This study explores how digital storytelling influences the cultural identity development of secondary culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students from Bhutanese-Nepali backgrounds. Utilizing the theoretical framework of multiliteracies, cultural identity and sociocultural theory in Second Language Development, this research investigates…

Although social-emotional learning is associated with long-term success in school and careers, it is often a missing link in U.S. public education. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for social-emotional supports for children. In this time of crisis, educators have also sought new ways to make connections and reimagined how students…

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) Ready to Learn project, "Hero Elementary," has an emphasis on reaching Latino communities and supporting the needs of children with disabilities. The project embeds the expectations of kindergarten to 2nd grade science standards into a series of…

Social networking sites (SNSs) are popular technologies used frequently among youth for recreational purposes. Increasing attention has been paid to the use of SNSs in educational settings as a way to engage youth interest and encourage academically productive discussion. Potential affordances of using SNSs for education include knowledge…

This study was an investigation of the use of a NAO humanoid robot as an effective tool for engaging readers in an afterschool program as well as to find if increasing engagement using a humanoid robot would affect students' reading comprehension when compared to traditional forms of instruction. The targeted population of this study was…

This three article dissertation focuses on the teachers' perceptions regarding STEM education. Article 1 consists of a literature review that includes an overview of the type of STEM education that takes place at the secondary level. The review explores what the literature says about after-school STEM programs, diverse students and their…

While data for the 2020 edition of America After 3PM were collected pre-pandemic, to accompany the data and determine how the pandemic has affected families' needs during the hours after school, the Afterschool Alliance commissioned a nationally representative follow-up survey of parents in October 2020. The follow-up survey found that afterschool…

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they…

Purpose: Low consumption of fruits and vegetables is often associated with poor diet quality, and childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility, and conduct a formative evaluation, of Healthy Heroes, an innovative, social cognitive theory-based program that uses child created photo-comic books to promote fruit and…

TechXcite is an engineering-focused, discovery-based after-school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program. The free curriculum is downloadable from http://techxcite.pratt.duke.edu/ and is comprised of eight Modules, each with four to five 45-minute activities that exercise the science and math learned in school by using…

Challenge the Gap (CtG) is a school collaboration programme designed by Challenge Partners that aims to break the link between disadvantage and attainment. The main components of CtG are: (1) after-school workshops drawing on published research and evidenced practice; (2) focused in-school interventions with a selected cohort of disadvantaged…

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) system as a method of strategic intervention in after-school settings to improve the mathematical skills of struggling 6th grade students. Students were randomly assigned to after-school classrooms in which they either worked with ALEKS to improve…

Because digital tutoring is rapidly expanding, more rigorous, independent evaluations of their effectiveness is critical to inform federal, state, and local policy decisions that influence their role and application of technology in educating underserved students. The in-depth observations and vignettes in this paper illustrate the challenges in…

The gap among ethnicities and gender in mathematics achievement is a well-known problem. While the gap has been shrinking over the past three decades, it has not completely diminished (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; McGraw, Lubienski, & Strutchens, 2006). The ALEKS, Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces, tutoring system is one promising…

The need to play is primeval in human beings, at least as strong as the urge to fight. While the larger gaming community has traditionally focused on the fairly lucrative potential of exploiting the urge to fight in the form of violent and destructive war games, the "Serious Games" segment has become aware of the power of applying this…