Background: Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) predominantly centers learning around individual goal setting and experiences and has not traditionally elevated Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Purpose: This research focuses on understanding how student learning and inquiry is affected through OAE that emphasizes the importance of IKS as a…

Enrichment programs make up a small but significant part of a community college's offerings. In some cases, their impact can be enormous--especially in rural areas where a community college might be the only source of enrichment for residents. Community enrichment programs also can be challenging to administer. For instance, it can be hard to find…

Idaho Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) aims to build biomedical research capacity and enhance the scientific and technology knowledge of the Idaho workforce. A key INBRE Program at The College of Idaho, a primarily undergraduate institution of 1,100 students, is a 10-wk summer fellows…

As policymakers and school communities work to address underlying causes of achievement gaps and access to quality early childhood education, this study considers the use of 21st Century Community Learning Centers to address early childhood education needs on western U.S. state, Idaho. The study sought to understand the relationship between…

Many colleges are pursuing innovative alternative approaches for the development of education that aims to accelerate students' progress in gaining important academic competencies. Summer bridge programs are one such approach. These bridge programs offer underprepared and at-risk students the opportunity to advance toward college-level coursework…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development for K-5 teachers often includes engineering design as a focus. Because engineering applications provide perspective to both teachers and their students in terms of how mathematic and scientific principles are employed to solve real-world problems (Baine, 2004; Roden,…

Idaho State University's Bengal Bridge is a summer program designed to help students successfully transition from high school to their first year of college at Idaho State University. All Bridge students at ISU take two general education courses, plus an additional credit of supplemental instruction focused on academic strategies specific to the…

The carbon cycle was used as a conceptual construct for organizing the curriculum for a youth summer camp on natural resource use and sustainability. Several studies have indicated the importance of non-traditional youth education settings for science education and understanding responsible natural resource use. The Sixth Grade Forestry Tour, a…

Summer outreach programs provide pre-college participants an introduction to college life and exposure to engineering in an effort to raise the level of interest and bring more students into engineering fields. The Junior Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (JEMS) program is a project-based summer workshop in which teams of high school students…

The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored professional development of educators in the NASA Summer of Innovation (SOI) program. The Idaho, Montana, and Utah (IMU-SOI) program worked with educators and students from thirteen Native American communities. The summer sessions were focused on problem based learning and…

The Lewis & Clark Rediscovery Project is a technology professional development program designed to help teachers restructure teaching and learning practices in the classroom, and to foster technology use in the schools. The 5-year program (extended into a 6th) was funded in 1999 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education: Technology…

A summer fish recovery program along the Salmon River (Idaho) involves Native American high school students in science, technology, and research within a cultural and environmental context. The positive attitudes and work ethic of Native students and the research and study skills they acquired demonstrate that Native students succeed when their…

Idaho secondary students learn the scientific method through outdoor environmental projects related to water quality monitoring. A program trains teachers to design project-based learning and provides extensive followup support. Five-day summer workshops immerse teachers in the types of projects they will orchestrate with their own students.…