Describes writing environmental impact statement concerning land use as assignment in geology courses. Students select area, propose land-use project, analyze available literature, choose specific site within map area for project, and write report addressing site access, water supply, liquid and solid waste disposal, mitigation of environmental…

This paper reviews attempts to introduce writing skills to undergraduate geoscience students, reports on the status of technical writing in geoscience curriculum, and describes a fully integrated approach to writing across the geosciences curriculum, based on a required sophomore-level technical writing course. The technical writing course leads…

Based on their experiences the authors contend that increased emphasis on communication skills in the geologic curriculum results in the graduation of better geologists. The authors describe writing assignments, including first-year one-page papers, upper-level assignments, memos, oral presentations, projects, field notebooks, and senior thesis.…

Discusses the purpose and function of educational systems design (ESD) programs in schools of education. Highlights include the need for systemic change in educational reform; an interdisciplinary program on ESD that was developed at Indiana University; preparing specialists in ESD; and qualifications of academic advisors in ESD programs. (13…

This paper discusses issues related to educating children dependent on medical technology. It examines the movement toward greater normalization for these children, the use of transdisciplinary teams to develop specific plans addressing the students' unique health care and educational needs, and possible curricular and classroom accommodations.…

Examined the instructional reform process in 17 middle schools. Reforms included heterogeneous grouping, cooperative learning, active learning, and interdisciplinary instruction. All reforms relied on teachers' willingness to change daily instructional content or strategies. Heterogenous grouping and interdisciplinary instruction posed the…

Describes a college-level interdisciplinary honors course on the rights of children. Explains how students review historical and contemporary legal issues from a psychological perspective. Recommends using the method as a separate course or integrated into other psychology courses. (CFR)

Describes "Effective Reading," a newly revised community college developmental reading course, which focuses on reading comprehension skills of predicting, confirming, and integrating; uses the direct teaching model of demonstration, guided practice, and independent practice; and is corequisite with an introductory sociology course. Reports…

Attitudes of university educators toward interdisciplinary cooperation were studied. A mail survey of 176 academics (professors, researchers, and administrators) in 9 fields at 3 universities indicated that problem-solving concerns, utilitarian calculations, and the image of social scientists' competence had significant impacts on…

The importance of using effective communication and writing skills in science is discussed. Outlets for student essays are presented. Writing about hands-on experiences in the science classroom can improve science vocabulary as well as comprehension and critical thinking. (KR)

The subjects of reading and writing as they relate to various science topics and literary forms are discussed. Writing activities in which teachers can incorporate both language arts and science into the curriculum space and time requirement of one are described. Three forms of poetry are described. (KR)

Discusses the design of an undergraduate survey course in anthropological linguistics that both acquaints students with language structure and traces the cross-fertilizing relationships that bind it to other specialties within anthropology. Considers utilizing the holistic approach which views language and culture as forming a continuum of coded…

"Business Week" recently awarded 170 grants to teachers for innovative projects exemplifying changing requirements for entry level employees. Most projects featured collaborative learning, active student participation, students as workers, shared decision making, teamwork, and interdisciplinary activities. Projects also helped students…

Entry-level university programs (N=449) in eight disciplines were surveyed concerning students' preparation to provide services to young children with disabilities and their families. Although considerable variability was found across disciplines, the average student receives little specialized information concerning either the infancy period or…

Describes a three-year experiment with Spanish students ages 12-15 that used video to study the language of images for first-language instruction. The increasing student use of video equipment is discussed, and the interdisciplinary nature of the work is addressed. (Contains 14 references.) (LRW)