Caregivers play an integral role in a child's academic development, including their literacy development (Compton-Lilly et al., 2019; Cunningham, 2021; Edwards, 2004; Edwards, 2016; Smith, 2020; Volk, 2021). One way caregivers have supported their children's literacy development is by assisting them with school activities at home. While some…

Academic freedom is understood as a set of individual protections and community practices for faculty to assess quality, promote truth-seeking, and advance the common good through research, teaching, and other expression. It is also understood as a set of institutional principles for universities when it comes to decision-making about academic…

This book is a first person narrative from a parent/community advocate. Examining my personal experiences as a parent of color in a Higher Learning Institute, I highlight some of the frustrations experienced by urban working class parents of color as they attempt to engage teachers in their community's schools. I underscore the importance of one…

The SPECTRA program was introduced to Pennant Hills Public School as an extracurricular activity to help support the science and technology discipline, and more broadly STEM connections, for students in Stage 3. There are currently 35 students of mixed ability completing the program. Throughout their involvement in the SPECTRA program, these…

What's in Our Waters Jr. (WOW Jr.) is an environmental outreach program designed to teach fourth grade elementary students about watershed protection. This program is unique because of the partnership that brings together students, teachers, scientists, and water resource professionals to promote science education and environmental stewardship in…

Electrochemistry is broad and interdisciplinary by nature and as such has become a powerful tool in science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) fields ranging from energy storage to biotechnology. However, traditional undergraduate chemistry education does not offer students the opportunity to create direct connections between…

In this laboratory experiment, students explore the aquatic photochemical fate of ranitidine and cimetidine, two common pharmaceutical pollutants found in wastewater. It provides an engaging environmental context for students to develop knowledge of reaction kinetics and photochemistry as well as skill in using analytical instrumentation. This…

In modern and well-structured universities, ethics centers are playing a key role in hosting, organizing, and managing activities to enrich and guide students' ethical thinking and analysis. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of the goals, activities, and administration of ethics centers, as well as their role in promoting ethical thinking…

Informal STEM education experiences can be invaluable to students as a means of developing their future career goals and career interests. Extracurricular programs in the form of clubs, competitions, teams, and activities provide a platform for these informal education experiences. There are many STEM-focused extracurricular options for students,…

It can be hugely beneficial for teachers to 'buy in' an expert for a day in an area that they are focusing on. Children are inspired by a special visitor and it can provide a new perspective to a topic and invigorate and extend learning. The variety of workshops and visitors available is astonishing. Students can be transported to outer space or…

Community colleges serve more students than any other institutional type in the United States, and internationalization is an inherent component of community colleges that advances student knowledge, facilitates student success, and serves the needs of local communities. As most community college students do not enroll in four-year institutions,…

In this article, first Toby Tyler describes how using Twitter to engage the community and to pursue the ICE principle (Introduce, Consolidate, and Extend) to enhance learning has brought his school community closer together. Then, Emma Vanstone highlights how schools can draw on support for engaging children with science at home by using social…

The CollegeKeys Compact[TM] is a national call to action to school districts, colleges and universities, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations to identify, share and expand programs and practices that address the needs and challenges of low-income students and help them get ready for, get into and get through college. The College…

Teachers everywhere are always faced with new challenges as they engage in their pedagogical praxis; it is not easy to cater for students' needs (whether special or not) and bring about new ideas to teach and arouse students' interest and desire to learn, especially when one's job does not end at the workplace and continues at home. These are but…

We present a collection of hands-on experiments that collectively teach precollege students fundamental concepts of polymer synthesis and characterization. These interactive experiments are performed annually as part of an all-day outreach event for high school students that can inform the development of ongoing polymer education efforts in a…