This article presents an in-depth study supporting the Scientist in the Classroom Partnership (SCP) program as a model of effective professional development (PD) for K-12 teachers. The goal of this study was to determine the core and structural features of the SCP program necessary for effective teacher PD. The SCP partners a classroom teacher…

Skill and drill remediation in developmental reading courses do not prepare students for reading tasks in future college-level courses. When a skill and drill model is replaced with a model that utilizes contextualization, students engage in relevant activities with authentic texts to prepare students for college-level activities. The reading…

Despite growing economic opportunities in "middle-skills" science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions, the majority of community college STEM students leaves the STEM pipeline or withdraws from college altogether. We tested an intervention that addressed one reason why students abandon STEM: psychosocial…

Education abroad is a high-impact practice that can lead to transformational learning because it challenges students emotionally and intellectually. However, differences in program design may have differential impacts on students' learning. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between design features of education abroad…

This paper examines the multiple, intersecting identities expressed by international taught-post graduate students who are studying in a culture and language that is not their own. The study presented includes the collection of data around and beyond a planned pedagogical intervention on a pre-sessional EAP programme. The data were thematically…

At our Historically-Black University, about 89% of first-year students place into developmental mathematics, negatively impacting retention and degree completion. In 2012, an NSF-funded learning enrichment project began offering the introductory and developmental mathematics courses on-line over the summer to incoming science, technology,…

Demands for scientific knowledge of what works in educational policy and practice has driven interest in quantitative investigations of educational outcomes, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have proliferated under these conditions. In educational settings, even when individuals are randomized, both experimental and control students are…

Picture books engage young learners across the elementary curriculum and can effectively help teach about a variety of social studies topics. Social studies may be a neglected subject in many elementary schools, but purposefully incorporating it through children's literature provides an effective means of advancing both literacy skills and social…

This study investigates the role of perspective-taking skills in how children explain spatially complex astronomical phenomena. Explaining many astronomical phenomena, especially those studied in elementary and middle school, requires shifting between an Earth-based description of the phenomena and a space-based reference frame. We studied 7- to…

The NURTURES project, consisting of three phases, was implemented per its original timeline. Hiring, planning, piloting, and implementation were all completed in a timely manner with regards to the original timeline. Elements of the project were modified for improvement based upon reflection and formative evaluation findings. During the Planning…

Camp scholars have designed structured curricula to engender specific outcomes and to break down the "black box" of programming. Implementation evaluation explores how well a program operates when delivered, further breaking down the black box. The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of a new structured camp…

Each year, Colorado public libraries offer engaging summer reading programs to encourage children and teens to read for fun and to prevent summer learning loss. In summer 2014, the Colorado State Library invited Colorado public libraries to ask parents in their communities to help evaluate the effectiveness of these programs by completing a…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exacerbated existing inequities and inadequacies across a range of social structures, including our nation's education system. The pandemic has also had a more damaging impact on communities and people of color, including many who already faced health challenges. Congress has provided significant federal…

In the context of a 10-day summer camp makerspace experience that employed design-based learning (DBL) strategies, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to better understand the ways in which children use visualization skills to negotiate design as they move back and forth between the world of nondigital design techniques (i.e., drawing,…