Over the past several decades outdoor adventure recreation programs (OARPs) have seen an increase in popularity on university campuses across the country. This study used the Leisure Motivation Scale (LMS) developed, to measure motives for participation; that is, the study investigated college students' motivations to participate in OARPs.…

This article discusses concepts related to character strengths and positive youth development and how these ideas can be applied to improve outcomes among gifted young people. A theory with roots in public health, The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), is discussed with examples applied to gifted populations. Practitioners and researchers from…

Despite the established physical, social, and emotional benefits of participating in youth sport, such outcomes are not guaranteed. Indeed, purposeful efforts must be made to ensure that sport offerings are age-appropriate, promote engagement and enjoyment, and involve quality social relationships (e.g., Côté et al., 2020). The current article…

This open access book provides related theories, methods, strategies, and practical cases for implementing education reform through blended learning in curriculum, program, and institutions in the digital age. It sums up the research and practice achievements of blended learning from different research teams, involving more than 20 experts from…

This book offers a roadmap for developing, growing, and sustaining living-learning communities (LLCs) that promote student success and enhance the undergraduate experience. Drawing on the Best Practices Model presented in "Living-Learning Communities That Work," as well as updated research and rich, real-life examples from LLC…

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, American students have demonstrated substantial losses in achievement (Amplify, 2021; Domingue et al., 2021; Dorn et al., 2020; Storey & Zhang, 2023), while chronic absenteeism doubled after the pandemic, with the largest increase among low-income students (Chang et al., 2022; Dorn et al., 2021). Among…

This book presents a validated observation instrument to support and further develop the pedagogic expertise of teachers of English Learners in US schools. Based on sociocultural and second language teaching and learning theories, the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies (OPAL) has a variety of uses across teacher preparation programs,…