Purpose: Language learning is often conceptualized as a cognitive, psycholinguistic or pedagogical process confined to formal classroom contexts. Scant attention is paid to the autonomy of young learners in out-of-class situations. Methodology: Using an emic approach, this study attempts to fill the research gap by analyzing the visual and verbal…

Computing fields are foundational to most STEM disciplines and the only STEM discipline to show a consistent decline in women's representation since 1990, making it an important field for STEM educators to study. The explanation for the underrepresentation of women and girls in computing is twofold: a sense that they do not fit within the…

This study is framed within Norton's notion of 'investment' to explore the factors influencing teachers' reasons and decisions to participate in continuing professional development (CPD) activities. Data were collected from 522 junior high school teachers in the Central region of Ghana using a survey and in-depth interviews. The findings reveal…

Most literature on youth focuses on prominent issues of bullying/cyber abuse, dating and relationship issues, and mental health concerns for children and adolescents; however, specific to preadolescence, little is written in comparison due to the implication that the transition between the two life stages are well blended. However, the question…

Background and Context: Both in- and out-of-school computer science (CS) learning opportunities are expanding, but their influences on CS career interests are unclear. Method: To investigate, we applied multinomial propensity score weighting analysis on a 2021 U.S. nationally representative sample of 4,116 5th-to-12th-grade students. Findings: The…

Educators must consider how today's technology-mediated environments expand our conceptualization of learning contexts and the continuities and tensions between learning and participation in various settings. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational systems worldwide, necessitating emergency remote teaching and coinciding with increased social…

Background: Museums have been paying an increasing attention to the design of experiences conducive to informal learning. While spontaneous inquiries in museums often pique visitors' intrinsic motivation to learn, certain structures or scaffolds are needed to facilitate sense making in museum learning. Two promising approaches are identified:…

This qualitative case study describes how participation in an outside-of-school program sustained middle school girls' interest in computer science and positively influenced their computational perspectives. Data consists of interviews, observations, and videos analyzed from ten girls participating in a nine-month program during 2017-2018.…

Current research has not fully explored how summer programming camps can help students increase motivation and interest to pursue computing career, and their programming knowledge. Informal CS education through summer programming camps provides K-12 students the opportunity to learn how to code through fun and interactive activities outside of…

Background: This study explored science teachers' participation in a professional development partnership with informal science institutions (ISIs) designed for urban middle school science teachers, known as the "Urban Advantage Science Initiative." The teacher training involved a whole school focused approach, providing teaching…

The article focuses on study visits from the perspective of mathematical project work. Project work means a systematic organizing method of teaching that is based around a project. The research questions are the kinds of study visits students made, the meaning(s) of those visits, the mathematical content in the visits and how such study visits…

Control-value theory suggests that students' control and value appraisals mediate the relation between contextual supports and student emotions in formal learning settings; however, this theory has not been tested in informal learning contexts. Understanding mechanisms for instructional support in informal learning contexts can inform the design…

In Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), students should reach formal mathematics knowledge and explore mathematics based on their informal knowledge. The problems chosen in the exploration process should apply mathematics to real-life situations and be suitable for students to explore and create mathematical structures. In the current study, the…

This preliminary study reports upon students' experiences in engaging friends and family members in discussing global climate change for required assignments in a laboratory-centered physics course for prospective elementary and middle school teachers, (https://open.oregonstate.education/physicsforteachers). Research questions included: What…

Despite years of recruitment efforts, women remain significantly underrepresented throughout engineering. While research into precollege engineering education has expanded, it has primarily focused on formal learning settings, even though students spend significantly more time outside of the classroom. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything,…