In this study we examined curriculum integration in new ways by exploring the link between classroom context, the implementation of community-based, integrated science projects, and the subsequent student learning. The literature is inconsistent regarding the benefits of an integrated approach to curriculum. The research design was a multiple case…

Today's curricula must incorporate activities that help students make science concepts and skills their own. Many suggest that teachers should allow students to relate classroom lessons to their own lives, explore a wide variety of applications and connections to other knowledge and experience, and consolidate the learning in ways they will…

The Learning in Science Project (1979-1981) studied the problems and difficulties of learning science at the 10-14 year old level in New Zealand to provide insights into the world of the science learner and provide an alternative perspective of the science classroom to that currently held by teachers and others. This paper offers practical…

This paper offers practical procedures and suggestions on initiating and carrying out naturalistic classroom observation of the type used in the Learning in Science Project in New Zealand (1980). The initiation of the research requires sensitivity and patience. Once in the classroom the overriding aim is to be unobtrusive and to achieve acceptance…