A modern school should encourage students to deepen the subjects autonomously and beyond the normal curricula. Such aim, requiring both well-disposed pupils and cooperative teachers, was reached by the pioneering interdisciplinary project "From Soccerene to Fullerene" in 2013. The scientific education was noticeably improved, especially…

With increasing adoption of the problem-based learning (PBL) model, creative approaches to enhancing facilitator training and optimizing resources to maintain effective learning in small groups is essential. We describe a theoretical framework for the development of a PBL facilitator training program that uses the constructivist approach as the…

Empathy and interdisciplinarity are both concepts that are current and relevant--across professions, in research, and in academia. This paper describes a large, interdisciplinary, project-based assignment, the Empathy Project, which allows students to delve into and increase comfort and skill with interdisciplinary thinking and collaborative…

The objective of this study was to determine whether there was a quantifiable improvement in learning outcomes by integrating course materials in a 4-year baccalaureate program, utilizing a knowledge repository with a conceptual map that spans a discipline. Two new models were developed to provide the framework for this knowledge repository. A…

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…

In the Discover Lab, a science education center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, students learn to investigate, critique, and test big scientific questions and devise their own answers. Students are guided through cyclical processes of inquiry, logic and reasoning, testing and experimentation, and communication. (MLH)