“The activity where we collected organisms was a good influence ’cause I could see myself as a scientist. I got to do the actual thing.” These words from Celeste, a girl who participated in the Coastal Ecology program at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, are not unique. Other girls who participated in the program offered similar input, suggesting that engaging in science in this out-of-school time (OST) setting enhanced their identity and sense of self as learners of science. OST programs like the Coastal Ecology science camp can positively influence science
Young adulthood, typically defined as between the ages of 18 and 25, is a critical period of growth during which young people acquire the education and training that serve as the basis for their later occupations and income (Arnett, 2000). The successful transition from adolescence to early adulthood requires youth to have the skills and resources to graduate high school and then go to college or enter the workforce (Fuligni & Hardway, 2004; Lippman, Atienza, Rivers, & Keith, 2008). To accomplish these tasks in advanced urban societies, young adults need a wide range of social, cognitive
One day, as I was working with a student after school on a problem involving division with decimals, I told him which number goes in the “division house.” Suddenly the student blurted out, “That is not what my teacher told me, and I hate math!” I knew I had not yet found the key to helping this student. Was I addressing how he felt about math? Should I put the problem away and start over with the beauty of decimals, those smaller-than-one numbers that enable us to measure the speed of an Olympic athlete, the diameter of a pinhead, or the exact length of a ladybug? Teaching afterschool allows
The U.S. government’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest that children should engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for 60 minutes per day (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [U.S. DHHS], 2008). However, recent data indicate that children in the U.S. are not accumulating enough physical activity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The concern is deepest for youth of lower socioeconomic status and youth of color (Moore, Davis, Baxter, Lewis, & Yin, 2008; Singh, Kogan, Siahpush, & van Dyck, 2008). As a result, professionals in a variety of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Heather ErwinStephanie RoseSarah SmallJay Perman
Most communities have afterschool programs that give school-aged students a safe place to go after the dismissal bell rings. The next step after simply providing a safe haven is to create a nurturing environment that develops young people’s talents and supports their needs. A formal mentoring program can help to achieve this goal.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sara McDanielAnna-Margaret YarbroughKevin Besnoy
Afterschool continues to be promoted as a complementary setting to school for strengthening science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education (for example, Krishnamurthi, Bevan, Rinehart, & Coulon, 2013). This is a reasonable idea: 10.2 million children and youth in the U.S. participate in structured afterschool programs (Afterschool Alliance, 2014), and the flexibility of afterschool settings allows for innovative approaches to STEM exploration and engagement.
Across the country, school administrators and educators struggle to find time for children to engage in physical activity while still giving them enough time in academic instruction. The steep rise in childhood obesity in the U.S. (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011; Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014) suggests that the concern is urgent.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Georgia HallKristin Fay PostonStephanie Harris
Across the U.S., youth development approaches are being tested in out-of-school time programs as a strategy to combat the growing opportunity gap between privileged and underprivileged youth (Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2009). Along with increased recognition of the value of youth development programming has come increased financial support (Padgette, 2003; Zeller-Berkman, 2010). This investment, in turn, brings increased pressure to continually prove to funders that youth development programs affect student outcomes (Zeller-Berkman, 2010). The increased emphasis on accountability has
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sarah Zeller-BerkmanCarolina Munoz-ProtoMaria Elena Torre