Using the Interdisciplinary Approach to Education to Meet the Literacy Standards in the Common Core: and Ensuring Graduates are College and Career Ready
The implementation of the new Common Core State Standard Initiative (CCSS) warrants changes to current curriculums. This paper establishes the interdisciplinary approach to education as an effective method of instruction for the delivery of the new standards. The CCSS define literacy and college and career readiness anchor standards that students must meet in order to be successful post-secondary. The new English language arts (ELA) literacy shifts include: literacy instruction, content area vocabulary, increase in non-fiction or information texts, increased text complexity, and 21 st century skills are all successful skills to be taught using the interdisciplinary approach and team teaching. The paper establishes a definitive basis for students to have these skills in order to be considered college and career ready in accordance with the new Common Core state standards. This approach can includes collaboration, thematic units, cross-curricular projects, or integrated in order to meet the standards.
Preparing Middle Grades Educators to Teach about World Cultures: An Interdisciplinary Approach
With the realities of standards-based accountability, it is imperative to model and demonstrate for students how subject areas and teaching methods transcend across traditional boundaries. In an effort to prepare future social studies educators to teach for global awareness and to meaningfully integrate critical literacy skills into their instruction, we initiated a collaborative model in our university's middle grades teacher education program with language arts and social studies methods courses. The development of cultural competency not only provides preservice teachers with the knowledge of diverse populations but also enables them to have an increased ability to affirm the cultures of others.
A Critical Assessment on Functional Attributes and Degradation Mechanism of Membrane Electrode Assembly Components in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are typically a subset of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) that possess benefits such as fuel flexibility, reduction in plant balance, and benign operation. Due to their benefits, DMFCs could play a substantial role in the future, specifically in replacing Li-ion batteries for portable and military applications. However, the critical concern with DMFCs is the degradation and inadequate reliability that affect the overall value chain and can potentially impede the commercialization of DMFCs. As a consequence, a reliability assessment can provide more insight into a DMFC component’s attributes. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is the integral component of the DMFC stack. A comprehensive understanding of its functional attributes and degradation mechanism plays a significant role in its commercialization. The methanol crossover through the membrane, carbon monoxide poisoning, high anode polarization by methanol oxidation, and operating parameters such as temperature, humidity, and others are significant contributions to MEA degradation. In addition, inadequate reliability of the MEA impacts the failure mechanism of DMFC, resulting in poor efficiency. Consequently, this paper provides a comprehensive assessment of several factors leading to the MEA degradation mechanism in order to develop a holistic understanding.