This study was conducted to determine how reform at the middle school level translates into classroom practice within the framework of innovation and decision-making. A set of field notes was developed through formal and informal interviews with the building principal and two interdisciplinary teams of teachers (N=11) who had moved away from…

Three relatively distinct groups demonstrating personal and professional interest in environmental education for adults are environmentalists, environmental educators, and adult educators. The agenda of each group, its potential contribution, and its limitations are discussed. The development of communication and cooperation among these groups,…

Technological progress in communication and transportation within the past 30 years has made many areas of the world accessible, as well as interdependent. Failure to understand the concept of interdependency greatly diminishes the potential of all nations and each citizen to appreciate this world community. This agricultural awareness program…

Both humanity and nature have suffered greatly from human insensitivity. Not only are the natural resources of the earth being depleted and its air, land and water polluted, the financial resources of humanity are being wasted on destructive expenditures. The "Our Only Earth" series is an integrated science, language arts, and social studies…

This guide was developed to help vocational teacher educators and special teacher educators prepare prospective teachers for work with students with disabilities. The manual is based on 13 topics identified by a panel of national experts in vocational special education and vocational teacher education as most important for teacher trainees to…

Certain world characteristics can no longer be ignored when curriculum is devised for schools and teacher education. The rate of change in our country, and globally, is accelerating. Taking a reconstructionist view, there are certain directions that education should take with respect to content, methodology, values education, and skills. Educators…

This article describes a writing-across-the-curriculum project that was born of one university's commitment to writing and ubiquitous computing. Faculty members across the disciplines, seeing an opportunity to re-introduce WAC on its campus through a curriculum development initiative funded out of an internal teaching, learning, and technology…

Addressing the need for developmental or remedial reading and writing courses at the college level, this paper provides a broad perspective on the strengthening of such programs for students deficient in these skills. The paper first enumerates various reasons for developing reading-writing courses for pre-college students, then provides evidence…

This paper describes the development of an elementary school program in global culture which uses language as a vehicle for education in global citizenship. The approach to curriculum development focuses primarily on the child's needs, and secondarily on content. The curriculum was designed to be activity-oriented, child-centered, and…

The Freshman General Studies Thematic Program (GST) at California State University, Chico was established in 1973 to create a general education program for freshmen and to give faculty the opportunity to explore innovative teaching methods. What resulted was a 33-unit, year-long interdisciplinary course for 36 well-motivated, well-prepared…

This paper discusses the goals, planning, methodology, problems, and outcomes of an interdisciplinary course on the future of Europe that was offered for the first time in the summer quarter 1989 as part of the Center for Western European Studies at Kalamazoo College (Michigan). Intended particularly for students who had completed foreign study in…

The World Civilization curriculum at Tidewater Community College was redesigned to integrate basic skills with the content assignments. The targeted skills were library reference and research, geography, reading comprehension, critical analysis, grammar usage, and creative writing and thinking. During the first semester, World Civilization…

Responsible human behavior toward pets, farm animals, and wild animals is considered by many to be an important goal. The purpose of this elementary instructional guide is to introduce and develop in students a sense of responsibility toward animals. The teaching activities in the guide are based on nine concepts. These are: (1) many kinds of…

This paper discusses the role of the culture in secondary mathematics education. A historical and philosophical look at the relationship between the real world and mathematics and mathematics education is developed. The U.S. secondary mathematics curriculum is explored both historically and philosophically to try to ascertain its changing…

The collection of vignettes in this book provide science teachers with a multitude of source materials and useful alternatives for incorporation into their curricula and teaching. Teachers may select topics as brief issues for casual reflection or as a means for promoting deeper investigation and analysis. Most of the vignettes can be extended and…