As is the worldwide trend, scientists in China face strong and increasing pressure to publish their research in international peer-reviewed journals written in English. There is an acute need for graduate students to develop the required language skills alongside their scientific expertise, in spite of the distinct division currently existing…

Based on extracts from an ethnography produced during the ESRC 2009-10 research project, ""Preparedness Pedagogies" and Race: An Interdisciplinary Approach," this article explores the racialized culture of civil defence in the UK whilst also critiquing the world of higher education. The ethnographic artefacts of interviews,…

A framework of operating models for interdisciplinary research programs in clinical service organizations is presented, consisting of a "clinician-researcher" skill development model, a program evaluation model, a researcher-led knowledge generation model, and a knowledge conduit model. Together, these models comprise a tailored, collaborative…

In this article we briefly address the rationale for linking courses and the types of student learning communities that exist in various institutions of higher education. We then describe a new method we used to link our theology (Protestant Churches in America) and sociology (Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequality) courses in which no students…

Nowadays, there is a growing conviction (at least in rhetoric) that sustainability is an idea whose time has come with education being a critical component in the transition towards a sustainable future. In the field of higher agricultural education, systemic approaches have, among others, triggered a lively dialogue. Topics include the challenge…

The study of polar exploration is fascinating and offers students insights into the history, culture, and politics that affect the developing sciences at the farthest ends of Earth. Therefore, the authors think there is value in incorporating polar exploration accounts within modern science classrooms, and so they conducted research to test their…

All disciplines and fields have something important to contribute to liberal learning. History, however, provides something distinctive. This contribution can be enhanced by a more explicit understanding of the relationship between the history major and the broader goals and processes of liberal learning, and through consideration of that…

In this article, the author discusses how science can be integrated into the "creative curriculum". Creative approaches to curriculum design, cross-curricular studies and an increased focus on the creative arts are routes to promoting and teaching creativity. But when learning in science is based on a genuine enquiry-based approach with children…

Erving Goffman was a crossover writer. His work, even simply his name, had significance for people who worked in literature, in history, in media studies, in political science, in psychology, in law schools and business schools--and, of course, in anthropology and linguistics. There is no indication that Goffman ever sought such a role. He was a…

Leadership development, diversity, and collaboration are hallmarks of collaborative learning. The creation of learning communities requires everyone involved--students, faculty, and administration--to change how they think about teaching and learning. Everyone must value and work in an interdisciplinary manner and communicate effectively for these…

Cultural evolutionary theory is an interdisciplinary field in which human culture is viewed as a Darwinian process of variation, competition, and inheritance, and the tools, methods, and theories developed by evolutionary biologists to study genetic evolution are adapted to study cultural change. It is argued here that an integration of the…

In this paper, we have explored how students in a cross-disciplinary course on engineering and social justice approached the idea of using social justice as a "lens" for looking at engineering. We have used an adapted phenomenographic approach [Marton, F., and Booth, S., 1997. "Learning and awareness". Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum], together with…

Background: Although about 15 to 50 percent of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) living in residential settings suffer from sleep problems, scant attention is paid to these problems. Most available studies focus on pharmaceutical solutions. In this study we focus on improving sleep in people with intellectual disabilities living in…

In this paper, the authors introduce the "Targeted Assessment Rubric for Interdisciplinary Writing," an empirically-tested instrument designed to assess interdisciplinary writing at the collegiate level. Interdisciplinary writing presents unique challenges to students, calling upon them to mediate the rhetorical, theoretical, and…

Interdisciplinary concepts and methodology are increasingly common in today's secondary schools. However, many interdisciplinary lessons combine courses in related areas (e.g., English with history or science with mathematics). This article examines the use of mathematical ideas in the teaching of literature and writing. Employing mathematical…