The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of unplugged coding activities carried out with middle school students on their computational thinking skills. This study employed nested-mixed design, which is a mixed research method; the data were supported by including the qualitative phase into an experimental study. In this frame, a group of…

This study sought to address the large gap in the literature regarding parents' roles and views about physical education programs. Guided by Epstein's model of parental involvement, this study investigated the effect of increased parental involvement in a child's physical education program on parents' perceptions of that program. Participants…

Project LION (Learning In Our Neighborhood) was a community partnership between a local University, a Charitable Foundation, the City, and the Parish (County) School System that provided affordable afterschool academic and enrichment activities for students who are at risk in grades 4 through 8. The multiple-year foundation grant provided program…

Afterschool interventions in STEM are linked to learning gains during the school day. These opportunities engage and excite students about STEM concepts since they observe a more hands-on, project-oriented approach. Often these opportunities for afterschool interventions are infrequent in nature and leave gaps for students in their maturation and…

Environmental education (EE) typically occurs in natural settings, which research suggests may enhance learning outcomes. Although field trips are commonly used to teach EE, few studies have isolated the influence of different setting characteristics for enhancing participant outcomes during an EE field trip. According to the literature, certain…

The overarching goal of the Common Core State Standards is to graduate students from P-12 schools who are college and career ready (CCR). School-university partnerships play an important role in preparing students, families, and teachers to achieve this goal. University partners can be especially helpful as children begin to imagine how they can…

The present study is the first reported analysis of participant data from an afterschool leadership development program targeting the elementary to middle school transition for fifth-grade students. Data were collected from 2012 to 2015 from 261 adolescents who self-selected to participate in the afterschool program and provided parental…

The chapter explores the relationships of the material and discursive in an afterschool arts space devoted to creating an "ideal city" out of recyclables. Intrigued by the making of a homeless shelter by a Grade 5 student and a teacher candidate, the author turns to intra-activity as a theory--and ethic-onto-epistemological…

Current policy efforts that seek to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) emphasize the importance of helping all students acquire concepts and tools from computer science that help them analyze and develop solutions to everyday problems. These goals have been generally described in the literature under the…

Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) was used to elicit salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs of children without disabilities toward playing with a hypothetical peer with a disability in general physical education. Participants were 350 elementary and middle school students who completed two questionnaires. Questionnaires were…

This paper describes a workshop led by female Engineering Technology students, with support from female faculty, to provide an introduction to Engineering Technology to 4th-7th grade girls through a series of interactive laboratory experiments. This outreach program was developed to improve attitudes towards science and engineering in middle…

This article describes a semester-long pen-pal project in which preservice teachers composed mathematical problems and the middle school students worked for solutions. The college students assessed the solution and the middle school students provided feedback regarding the problem itself. (Contains 6 figures.)

Inspiring students to become teachers and community leaders is a goal of Douglas Taylor School's leadership team. A feeling of continuity and connection are important to the school, which opened in the 19th century. Housed in a beautiful old school building in Chicago's South Side, Douglas Taylor School contains grades preK-8. To maintain the…

Regardless of geographical limitations, community partnerships can flourish through videoconference technology. This article presents iDance Arizona (iDA) research as a tool for supporting the teaching and learning of dance in rural settings. This research focuses on university/K-12 collaborations and examines the pedagogy of videoconferencing in…

The transition to middle school has been a frequent research topic in recent years. The findings have highlighted both the significant risk and opportunity for school counselor intervention in the transition. One particularly important component of the multifaceted transition is course placement. The importance and influence of mathematics and…