification system and the students' findings. (MJP)

Visits to rural indigenous communities in Oaxaca (Mexico) exposed Vermont teachers and university students to cultures that recognize the interconnectedness of life and caused them to reflect on how different cultural patterns promote or hinder ecologically sustainable living. The communities' efforts to incorporate their culture and language into…

Summarizes the recent changes in the highly centralized national geography curriculum in Japan. Prominent reforms include the implementation of environmental studies in the elementary schools and a broader emphasis, across the curriculum, on world geography. In teacher education, emphasis is now placed on teaching skills rather than subject…

In this study, we seek a better understanding of how individuals and their daily interactions shape and reshape social structures that constitute a classroom community. Moreover, we provide insight into how discourse and classroom interactions shape the nature of a learning community, as well as which aspects of the classroom culture may be…

In a rural Eastern North Carolina county, a team of students and teachers has come together to explore the scientific dynamics of a historic millpond. This article talks about the Bennett's Millpond Environmental Learning Project. The project immerses students and teachers in sustained contact with science technology tools as they study the water…

One of the goals of Professional Development School (PDS) programs is to provide preservice teachers with opportunities for developing in-depth knowledge and experience as they learn to teach (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2001). A theme-based PDS adds value to the PDS program model because it allows faculty members to…

This study focuses on the impact of the political situation in Northern Ireland and geography teaching in schools. Student teachers on the PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) Geography Course at the University of Ulster (UU) conducted discussions within their geography departments whilst on teaching practice and reported the outcomes to…

Inspired by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network's "Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools," members of fourteen social justice, peace, and environmental education (SJPEE) special interest groups (SIGs) from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and several other prominent organizations have been involved in drafting SJPEE…