Teachers are professional learners and leaders. They seek to understand how their students learn, and they participate in programs that provide new instructional skills, curricular materials, and ways to become involved in their community. This study follows a science teacher leadership program over a three-year period of time. There were…

This paper describes the first cycle of an action research study investigating the impact of new blended learning courses in a professional doctorate program, the results of which will inform future course planning and pedagogy. Specifically, core researcher-faculty members associated with the program were interested in understanding how a blended…

Postsecondary education is widely seen as a necessity in the modern economy. Yet students at community colleges often face steep odds when it comes to completing a degree. Community colleges serve many low-income and first-generation students as well as students of color, all of whom must contend with many obstacles to success. At the same time,…

This report reviews national and international research on widening participation and access programmes to find out which methods are most likely to help disadvantaged pupils get into higher education. Analysis of existing research in the United States and United Kingdom suggests that summer schools, tutoring, and mentoring are among five methods…

Using the P21 21st Century Learner Skills Framework, this study set out to explore how professional development for math and science teachers influenced their lessons in 21st Century Learning Skills and how these skills may have aided in the integration of STEM. Using surveys, interviews and observations as the data source, the study examined…

The Enrichment Experiences in Engineering (E[superscript 3] ) summer teacher program is hosted by the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University and is designed to provide engineering research experiences for Texas high school science and mathematics teachers. The mission of the E[superscript 3] program is to educate and excite…

Students often participate in a myriad of academic support programs offered during the first year of college. This study is an investigation of the effects of participation in multiple high-impact educational practices on academic success outcomes (cumulative GPAs and persistence rates) among 2,028 first-year students. Results suggest that the…

In 2014 the Oregon 4-H program adopted a new program model to describe and evaluate the impact of 4-H on youths. The model is based on promoting thriving in young people, with an emphasis on high program quality. This article discusses the impact on thriving in 378 youth participants of the 4-H Summer Conference (4-HSC) program. The results of the…

Although nature of science (NOS) and nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) are related to each other, they are differentiated as NOS is being more related to the product of scientific inquiry (SI) which is scientific knowledge whereas NOSI is more related to the process of SI (Schwartz et al. 2008). Lederman et al. ("Journal of Research in…

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of students with disabilities seeking postsecondary education. The complexity of needs is also increasing, resulting in more students withdrawing from college or taking leaves of absence in their first year. In 2012, the Student Academic Support Services office (SASS) at McDaniel…

A well-designed, academically-centered, transitional program can narrow the college readiness gap and provide essential tools for underprepared students to be successful. The Summer Bridge Program offered innovative solutions for academic preparedness using a cohort model and many 21 st century student success strategies. The free five-week…

Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low-income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students' transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition…

For countries to remain competitive in the global economy, it is important to cultivate the next generation of native mathematicians. However, this goal has been increasingly challenging in the United States where, despite the tremendous increase in university enrollment during recent decades, the number of students studying mathematics has…

The early childhood literature has documented the impact of early literacy experience on children's later language and literacy development. The research also showed the achievement gap between children from lower socio-economic status and their peers from more economically advantaged backgrounds. To address this gap, the existing literature has…

The Quality Elementary Science Teaching (QuEST) program is designed to deliver high-quality professional development (PD) in science content to elementary school teachers. QuEST includes both content and pedagogical instruction combined with a controlled teaching experience situated within a larger professional development context. The design of…