In interdisciplinary studies, multiple definitions and practices proliferate. Interdisciplinarians such as William H. Newell claim that complex systems theory provides the rationale that we need to guide reform. However, complex systems theory alone cannot rationalize interdisciplinarity and inform what Ernest Boyer calls the scholarship of…

Nowadays for an appropriate way to deal with teaching and learning there is an axiomatic need to accept an integrated-holistic approach both in terms of the way we regard education and of how we practice it. This leads to a two-prong position: First, that education constitutes a dialectic entity and second that approaches to education presently in…

This paper critiques the historical partnership between Education and Psychology in their coordinated search for theorizations of learning and teaching. Psychologists' construction of learning as an integrated set of processes (albeit complex and multifaceted) subserves the historical imperative of this preparadigmatic science to achieve…

A study of a three-year environmental curriculum project is documented with attention to the process of co-constructing and implementing the curriculum while exposing the hidden potential for thoughtfully aligned learning communities to strengthen curriculum construction. The curriculum project is integrated across all disciplinary subjects and…

By integrating and infusing computer learning technologies wisely into student-centered or social constructivist art learning environments, art educators can improve student learning and at the same time provide a creative, substantive model for how schools can and should be reformed. By doing this, art educators have an opportunity to demonstrate…

Discusses science education reform based on constructivism. Explains that some educators view constructivism as a basis for a unifying theme for science education. (PR)

Provides a brief overview of historical trends in classroom instructional practices and explains the emergence of constructivist theory. Describes two instructional practices at the secondary level: curriculum integration and teaming. Reports findings of a case study examining one high school faculty's teaching practices while engaged in…

Explores a creative middle-school structure that provides a block of about two hours in the school day when one teacher has a group of students engaged in a variety of interdisciplinary activities. The concepts of learning circles and group-dependent projects are discussed. The core of the proposed middle school is constructivism. (SLD)

Presents a graduate course targeting the improvement of teaching and learning with regard to professional development. Argues that practicing teachers need opportunities to interact with one another and other individuals in the research community. Examines how private research and development works. (Contains 23 references.) (YDS)

Discusses reasons why inservice workshops often fail to impact science teaching. Describes restructuring of a workshop series so that teachers become real science learners, struggling with their own ideas about different scientific concepts as they design experiments and share theories with their peers. (JRH)

This document presents the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP) faculty's reviews on instructional issues of different disciplines. Contents include: (1) "The Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation"; (2) "Guiding Principles: New Thinking in Mathematics and Science Teaching"; (3) "Introduction: Parallel Journeys of Risk and…

A consistent lesson from the literature on school change is that no single method exists for improving schools. In that spirit, this book presents a collection of short articles that address a wide sampling of ideas and trends in educational change. All the articles were originally published in "Education Update," the official member…

This paper explores questions about the ways in which students, teachers, administrators, and parents negotiate new sets of roles and expectations for schooling in the innovative climate of a new middle school. A new school in an Australian city has implemented a coordinated package of approaches including integrated curriculum, portfolio…

Science/Technology/Society (STS) is widely recognized as a major reform effort as correctives are sought around the globe to attain scientific literacy for all. The focus of this book is on STS offered as reform. The efforts during the decade from 1984-1994 have resulted in research that can be used to affect practices while also assuring that STS…

For the twenty-eighth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…