This report describes an art-based intervention program with at-risk youth that was inspired by the Project Self-Discovery model (Milkman, Wanberg, & Robinson, 1996). Twelve middle-school students from a small city in a mid-Atlantic state participated in the program. The program goals included making art in order to empower the participants…

The authors of this article pose the question, "Did any artist ever use 'Algebra'?" Recently, a cohort of 24 pre-service teachers attending a southwestern university in the USA discovered the answer to this question. Serving as the rationale to this cross-curricular exploration was the fundamental notion that integrating the arts into one's…

This article provides a conceptual account and empirical analyses of the development of "boundary-crossing competence"--the ability to function competently in multiple contexts--using representative cases from two after-school programs with immigrant and low-socioeconomic status students. Our findings suggest that organizational designs…

Students use computer software to construct personalized fractal art. (Contains 7 figures and 1 table.)

Neuroscience is a subject that can motivate, excite, and stimulate the curiosity of everyone However, the study of the brain is made difficult by an abundance of new vocabulary words and abstract concepts. Although neuroscience has the potential to inspire students, many teachers find it difficult to include a study of the brain in their…

This article describes a geometry project that used the beauty of stained-glass-window designs to teach middle school students about geometric figures and concepts. Three honors prealgebra teachers and a middle school mathematics gifted intervention specialist created a geometry project that covered the curriculum and also assessed students'…

The author's students were an unhappy, skeptical group of middle school students. Many of them had emotional issues. Many had drug addiction and prostitution in their broken and poverty-ridden families. Her school, which is a small charter school in a remote Arizona town, was a place of last resort for these students, who probably would not…

Comic art is one of the most popular storytelling media around the globe. From classic American comic strips to Japanese Manga, comics cover subjects ranging from humorous teen angst to social commentary. Comics class in an afterschool program is a natural draw for many young people. Older youth, in particular, vote with their feet when it comes…

Research and educational policies have alerted teachers to the importance of multiliteracies. Communication in society today is characterised by rapidly changing and emergent forms of meaning-making in a context of increased cultural and linguistic diversity. This paper responds to these imperatives, releasing key findings of a critical…

This article describes the integration of transformational geometry, mathematics, history, art, and cultural studies in a middle-grades mathematics classroom. Its intent is to illustrate how providing students with real-world experiences allows them to see and model mathematics as an integrated whole and make both thoughtful connections between…

How does one turn a class of sixth graders who are uncomfortable with writing, unfamiliar with art supplies, but good at fidgeting and bickering, into a community that achieves literary, artistic, and civic success? In the spring of 2003, Kestrel Heights teachers asked the authors to team up and help their sixth grade students create something…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…