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…

University students who experience real-world service tend to develop a more inclusive world view and enhanced understandings outside of their personal perspectives. This project combined course objectives, community collaboration, and service provision to identify the impact of students' understanding of social justice and disability access…

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…

Healthy 2B Me aims to educate and empower underserved children ages seven to 11 years old to improve their health and well-being through a supportive, educational and entertaining public health-themed summer day camp. Qualitative data collected through camper exit slips, final posters/presentations, and parent surveys were analyzed to identify…

Many educator preparation programs desire to partner with P-12 and community groups. The authors showcase the development of a P-12 School-University-Family partnership. Partnership goals included literacy growth and interest among linguistically and culturally diverse P-12 learners while also providing a sustainable training ground for current…

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…

Research shows student participation in science programming can affect scientific interest, academic performance, college majors, and careers. This article reports a study where results obtained from questionnaires completed by participants, parents, and guardians assessed whether interest in STEM disciplines was advanced by a summer day-camp…

Arts integration in science has benefits of increasing student engagement and understanding. Lessons focusing on form and function of animal skulls provide an effective example of how handicrafts integrated with science instruction motivate students and support learning. The study involved students ages 9-12 during a week-long summer day camp.…

This study explored if a weeklong science camp changed Louisiana African-American high school students' perception of science. A semi-structured survey was used before and after the camp to determine the changes in science attitudes and career choices. Among the perceived benefits were parental involvement, increased science academic ability, and…

This study explored American high school students' perceptions of the benefits of a summer astronomy camp, emphasizing a full cycle of the research process and how the organization of the camp contributed to those perceptions. Semi-structured interviews with students and staff were used to elicit the specific benefits that campers perceived from…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Camp Invention, a hands-on creativity and science day camp run in partnership with about 400 schools nationwide. A survey of 17,526 campers, parents, and staff supported the positive impact of Camp Invention for both boys and girls, in urban and suburban settings, and on attitudes towards creativity,…

A study explored perceptions of 43 students on benefits gained from participating in the Science Fair Summer Camp program in Fort Pierce, Florida. Benefits included the availability of equipment/technology, opportunities to interact with teachers and scientists, opportunities for research design, and opportunities actually to engage in the process…

The goal of this study was to take a first step in evaluating the potential of virtual reality (VR) as a learning environment. The context of the study was The Technology Academy, a technology-oriented summer day camp for students ages 5-18, where student activities center around hands-on exploration of new technology (e.g., robotics, MIDI digital…

Designed as a pilot program, a 5-day arts day-camp held at Illinois Valley Community College for 44 fifth and sixth graders during summer 1981 provided a model approach to interrelating the arts. A thematic structure allowed experiences in visual arts, dance, drama, and music with faculty who had multi-arts experience as well as specialization in…