There are important connections between child-centered approaches, wellness, and the activist role that art museum educators can play in their institutions and the wider community. While there are practical challenges to achieving these goals within a small institution, the museum educator's positionality in such an institution can allow for…

Nutrition education at school can contribute to developing healthy nutritional behaviours in schoolchildren. This paper critically reflects on how participatory action research (PAR) empowered university researchers and a school community to co-develop a school-based nutrition education programme (SBNEP) that promotes healthy nutritional…

While increasing emphasis has been placed on computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) little is known about these topics in elementary classrooms. Significant equity gaps exist within CS/CT at the elementary level, with a major contributor being the lack of highly qualified CS/CT elementary teachers. Professional development (PD) for…

In 2020, the state of Florida strategized to improve reading instruction for K-12 students by mandating all elementary and literacy teachers receive a reading endorsement. In response to the mandate, the University of Florida's Lastinger Center for Learning developed an online, asynchronous, self-paced teacher professional development program to…

The importance of partnerships is critical in educational arenas, but information on how partnerships form with the involvement of corporations, districts, and universities working in harmony is limited in the current literature. The teacher preparation program described in this paper is a "built-to-last" partnership model with over 650…

The integrated STEM activity described in this article incorporated two investigations that sought to develop children's understanding of fair-testing: (1) the first parachutes: how does the angle of a parachute frame affect the speed of descent?; and (2) modern parachutes: how does the size of the parachute canopy affect the speed of descent?…

A key part of promoting social justice as school psychologists is infusing practice with actions that breakdown systems of inequity and incorporate systems of inclusion. The current manuscript provides a description of applying social justice as a framework in universal programming through child rights education. Additionally, the manuscript…

A 5-year model demonstration project designed to improve literacy instruction and special education referrals for English learners (ELs) in grades K-3 in three rural community elementary schools was completed with specific attention to sustainability 1 year after implementation. The model, which was developed and implemented through a…

Previously developed K12 Engineering Activity Modules were modified to include a literacy component and facilitated 2 days a week as part of an afterschool Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. The afterschool program started in October and ended in April, with a winter and aspring break. In this pilot, 2 K12 teachers…

Hands-on learning is a highly effective teaching method for topics in STEM disciplines. Unfortunately, environmental science teachers sometimes lack the tools to engage their students in hands-on experimentation in real-world research outside of the classroom. Partnerships between science professionals and teachers can help address this disparity,…

The project development school idea in Japan started in the late 1970s. Both public and private schools can become project schools. Public schools' districts and private schools' boards develop the project plan and submit the application to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Once approved, the project school…

Current policy efforts that seek to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) emphasize the importance of helping all students acquire concepts and tools from computer science that help them analyze and develop solutions to everyday problems. These goals have been generally described in the literature under the…

Two universities and their prospective partnership schools collected data to help ascertain the perceived readiness of school-university Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships. The measurement tool, ''The Professional Development School Exploration and Assessment'' (PDSEA) includes a five-step process that makes use of survey and focus…

The goal of school-university partnerships is most often the promotion of teacher growth through professional development (PD). Yet, despite the best of intentions, most PD is not conducted in an effective way. The purpose of this article is to share the perceptions of one group of elementary teachers regarding teacher growth and change as the…

In central Texas and regions across the country, community leaders are calling for university-community engagement, including development of structures for community-based research and service learning. Including the community in decision making regarding continuing professional education serves as a link between universities such as Texas A&M…