In this paper, we consider the design of capstone courses to prepare university students for secondary school teaching professions in initial training. Our aim is to prepare prospective teachers to develop an approach for doing mathematics which they then impart to their pupils. This posture involves systematically questioning the mathematical…

Striking differences between physics and biology have important implications for interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The author is a physicist with interdisciplinary connections. The research group in which he works, the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin, is…

The Reggio Emilia approach is based on the idea that every child has at least, "one hundred languages" available for expressing perspectives of the world, and one of those languages is music. While all of the arts (visual, music, dance, drama) are considered equally important in Reggio schools, the visual arts have been particularly…

To understand how life works, it is essential to understand physics and chemistry. Most biologists have a clear notion of where chemistry fits into their life sciences research and teaching. Although we are physical beings, physics does not always find a place in the biology curriculum. Physics informs and enlightens biology in myriad dimensions,…

This article considers the conceptualization of physical education as a Leaving Certificate Examination subject and the place of physical education in a liberal education. Special attention is given to the conceptual evolution of physical education and its intrinsic educational values and to the developments in the idea of a liberal education over…

Biology is changing and becoming more quantitative. Research is creating new challenges that need to be addressed in education as well. New educational initiatives focus on combining laboratory procedures with mathematical skills, yet it seems that most curricula center on a single relationship between scientific knowledge and scientific method:…

There is considerable national interest in STEM initiatives, but yet there is little discussion concerning what STEM means in terms of a curriculum concept to be applied to school programming. This article focuses on STEM as a curriculum concept. First, STEM programming is discussed in terms of separate subjects, correlated and broad fields…

There is increasing enthusiasm for teaching approaches that combine mathematics and biology. The call for integrating more quantitative work in biology education has led to new teaching tools that improve quantitative skills. Little is known, however, about whether increasing interdisciplinary work can lead to adverse effects, such as the…

This study investigates defining characteristics among the process standards of the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and the 5 "Es" from the National Science Education Standards and the Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. These characteristics are used to demonstrate similarities and differences between the…

Contemporary universities in the developed world face a plethora of increased--and changing--responsibilities. We are the global university, responsible for the production of worker citizens who will be "prepared" for an extraordinarily diverse set of challenges across all facets of their lives. Much of our research concentration in the academy…

In response to the call of "BIO2010" for integrating quantitative skills into undergraduate biology education, 30 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Program Directors at the 2006 HHMI Program Directors Meeting established a consortium to investigate, implement, develop, and disseminate best practices resulting from the integration of math and…

Addresses teaching in social work on the basis of two different theories related to social work and social science, noting crucial aspects of each. Notes deep differences between theoretical and applied sciences and discusses ways in which a dynamic complementarity can be achieved in teaching the theoretical and the professional. Applies the major…

Due to recent changes in the workplace, the workforce and higher education have driven academic programs of adult education (AE) and human resource development (HRD) in the U.S. to become more integrated as part of the mission of institutions of higher education. In this exploratory study, existing graduate programs in AE and HRD in the U.S. were…

Health science students like students in many disciplines exhibit difficulty with transferring content from one course to another. For example, the problem explored in this study occurred when overlapping concepts were presented in introductory biology and chemistry courses, but students could not transfer the concepts to the other disciplinary…

The reflections on interdisciplinarity cover several dimensions. One, among them, concerns the nature of what occurs between two disciplines. Does inter-disciplinarity relate to an intention, to a metatheory, to the object, or to a method? It is this ultimate space that we propose to study, supported by Reswebers (2000) proposition, putting the…