In the Czech Republic there has been a growing interest in education in nature ["výchova v prírode"] in connection with accreditation as a field of study. Outdoor experiential educator Jan Neuman, who died in April 2021, was instrumental in the development and formalisation of Czech education in nature programmes over the past 50 years.…

The Junior Knight Camp is an annual summer program that specifically supports elementary school students in an effort to increase knowledge of social studies using an interdisciplinary thematic approach. This interdisciplinary approach includes STEM, the arts, literacy, and physical education. The camp operates on multiple campuses of the…

This paper has two goals: First, to detail processes through which a project funded under a National Science Foundation workforce development program (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers, ITEST) leveraged active partnerships among government agencies, industry firms, and universities to develop and study an innovative,…

Beginning in 2015, New Mexico State University's Office of Study Abroad, Faculty-Led International Program (FLIP) encouraged teachers to create a two-course/cross-disciplinary experience for students. During the summers of 2016 and 2018 the teachers conducted two-week FLIP trips to locations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The…

Offered through the Honors College at the University of New Mexico, Conexiones-Ecuador is an explicitly interdisciplinary study abroad program around the theme of "Food, Sovereignty, and Development." In an immersive language and cultural studies experience, students live with host families, take Spanish language classes at the…

During four intensive summer weeks, 28 students were exposed to the daily life of top political leaders (ministers and city mayors), acting as their political advisors. Real-life assignments were planned in cooperation with liaisons from the personal offices of these political leaders. The cases brought the hectic, complicated and uncertain life…

For more than 20 years, traditional medicine of Mexico, the U.S. Southwest and other countries has been taught as a series of academic course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in the United States. These courses focus on traditional uses of healing plants and rituals for students in higher education and the community. These courses…

Planning ahead, arriving on time, taking initiative: these are some of the basics of professionalism. But for most young people, these job skills don't just develop--they must be learned and practiced. Many teens have traditionally honed these skills during a summer job--scooping ice cream, busing tables, lifeguarding. Such summer gigs have long…

UNITE is a program sponsored by the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP, 2015). The STEM Enrichment Activities of AEOP are designed to spark student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, especially among the underserved and those in earlier grades and educators by providing exciting, engaging, interactive, hands-on…

A year of COVID-19 quarantine required educators to switch from in-person to virtual learning platforms, causing a dramatic reimagining of their daily praxis. Their experiences are likely to influence new norms for K-12 education. While virtual learning can be effective, student engagement, student retention, and student attention can be…

Supportive programming is frequently designed to increase reflection and amplify the effects of applied learning experiences. We have developed a supportive curriculum that integrates ePortfolio practice, brief psychological interventions, advising, mentoring, family engagement, and professional development into a highly successful summer research…

A partnership between a local school district and a university's education college has created an innovative program that provides learning opportunities at all levels each summer. Entering its eighth year, the program brings together middle school students, pre-service teachers, classroom teachers, and university graduate students and faculty for…

Science and mathematics literacy are fundamental to the basic understanding of food and health and/or the pursuit of science-based careers. In 1999, the FoodMASTER Initiative (FMI) was created to provide an opportunity for youth to experience authentic, real-world health science activities in K-12 learning environments. FMI administrative…

As service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) have become increasingly legitimized in higher education as scholarly pedagogical practice, resources to support faculty in learning about and undertaking this engaged work have grown. As Zlotkowski (2015) points out in his framing essay for the SLCE Future Directions Project (FDP), the movement…

Through ExpandED Options by TASC, New York City high school students get academic credit for learning career-related skills that lead to paid summer jobs. Too many high school students--including those most likely to drop out--are bored or see classroom learning as irrelevant. ExpandED Options students live the connection between mastering new…