Recent calls in biology education research (BER) have recommended that researchers leverage learning theories and methodologies from other disciplines to investigate the mechanisms by which students to develop sophisticated ideas. We suggest "design-based research" from the learning sciences is a compelling methodology for achieving this…

The author addresses the structuring of a science and mathematics curriculum by creating a model for the learning experience. The model is based on learning hierarchies. (SD)

Explains what collaboration in education means and presents a study conducted in an interdisciplinary course in which preservice teachers were responsible for developing a CD-ROM on Cystic Fibrosis that was to be used by upper middle grade students. Discusses the impact of the interdisciplinary collaboration on student learning. (YDS)

Discusses a physical science course developed for college nonscience majors. This course, which is approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, investigates how muscles operate using the process of inquiry. Course content, instructional strategy, and course assessment are also discussed. (HM)

If science can be taught in a way that makes it accessible to the nonmajor, student fear of science would decrease. The topic of memory allows for an interdisciplinary analysis because films can be selected to complement the science. A course at Brooklyn College is described. (MLW)

A preliminary draft of a "Teacher Training Aid to Help Teachers Understand the Processes of Science" has been prepared on the basis of a careful analysis of the current practice of science. This manuscript attempts to formulate guidelines for an explanation of communicative processes of scientific inquiry to students without rigorous background…

This study investigates the way collaborative learning that occurs primarily outside the classroom affects college students' understanding of science. Collaborative learning is particularly important for the increasing number of nontraditional students who have limited time available for study groups and other peer learning activities occurring…

This USMES unit challenges students to find the best way to learn or teach someone else certain things. The teacher resource book for this 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 "challenges" and of classroom…

Discusses features of the meeting which was convened at the University of Bielefeld in West Germany in September 1978 on the cooperation between science teachers and mathematics teachers. (HM)

The role of motivation and collaboration in STEM learning and performance is paramount. A learning community represents an educational approach that can engage students in learning in a motivated, thoughtful, active, and collaborative way. The focus of this article is on the nature of students' interest, attitudes, learning experiences and…

These proceedings are divided into two major sections. Section I contains papers based on original research and thought and are intended as examples of products of rigorous scholarship. This section is subdivided into three subsections covering the future, the present, and the past. Papers appearing in this section were reviewed by at least two…

The faculty learning community project at Howard University involved a diverse group of men and women, tenured, tenure-track, and future faculty across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The purpose of the group was to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning by learning about teaching, reflecting on…

This Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) unit challenges students to learn or teach someone certain things (spelling, geometry, metric system). The challenge is general enough to apply to many problem-solving situations in mathematics, science, social science, and language arts at any elementary school level (grades…