Numerous reports over recent years emphasise the importance of teamwork training in undergraduate programs in environment education at tertiary level. This paper describes a project undertaken by a team of final year undergraduate environment students from four faculties at RMIT University in Australia working on a multi-disciplinary environment…

Increased attention to student engagement and active learning strategies have become particularly relevant in today's classroom environments. These approaches are also considered to be meaningful when teaching "net generation" students who have different styles and expectations. This study attempts to address these challenges through the…

Some children hold the belief that insects and spiders are all mere nuisances because they have never had opportunities to observe, study, and learn to appreciate how these animals live and carry out their purposes in life. Studying insects and spiders fosters children's natural curiosity about the world around them and encourages them to use…

This paper describes an activity-based program that teaches students in grades 4-12 about the importance of Maine agriculture in their lives. Specifically, the goal is to increase student awareness of how the foods they eat are planted, harvested, and processed. The emphasis is on crops grown in Maine such as potatoes, broccoli, peas, blueberries,…

This unit is designed to help first grade students understand the broad concept of community. The students experience a variety of in-class and field trip activities that will expose them to communities. The students observe and compare both natural and human-designed communities. Learning activities include pantomimes, listening activities,…

This unit of study is made up of a series of activities designed to acquaint the students with changes and cycles in the world around them. The unit includes a field trip to a local beach where a number of changes can be observed first-hand. Life cycles, as well as the water cycle, are introduced in the unit through a variety of pre-trip classroom…

The Intercurricular Studies Division at Miami-Dade Community College offers a two-semester interdisciplinary, experiential approach to general education. This division is autonomous and maintains its own full-time faculty. Its major teaching unit is the module, an interdependent component of four instructors with experience in communications,…

An overview of the general education programs in higher education is presented and six curricular patterns are discussed. The distribution model requires students to generalize their fields of knowledge to some extent and acquaints students with various modes of discourse. Integrative models aim to draw upon the knowledqe and methodological…

This USMES unit challenges students to find ways to influence rules and the decision-making process in the school. The teacher resource book for the School Rules unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES…

This USMES unit challenges students to find ways to overcome the difficulties in getting from one place to another. The teacher resource book for the Getting There unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES…

Provides an overview of the interdisciplinary science, student, and value-oriented approach of the Israeli Environmental Education Project (IEEP). Presents the projects learning model which identifies the scope of the studies, student activities, teaching strategies, content, and the four curriculum units. (ML)

Presents 20 activities that are designed to develop awareness, curiosity, and sensitivity in children through exploratory exercises of the home, community, and natural world. Incorporates native American attitudes in the activities which can be adapted to all age levels and varied learning settings. (ML)

The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR) program has successfully capitalized on human fascination with the ocean by using the marine environment to develop interest and capability in science. The Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences, as the managing agency of the JC NERR, makes its faculty, staff resources, and…

Created in response to desegregation problems, the Grimes Center for Creative Education is a magnet school which emphasizes parent participation, an interdisciplinary arts curriculum, and a learning-by-doing approach. The success of Grimes illustrates how community concern over desegregation can be transformed into community support for quality…

Examines the educational challenges created by complex health care delivery systems and the need to train analysts and problem solvers to work effectively within these systems. Illustrates, through a course description, how cognitive and experiential learning approaches can provide the student with a bridge between acquiring technical skills and…