Provides background information and related learning activities for three areas of inquiry involving youth and violence: (1) "Evolution of the Juvenile Justice System"; (2) "The Literature of Crime and Poverty"; (3) "Youth Crime and Public Policy." Includes a list of six recommended Web sites. (MJP)

Describes an easy project that uses postcards to engage elementary and middle school students in reading, writing, and social studies. Students write letters to the editors of different newspapers asking their readers to send postcards to the class. Follow up activities include response letters, maps, and writing assignments. (MJP)

Considers problems encountered in researching and writing historical geography (geography focused on some particular time or period in the past). Examines research topics and discusses the problems associated with making geographical interpretations from historical sources. Recommends a continuing dialog between historical and contemporary…

Examines possible relationships between student achievement and implementation of middle-level program concepts within 10 middle/junior high schools of a large, urban school district. Middle-level programming was positively related to student achievement, although relationships were small, considering the overall influence of past achievement.…

Undergraduate technology and business students at the Polytechnic of Wales (United Kingdom) participated in multi-disciplinary team projects to experience real life business challenges and develop competences that employers expect in professionals. Lists characteristics of successful multi-disciplinary projects, discusses cost and industry…

The Boston (Massachusetts) Institute for Health Improvement formed an Interdisciplinary Professional Education Cooperative linking four local interdisciplinary teams (in Cleveland; Washington, DC; Pennsylvania; and South Carolina) and a coordinating committee. The organization offers health professions students opportunities to work on…

Examines the experience of four high school teachers implementing an inclusive, interdisciplinary pilot program. Organizational analysis of structural, human, political, and symbolic "frames" revealed that creation of a collegial community among participating teachers involved mutual adaptation of teachers' former individual practices…

Survey of 400 Missouri schools compared schools that use integrated curriculum (IC) with those that do not. Explores the extent and type of use of IC, how school principals rate IC success, differences between characteristics of schools that do and do not use IC, and teacher involvement and support across different school levels. Includes data…

Examined use of integrated, interdisciplinary, or multidisciplinary (I/ID/MD) curricula in Missouri schools. Qualitative and quantitative analyses suggest that: use of I/ID/MD is affected by school size; nonuser schools are primarily rural, with student bodies of low SES status; and teacher involvement in decision making is higher among schools…

In 1991, a partnership of three public schools in Hawaii received an Elementary and Secondary Education Act grant to develop a K-12 information skills curriculum and purchase electronic resources. Discusses installing the hardware and software, creating the information search framework, and developing the K-12 guide. Evaluates the two year project…

This paper responds to the Institute of Medicine's 1995 report concerning the present status and future needs of dental education in the United States. It stresses that the dental profession does not want dentistry integrated into medicine though it recognizes the need for a closer association, for changes in the accreditation process, and for a…

Maintains that a liberal education emphasizing the humanities provides teachers with a more expansive view of the world and the ability to adapt to changing paradigms. Outlines strategies, developed through a two-year project, for achieving this goal. Describes the project and includes a reading list. (MJP)

By strengthening the links between specialty teachers' classrooms (e.g., music, art, and physical education) and the regular classroom, classroom teachers can tap into the specialty teachers' expertise and use the arts to enhance everyday lessons. The article describes the steps in initiating and maintaining such a partnership. Two sample lessons…

This article discusses the need to incorporate research findings in developmental psychopathology, psychiatric comorbidity, and psychopharmacology in school mental health programs to enable early detection and primary prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders in students. A response stresses the need for a multidisciplinary approach.…

Reveals creative and unique ways to assess children's learning in the social studies classroom using tools rather than tests. Provides examples of acrostic poems (each line begins with a letter from a famous person's name) and bio-poems (each line answers a biographical question). (MJP)