Describes a project in which grade-four students read a historical novel and wrote essays as historical characters. College-level education students also read the novel and replied to the elementary students. Concludes that the project helped students achieve preestablished instructional goals. (CFR)

Describes a teaching activity in which middle school students draw maps based on map models used in ancient Babylon. Contends that this approach serves as a transition from the study of world civilizations in grade six to the U.S. history course in grade seven. Includes 10 student-created maps and student comments about the activity. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson on the building of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War. Helps students link history and geographical skills through cooperative group learning. Includes maps, diagrams, and three student readings. (CFR)

Presents a brief but thorough overview of the many and varied histories regarding science and technology in the United States. Provides general remarks for a number of books including social histories, studies of specific industries, analysis of trade and technology, studies of popular culture, and works on public history, and inventors. (MJP)

A University of South Carolina program provides marine science students with learning opportunities that merge research and undergraduate study. In three semesters, students mastered complex scientific concepts and important professional skills such as critical and independent thinking, teamwork, and problem solving. Student/faculty and…

Describes a year-long project created and undertaken by a group of 14 eighth-grade girls to conduct interdisciplinary research on teenage sexuality and pregnancy. The project involved reading and discussing fiction and nonfiction, conducting interviews with teenage mothers, writing and publishing a booklet, and mentoring a group of fifth- and…

Describes a team-taught immersion-style, content-based program in English as a foreign language (EFL) in a Japanese college liberal arts curriculum. The collaborative model of content-based instruction differs from the typical theme-based, sheltered, and adjunct models in its educational goals and instructional format. Suggestions are made for…

Describes an interdisciplinary group research WebQuest project for middle school students on global warming that was developed to target science and technology content standards for Maine's K-12 performance standards. Discusses technology integration, student research skills, use of Internet information, and cooperative and active learning. (LRW)

An educator and an architect discuss school design considerations that include developing a strong learning plan, a strong concept of community, and architecture that supports both. Involving the community and students in planning instills a sense of ownership and pride that is more conducive to learning and school safety than tough standards and…

At Birmingham-Southern College (Alabama), the business administration program's senior year capstone course in strategic business management serves three purposes: allows evaluation of the school's academic program; helps assess student capabilities; and allows integration of learning across disciplines. The course occurs during the January…

Institutional responses to the fiscal crisis in American higher education, as well as state and federal initiatives, are pushing universities toward four interrelated structural reforms: institutional differentiation; shift from basic to applied research and development; increased interdisciplinarity; and a shift from department-based research to…

Describes an interdisciplinary high school course that used contemporary films to illustrate overarching themes in the U.S. experience. Themes included individualism/social responsibility, isolation/internationalism, and liberal/conservative. Emphasis was on conceptual rather than historic relationships (e.g. "Norma Rae" illustrated…

Examines the development and evolution of discipline-based art education (DBAE) from its inception in the early 1980s to its current practice. Maintains that the movement's success comes from the support and acceptance of educators in the field. Discusses the recent integration of DBAE and multicultural education. (MJP)

Recommends using Chinua Achebe's novel of the 19th-century conflict between African tribal culture and English colonists in a world history class. Achebe's rich narrative, written in a graceful prose, is easily accessible to high school students. The novel replaces simplistic and abstract concepts with those more complex and concrete. (MJP)

Describes an interdisciplinary instructional unit using the historical novel "The Killer Angels" to teach about the Civil War. Writing assignments focused on character analysis from the novel bolstered by outside historical research. Student response was overwhelmingly positive. Includes suggested guidelines for developing an…