Describes advantages and details of use of journal writing in introductory geology course. Entries include minimum of three one-page entries per week and count for 25 percent of course grade. Most students start with restatement of ideas presented in class; by end of the course, they are drawing original conclusions and applying ideas in new…

Describes a method of teaching geology and scientific writing to nonscience students that combines active integration of lecture, reading, and laboratory materials with field observations into a writing assignment on a real scientific problem. The writing assignment is completed in stages: a prospectus, a detailed report outline, a bibliography, a…

Describes an assignment in a paleontology course built around constructional morphology and the role of adaptation and exaptation in evolution. Students investigate the constructional morphology of a group of fossils that interests them. Findings are presented in an oral presentation and in a term paper. (27 references) (PR)

Describes an assignment in a graduate-level course in sedimentary-basin analysis that requires students to write a research-grant proposal. The assignment forces students to develop a topic suitable for original research. Each year 25 percent of the class turns these assignments into master's thesis projects and/or submits them as student grant…

Describes an integrated thematic unit for children from kindergarten to third grade. Explains that the unit incorporates reading, speaking, writing, science, mathematics, social studies, and art into the study of whales. Suggests learning activities on echolocation, migration, measurement, scrimshaw, history, and human interaction with the…

Discusses "connectionism," an alternative learning model wherein meaning resides in the function of the whole state of a network, rather than being localizable in certain symbols or areas. Topics discussed include integration with other learning models; the culture of the mathematics classroom; and characteristics of alternative…

Recommends using teacher vacations to help students learn about other countries and cultures. Asserts that visiting schools and classrooms can have useful professional development results. Includes a list of classroom activities that can be based on teacher vacations. (CFR)

Presents two interdisciplinary lessons combining social studies, reading, and writing. Includes recommended children's literature for both lessons. Suggests classroom activities designed to teach history and social studies through reading historical fiction. (CFR)

The central component of the University of Cincinnati's teacher education restructuring involved development of a pattern language based on research in architectural redesign. The language identifies areas of knowledge necessary for teaching and specifies the processes and structures for achieving goals. It allows incorporation of goals and values…

By focusing on a polluted river and a visit to a rural Tennessee town, sixth-grade students from suburban Asheville, North Carolina, learned more about this controversy than many of their well-informed parents and teachers. Steps for creating similar interdisciplinary thematic units are described, along with the benefits of team teaching and…

The Temple University (Pennsylvania) advanced general dentistry program includes seminars and clinical rotations in social work, to help students gain an appreciation and working knowledge of social workers' function in health care provision, to improve interpersonal skills, to interact with social workers, to address diversity issues, and to…

Explores the composition of the literature of international librarianship through a bibliometric analysis. Areas studied include what disciplines have contributed to international librarianship, how contributions of publications have fluctuated, what countries have contributed, and who the key authors are. Recommendations for further study are…

Described is a interdisciplinary unit on space. During the planning of their projects, students become immersed in talking about ideas, writing, designing, and illustrating a space colony. The unit relates science to language arts, social studies, mathematics, art, and music. (KR)

Interdisciplinary learning modules called "Maude Visits..." are described. The modules apply basic scientific concepts to current and future problems facing people in various countries such as the Soviet Union. Activities using maps, money, and convection currents are included. (KR)

Discusses the empowerment approach in health education, emphasizing the role of health educators as collaborators sensitive to each participant, group, and context. Empowerment programs do not blame the participant or the environment, but instead work collaboratively to enhance growth and change in the facilitators, participants, and environments.…