A math walk is a planned walk during which students talk about mathematical concepts embedded in their everyday environments. The walk is based on relatively permanent objects or locations, such as trees, artworks, playground equipment, and building elements, and can be shared with the broader school community in a variety of different ways. In…

Research in mathematics education has described learning and identity development as dynamic, negotiated, and cultural. However, disciplined ways of engaging in school mathematics remain most valued, resulting in positioning only some learners as successful. Research that investigates mathematics learning and identity has predominantly occurred in…

This article presents five main challenges refugee children experience in their learning and living in host countries, revealing an urgent need for reexamining their strengths and needs in education. It further reports an asset-based participatory research project with 18 preservice teachers (PTs) and 85 refugee children (K-5) engaged in an…

The Wallace Foundation's Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative is a six-year initiative that The Wallace Foundation launched in 2017 to explore whether and how children benefit when schools and their out-of-school-time programs partner to improve social and emotional learning (SEL), as well as what it takes to do this work. SEL…

For young people who exhibit attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits, out-of-school (OST) programming can provide the atmosphere and learning experiences that, by design, sustain attention, engagement, and focus. "Possibility projects" enabled one afterschool practitioner to redefine ADHD in terms of attention-driven,…

We explore whether the use of assistive technology allows teachers and children to negotiate shared understandings for learning science and language. We understand our afterschool sessions as critical encounters. Artifacts used in the encounters enabled transcending of the tensions and became drivers for learning. In the studied 13 encounters,…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs like the Coastal Ecology science camp can positively influence science identities, particularly for youth from groups historically underserved and underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). OST STEM programming gives youth opportunities to learn science outside the formal classroom in…

When students feel comfortable in the learning environment and are being given authority to make their own choices about what they want to create, they can create significant artworks with different personal expressions through the form of narratives. Students feel this freedom especially when they are not in the regular school environment where…

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact a community-based service learning program might have on preservice teachers' science instruction during student teaching. Designed to promote science inquiry, preservice teachers learned how to offer students more opportunities to develop their own ways of thinking through utilization of an…

School science continues to fail to engage youth from non-dominant communities (Carlone, Huan-Frank & Webb, 2011). However, recent research demonstrates that informal science learning settings support both knowledge gains and increased participation in science among youth from non-dominant communities (Dierking, 2007; Falk et al., 2007; HFRP,…

This study examines the benefits that can be achieved by pre-service teachers tutoring mathematics in after school programs. Analysis of student journal entries show enhanced ability to meet National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) process standards and methods of assessment, as well as greater awareness of the need to teach to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the occupational identity development of undergraduate music education majors as they participated in a yearlong authentic context learning (ACL) experience situated within a professional development school (PDS). Five undergraduate music education majors enrolled in either a string pedagogy class or an…

Traditional art education, like other academic disciplines, emphasizes competitiveness and individualism. Through a mural painting curriculum, learners participate in mural art and history appreciation, are active in mural theme or content construction, and engage in hands-on mural design and painting processes. When mural paintings are produced…

In this report, the author shares her perspective on ten years of science-rich programming for high school youth at the American Museum of Natural History. This report includes: (1) A discussion of the theory of action and the rationale that underlies the AMNH youth programs; (2) A description of three of the programs that have been offered and…