Describes interdisciplinary activities for teaching elementary science using eggs. Each activity is designed to introduce larger thematic units. Activities include making egg animals (study of animal survival), throwing raw eggs at taut vertical sheets and making cars for egg passengers (force and momentum), and making eggshell domes (dome…

The research described in this paper was conducted over a 4-year period at Orangecrest Elementary School, a new school in a Southern California urban district, which adopted Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) at its inception. ITI, developed by Susan Kovalik, is a tightly structured program based on the idea of year-long themes which are broken…

The Teaching Excellence for Minority Student Achievement (TEAM) Program is a 5-year supplemental program in the Los Angeles (California) area designed to demonstrate that urban minority low income students at risk of school failure can be refocused using an interdisciplinary approach to teaching elementary and middle school science and mathematics…

An examination of the issues surrounding the concept of change is fundamental to curriculum improvement for elementary and middle schools. New beliefs surround an integrative rather than a separate subject isolation approach to curriculum. This report examines past, current, and future curriculum practice and considerations, focusing on a new…

This user's guide presents an interdisciplinary teaching approach for middle school instruction in the area of African-American history. It emphasizes the importance of cultural diversity and the need for tolerance to allow students to see racial harmony as a step to global peace. The guide is divided into four sections that encompass…

A student-centered, cross-disciplinary approach was developed to teach English language skills to first-year architecture students at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology. The course addressed the problem of native architecture students' lack of training in oral skills and lack of experience in expressing familiar architectural concepts…

A curriculum consisting of four modules is presented to help nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians develop team practices and improve and increase the utilization of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in primary care settings. The curriculum was prepared in 1981-1982 by the California Area Health Education Center…

The architecture sequence at Hiram College, Ohio, which consists of three courses and supervised volunteer work at restoration sites in the region, is described. The sequence links American architecture and the broader areas of cultural history and literature, and the courses are open to any student in the college. The introductory course examines…

The document outlines the social studies program for grades K-12 in Texas. It is presented in five sections. Section I provides an overview of the program. Curriculum design, instructional resources, and professional growth and development are discussed. Section II outlines goals for public school education in Texas and Section III outlines social…

A model for an interdisciplinary graduate degree program based on the Behavioral Science Graduate degree program at California State University at Dominguez Hills is described. In light of the declining resources available to higher education institutions it is recommended that curricular programs be accountable and responsive to the needs of the…

The planning and development of a new, Israeli residential high school (grades 10-12) for excellence in arts and sciences is described. The curriculum design (art and science specialization, interdisciplinary studies, community involvement, and values education); criteria for student selection; and planning activities in design, evaluation and…

This report describes efforts by Portland State University (Oregon) (PSU) to undertake administrative restructuring, reinvent the curriculum with an interdisciplinary focus, and initiate experiential learning programs that benefit both students and the community. By reducing support staff and middle management, PSU freed up funds to create a…

This report details a program for development of curricula and instructional materials integrating technology into elementary and early secondary education, using an interdisciplinary approach. The work was undertaken in the teacher education program at the University of Manitoba, where teacher trainees created pilot instructional units. The…

Provides of examples of performance-based assessments in three categories: (1) projects; (2) performances; and (3) question strategy sessions. Describes a typical performance-based assessment project including setting up the project, peer evaluation, the class presentation, and the test used. (CFR)

Reflects on the collective experiences of eight medical schools participating in a large-scale medical curriculum development project, highlighting lessons learned over five years and commenting on issues of leadership, governance, communication, faculty development, curriculum integration, instructional methods, student assessment, and program…