National security demands that "illegals" must be kept out of the country. Terrorists may be entering alongside Mexicans jumping immigration queues. So explain members of the self-appointed Minuteman Civil Defense Corps as they and 25 Vassar College students trudge a migrant trail across a parched, cactus-punctuated desert near Douglas,…

An important aspect of teaching biology is to expose students to the concept of biodiversity. For this purpose, bacteria are excellent examples. The advanced placement (AP) biology class at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia, learned how to explore bacterial biodiversity using molecular fingerprinting. They collected marine water samples,…

Looking for social studies adventures to help students find connections to democratic citizenship? Look no further! This book provides just the answer teachers need for engaging students in field trips as researching learners with emphasis on interdisciplinary social studies plus skills in collecting and reporting data gathered from field…

This study investigated the relationship between the use of a three-dimensional Virtual Reality Learning Environment for Field Trip (3DVLE[subscript (ft)]) system and the achievement levels of senior high school earth science students. The 3DVLE[subscript (ft)] system was presented in two separate formats: Teacher Demonstrated Based and Student…

This article reports the results of a study evaluating the impact of entry-level teacher education course work on teacher candidates' multicultural attitudes. The authors were interested in finding out which curriculum was the most effective at helping teacher candidates examine their multicultural attitudes and at the same time enhancing their…

Field trips are not just for the school year. End the year right by encouraging parents and caregivers to continue working children's brains throughout the summer months. For example, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) recommends taking children of all ages--preschoolers, children, tweens and teens--to museums. Whether it is a two-hour…

Organizing international school trips can be a demanding experience because of the age of the participants, the unfamiliar surroundings and the excitement associated with the foreign trip. As many organizers are full-time teachers, without a background in the travel sector, the pressures can be even greater. The need to anticipate potential risks…

School fundraising is a topic likely to elicit a variety of responses from principals. Some shrug it off as a responsibility of their school's PTA or PTO. Others may chuckle at the memory of kissing a pig or shaving their head. Of course, some principals will probably grumble at the thought of activities that are perceived as annoying…

An educational environmental youth camp was held comprising of fifty one 16-year old secondary students and facilitated by volunteers from the university and Friends of the Earth, a non profit organization in Penang. A weekend camp on youth action task program was held at an isolated beach packed with activities that were structured towards…

Science, like most subjects, can only come alive when students are actively engaged in real-life pursuits that interest and challenge them (VanTassel-Baska and Bass 1998). Here the author describes how she was able to bring science to life for her middle school students through a series of Science Safaris--inquiry-based excursions to a variety of…

Effective educators have incorporated media (images, diagrams, animations, simulations, audio, video, etc.) into their classroom instruction for many years, recognizing that these elements support student learning in powerful ways. Twenty-first century teaching and learning emphasizes media literacy as an integral skill and this type of literacy…

A program of environmental education that includes field trips to the island of Nantucket is described. (DB)