With handwriting being limitedly taught in schools; high intensity, summer handwriting camps may resolve the numerous handwriting rehabilitation referrals of school-aged children. To improve handwriting, a 5-day (3-hr/daily session) summer camp was created for children (ages 5-9 years old). Thirty children (ages 5-9) were given manuscript…

Spatial visualization and mental rotations skills are considered a strong predictor of success in STEM fields (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). This study analyzed the malleability and amount of change in fourth through sixth grade students using the Revised PSVT:R. Participants engaged in a STEM camp driven by maker pedagogy and focused on the…

Museum camps are a popular option over school vacation, but they are not always accessible to families who lack transportation and live far from the institution. This article presents an alternative format for camp: running a museum camp from within a neighborhood public school. Collaboration with school staff and community members is a key to…

Young children enter kindergarten with varying levels of readiness and abilities to learn. One factor that contributes to lower levels of school readiness is poverty. One timely, cost-effective, and feasible strategy to boost school readiness, regardless of exposure to high-quality preschool is to leverage the summer months prior to kindergarten…

Reading motivation declines across elementary school. Although a substantive body of empirical work exists specific to the reading motivation of older children, researchers have paid less attention to younger readers. Given that children's perceptions of school experiences shape motivation, and motivation impacts achievement, it is imperative that…

The K-12 population learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) has been increasing rapidly within recent years in the United States. Ruan, Zhang, and Leung (2015) state that summer programs are one of the most recognized forms of Chinese learning, cultivating immersion language environments in the United States. As CFL programs expand, there is…

Research on the effectiveness of STEM-focused (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-focused) schools and other learning experiences (e.g., short-term camps) on student outcomes is sparse. This study documented perceptions of STEM content and careers for elementary, middle, and secondary school students participating in…

4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension and has identified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as a national priority. Conducting STEM education during summer months for hard to reach youth can be a challenge. However, it is during summer when vulnerable students most often experience learning loss. During…

Note taking applications for tablet devices offer the potential for meaningful integration of science and technology through the use of digital notebooks. This case study examined one pre-service teacher candidate's thoughts on using a digital notebook during a STEM methods course and how she transferred this knowledge and practice to a summer…

Summer brings to mind the joys of vacation and spending time outdoors. The author looks forward to the summer months, particularly June--that's when they hold Junior Naturalist Camp at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. While she enjoys each day of camp, one in particular really brings out her inner student--Solar…

One-day chemistry camps, managed by graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry at the Universities of Virginia (UVA) and Vermont (UVM), have proven successful as an outreach initiative. The camp model engages kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school students in hands-on, inquiry-based science experiments to educate and excite…

Besides viewing knowledge about the nature of science (NOS) as important for its own value with respect to scientific literacy, an adequate understanding of NOS is expected to improve science content learning by fostering the ability to interrelate scientific concepts and, thus, coherently acquire scientific content knowledge. However, there is a…

This study examined whether brief priming sessions (i.e., previewing activities with an adult ahead of time) would increase the rate of initiations made by children with autism to peers in inclusive settings. A multiple baseline across participants design assessed changes in rate of initiations, as well as statements reflecting target child…

Research suggests that a girl's career interests in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) declines between grades 6 and 8. Similarly, in middle school, there is a decrease in physical activity among girls. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) conducted a chemistry-based science camp that took place…

Elementary students find themselves engaged and learning at a digital writing camp. The authors find that such elementary students usually have limited access to technology at home and school, and posit that teachers should do all they can to give them more access to and experience in digital composing. Students were motivated and learned to use…