Describes a year-long team-taught course in which students viewed the sources and consequences of inequality from the perspectives of sociology, English, and art. Explains that the first quarter focused on identity issues, the second on minority experiences, and the third on a video project addressing diversity at the campus or local level. (DAJ)

Analyzes four middle schools' experiences with interdisciplinary teams. Although teaming is often considered a vehicle for developing community in schools, it may also present tensions for developing cohesiveness across teams. Too little time may be devoted to discussing important whole-school issues. The demands of teacher empowerment within the…

Recognizing the potential of combining interdisciplinary methods with block program scheduling to serve underachieving high schoolers, the East Manhattan Outreach Center's staff initiated such a program in 1993. Students were block-programmed, using four classes of 28 pupils each enrolled in six courses. The program stressed small-group activities…

Describes a high school art teacher's efforts to involve the school staff in cross-curricular instruction. After discussing how the teacher initiated the project, the article examines her research, and how she created and implemented a cross-curricular lesson plan. The appendix provides a sample lesson plan. (SM)

Studying global economic system helps middle-school students unravel complexities of world economics by focusing on other countries, their motivations as consumers, and their decision-making processes. By examining interrelationship of economics and everyday life, students can see their place in economic chain. Concepts such as marketing, stock…

Teacher teams add new dimensions to learning and a much- needed sense of family and community. Teams have four domains: response to student needs, curriculum integration, teaching strategies, and flexible scheduling. Barriers include scheduling problems, insufficient planning and implementation time, sporadic cooperation among core and elective…

Discusses a study of four middle-school interdisciplinary teams, highlighting teachers' focus of concern and perceptions about teaming's benefits and costs for themselves and students. Findings show that successful progression toward interdisciplinary teaming tasks depends on interrelationships of group composition, operating variables, and…

Shares experiences of a member and team leader of an eight-credit integrated studies learning community called "Self as Citizen" for first-year students in New Century College at George Mason University. Explores the practical aspects of teaching such an interdisciplinary, team-taught course. (EV)

Examined how high school teachers made meaning of a change process involving teamwork, interdisciplinary teaching, and block scheduling. Document analysis, observation, and interview data indicated that uncertainty and doubt were the pervading themes and had a critical effect on the teaching team's ability to move to interdisciplinary teaching.…

Eight years ago, a new senior interdisciplinary science course called "Oceans: Past and Present" for the McCallie School in Tennessee was designed. The idea stemmed from the combination of a physics teacher's desire for a course based on a summer program at sea and a writing center director/teacher's longing for the ocean from the…

When the Ronald Yuill was told by his administration that there were not enough aides to help the special education students in the classes, he suggested placing all the students requiring special assistance into one class. His idea was to teach all of the special education children at the same time with the assistance of an aide or two. However,…

There is a growing interest in collaboration amongst teachers at all levels. One of the most intensive collaborative experiences is "team teaching," a course with one or more colleagues. The authors have been involved in team teaching for a combined total of 25 years. This study investigates the question of how colleagues from different…

Working inductively from classroom research and guided by a Bakhtinian view of language, the author proposes a discourse-based theory of interdisciplinary connections. The article includes examples of four discursive resources individuals draw on to make interdisciplinary connections--content, propositions, ways of knowing, and classroom…

The authors examine their experiences of coteaching an intensive, interdisciplinary elective course for MBA students: Diversity in Management and Marketing. They address otherness, dialogue, energy, and change within this course and clarify issues that can arise when coteaching interdisciplinary courses. The authors list implications for…

Four different team teaching experiences are described with collaborators from a variety of disciplines. The pedagogical differences between the teachers created unique challenges. A description of each collaboration is provided, followed by an analysis of the four experiences. An examination of the challenges that arose are summarized to…