An interdisciplinary civic education program, Facing History and Ourselves, teaches history in a way that helps adolescents reflect critically on contemporary social issues. The program focuses on a specific period (the Nazi rise to power and the Holocaust), guiding students between a historical case study and reflection on the causes and…

Reports results of a survey of library schools in the United States and Canada that focused on factors contributing to the health of successful programs. Topics discussed include budget considerations; faculty publishing records; enrollment figures; relationships with other academic departments, including joint degree programs; and state economic…

Suggests teaching modes of thought other than the scientifically based theoretical mode. Urges teaching students to nurture practical thinking. Describes a case study of a program of Israel studies in Israelis Jewish schools that includes a variety of disciplines. Offers a plan for monthly conferences organized by students with assistance from…

Students at Rutgers University completed a one-semester interdisciplinary course on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Questionnaires administered before and after the course assessed changes in AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Results showed that sexual behaviors did not change significantly. (SM)

At a Pennsylvania middle school, an informal, cooperative effort to apply fractions to cookie recipes resulted in an interdisciplinary project on the homelessness. Embracing home economics, mathematics, art, English, social studies, and reading, the project incorporates the essentials of middle school philosophy: cooperative learning, team…

Examines the dark analyses of modern higher education presented in Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind" and Northrop Frye's "On Education." The University of Toronto proposes an Integrated Studies (Unity of Knowledge) program which would involve students in interdisciplinary studies in humanities, social sciences,…

The first of two articles discusses the place of information science and its expanding definition within the curricula of schools of library and information studies. The second article describes the history of foreign students in U.S. library and information science schools, their current role, and the major problems they face. (51 references)…

Presents two classroom lessons designed to integrate language arts and art education into primary and intermediate grade social studies instruction. Provides step-by-step procedures and one student handout sheet. (CFR)

Describes a teacher-developed simulation designed to teach cultural geography to students in the middle grades. Contends that this interdisciplinary activity can be adapted to fit teacher or curriculum needs. Includes student instructions and descriptions of six pilgrimages. (CFR)

Describes one district's struggle to implement Maine's Common Core of Learning, model of education that blurred subject area lines and moved toward integrated framework for curriculum and instruction. Common Core presented a set of outcomes divided into four interdisciplinary categories: human record, reasoning and problem solving, communication,…

Suggests that using historical novels in a unified studies approach to social studies and reading instruction may enhance students' learning in both content areas. Describes a historical fiction project utilizing three novels pertaining to United States history. Concludes that the whole class instruction unified each class through participation in…

Campaigns to improve adolescent health must involve schools, focusing on middle grades. Currently, school organization is poor, with too little good curricular material for such students. The article describes Stanford University's interdisciplinary, core, middle grades curriculum in human biology that combats alienation from science by making it…

This article describes the development of the learning disability (LD) movement from 1800 to the present. It examines the ideas that contributed to the theoretical basis preceding the formation of the LD movement, legislation and events that established LD as a specific area of study and contributed to its growth, and a glimpse into the future.…

The Future Problem Solving process engages middle school students in real-world issues by creating a multidisciplinary "think tank" environment requiring them to apply both divergent (brainstorming, creativity, flexibility) and convergent (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) strategies to political problems. The process can accurately…

Areas crucial to the development of "state of the art" curricula for gifted students are discussed, including differentiation, emphasis on both process and content, interdisciplinary and individualized formats, balance between acceleration and enrichment, and comprehensive and articulated curriculum structure. (DB)