Foreign language teaching is not to teach grammar and vocabulary of the target language and to gain basic language skills only. Foreign language teaching is teaching of the language's culture at the same time. Because of language and community develop and shape together, learning, understanding and speaking a foreign language literally requires…

In this article, the author discusses the history and practice of "star quilt" making. The star quilt has become synonymous with the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and several bands of Lakota and Dakota. Receiving a quilt is considered a great honor and often takes place at powwows, funerals, memorials, and even…

The "art of nursing" was the culminating assignment for student group reflection and gained insight about their assigned vulnerable population as represented in a quilt block created. To learn about their assigned vulnerable population, the students begin with a windshield survey. The windshield survey results were recorded in a blog…

Since the earliest times, humans have made objects--oil lamps carved out of stone to light their way, baskets and pots to hold grain and water, blankets and clothing to protect them from the elements. At some point, their need for the functional was enhanced by their desire for the beautiful. They began to decorate their lamps, pots, baskets,…

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a "lift-the-flap" page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals' external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the…

This article draws upon ethnographic fieldwork within a Navajo community to illustrate how weaving knowledge and practices shape contemporary notions of community identity and belonging. The ongoing exchange of Navajo weaving taboos and the careful management of weaving teachings offers community members various opportunities to share and keep…

A title, a cover, and pages with "substance" bound together--this is what the author's eighth-grade students decided were the essential elements of a book. There could be more, but no less. In art, one does judge a book by its cover. In this article, the author describes how her students created their books. (Contains 1 online resource.)

Navajo trading has been a crucial component of that tribe's localized economy for generations and has been the subject of much scholarship over the years. The role of the Navajo trader in influencing the types and styles of crafts that Navajos created as well as providing tribal members with an outlet for those items remains important to their…

Polli Soholt writes about advanced practical life and demonstrates that adding more challenge and complexity for older children leads to more social cooperation. Activities such as washing dishes, polishing, sewing, and food preparation take the child beyond the need to refine basic skills. The older primary children find more reality in tasks…

Curricula in information systems embrace a broad range of topics that leave the identity of information systems as a discipline somewhat in flux. In the spirit of "the first among equals," we posit that design should have preeminence in the education of information systems professionals. Design frames problem understanding and defines…

This article introduces a project in a Finnish secondary school where mathematics education was combined with crafts instruction. The idea was to provide the students with an interdisciplinary real-world learning context in which they worked collaboratively on an open-ended design task. The approach was problem-based and student-centred in a way…

Galvanised sheet metal was a popular and important material for producing handmade home utensils in Hong Kong from the 1930s onwards. It was gradually replaced by new materials like stainless steel and plastic because similar goods made with these are cheaper, more standardised, more durable and of much better quality. The handicrafts behind sheet…

This paper explores how aligned arts and play experiences can extend child and family engagement in a public outdoor space. The importance of outdoor play for children is strongly advocated and in response local governments provide playgrounds and recreational open spaces. To extend further the experiences afforded in such spaces some local…

Notation systems for the arts were developed to educate students in performing the art form. Soon notation systems were used in research and archiving performances and skills that could have been lost to the following generations. Virtual travel through the written notations brings experts to students rather than having students go to the…

When it comes to having a traveling outreach activity for a museum, a craft can seem like the perfect solution. It can seemingly be all things at once--educational, quick and fun. But, if poorly constructed, crafts can also have serious fallbacks. Using the Chicago History Museum and the Millennium Park Family Fun Festival as a case study, this…