Management of "wicked problems", messy real-world problems that defy resolution, requires thinkers who can transcend disciplinary boundaries, work collaboratively, and handle complexity and obstacles. This paper explores how educators can train undergraduates in these skills through applied community-based research, using the example of…

There is strong evidence that all students can gain significant learning benefit when their courses include opportunities for engagement with real-world problems, beyond the walls of their higher education institution (HEI). Internationally, cross-disciplinary discussions are increasing around the value of student learning that involves community…

With contributions from leading experts across disciplinary fields, this book explores best practices from the field's most notable researchers, as well as important historically based and politically focused challenges to a field whose impact has reached an important crossroads. The comprehensive and powerfully critical analysis considers the…

Utopolis, an imaginary community, was created by 48 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. Given only geographical boundaries, the group created the town complete with its many complex and interrelated problems. (NQ)

Describes a university undergraduate course in community studies which was taught through an historical, geographical, and sociological approach using primary sources and research techniques. (KC)

Designed to give the elementary teacher some ideas for using the school site and the community as an environmental study area, this guide offers activities and suggestions to explore all aspects of the environment. Gaining an understanding of the environment and man's relationship to the environment are emphasized. The ultimate goal is to develop…

This newsletter is intended to be a bi-annual publication which will inform interested persons about the progress of this Project. It is concerned with curriculum studies on the theme of Canadian urbanization and its effects on our lives and environment. The emphasis is on behavioral change; the materials and the activities produced have as their…

Trip maps and trip boards are described, as are suggested destinations for class trips. The maps are used as multipurpose tools that any teacher can tailor to the needs of his or her own community and environmental studies and to the skills of children of any age. (Author/KC)

The concept of behavior settings--the environments shaping individual behavior--was originated by Roger Barker in 1950 in connection with his community surveys in a small Kansas town, code-named Midwest. This book seeks to provide rural social scientists with an understanding of Barker's eco-behavioral approach and proposed adaptations of it to…

The purpose of this paper is to alert elementary and secondary social studies teachers to certain new approaches to projects and materials in environmental education in the context of education in general. It is also a guide to the use of other available programs. Selective rather than complete, the paper offers a sampling of programs social…

The Powell River Project proposed to design a curriculum with the Canadian urban environment as a major focus, using elementary teachers as developers (ED 055 018). This progress report contains individual summaries from seven elementary teachers, outlining the process of determining the children's knowledge of self and of the world around them.…

The bi-annual, official newsletter keeps interested persons informed with up to date progress of the project. ED 048 026, the first newsletter, describes the broad concerns and objectives of the newsletter. This issue focuses on the objectives of fourteen sub-projects which develop curriculum materials and teaching strategies on a variety of…

This discussion paper is written in the belief that the intra-curricular implications of social service have to be considered for integration into the secondary school curriculum. The community as a whole can add another dimension to the methods by which schools work towards the objective of social growth. Through the experience of community…

This teacher guide contains 12 detailed local history investigations, complete with procedures, required materials, and evaluation exercises, based on performance objectives that support the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools' social studies and mathematics instructional objectives for grades K-6. The exercises draw students into their…