This article presents a model for the development of an environmentally oriented unit designed to be implemented as an integral part of the science core curriculum. The program's main goal is encouraging students at the junior high-school level to develop systems-thinking and environmental insight as a basis for environmental literacy. A…

This study explored the skills students develop through participation in instrumental music and the effect it has on their academic achievement through student and parent/guardian surveys. Fifty-eight percent of cognitive skills were identified as being obtained by a majority of students, 70% of affective skills, and 71% of meta-cognitive skills…

The purposes of this paper are a) to present tentative statements based upon a synthesis of the research in the area of interdisciplinary education, b) to present some implications for professional behavior based upon these tentative statements, and c) to present some testable questions which need to be researched in order to solidify or modify…

Robert Muller's "World Core Curriculum" is designed to give children: a good picture of planet Earth and the universe; a correct picture of the commonalities and diversity of the human family; an accurate picture of the time period into which they are born; and a sense of their own importance and the role that they can play in society.…

Discusses the interdisciplinary use of poetry to enhance instruction in core content areas of the middle school curriculum. Considers how to use a poem instructionally, how to read a poem effectively, and how to locate poems with content applications. Provides an annotated bibliography of poetry volumes for browsing. (JPB)

As multicultural education is becoming integral to the core curriculum, teachers often implement this aspect into their courses through literature. However, standards and criteria to teach and promote active discussion about this literature are sparse. This book introduces pre-service and experienced teachers to the use of literature to promote…

University innovations relevant to sustainability education do not always come labelled as such. Inspiration can potentially be drawn from a wide range of fields and initiatives. During a 2005 study tour of Canada, seven universities were visited to investigate such programs, focussing on those that comprise more than one subject and that are…

Fairleigh Dickinson University developed a University Core Curriculum which it initiated in the 1987-1988 academic year (the pilot program was operational in the fall 1986 semester). The University Core is composed of four 3-credit liberal education courses: "Perspectives on the Individual," which deals with works ranging from Plato's "Crito" to…

Recommends curriculum clustering as a way of giving definition and meaning to secondary curricula lacking cohesiveness and academic depth. This approach involves the development of a cluster of courses outside of normal graduation requirements that form a general education core linking foundation courses and more advanced course work. Illustrates…

With the dramatic growth of environmental science as an elective in high schools over the last decade, educators have the opportunity to realistically consider the possibility of incorporating environmental science into the core high school curriculum. Environmental science has several characteristics that make it a candidate for the core…

The Core Program replaces a 54-credit, distributive approach to general education with a 45-credit, integrative and interdisciplinary set of semester programs very evenly spread out over the four years of college education. In place of a required number of courses from several separate departments, Core involves a 6-credit interdisciplinary course…

Described and assessed is the Interdepartmental Program in Engineering at the University of Rochester which allows engineering students the opportunity to design their own curriculum. (SL)

The reputed merits of the interdisciplinary curriculum movement are explored in this collection of works by leading educators. Context is laid out in the introduction, "When Theory Meets Practice in the World of School," by Pam Grossman, Sam Wineburg, and Scott Beers. The chapters are as follows: (1) "On Disciplinary Lenses and…