The Coalition for Science After School highlights the dual nature of outcomes for science learning during out-of- school time (OST): Learning experiences should not only be positive in the moment, but also position youth for future success. Several frameworks speak to the first set of immediate outcomes--what youth learn, think, and feel as the…

This article outlines key findings of a study of STEM-rich afterschool Making programs offered by the four organizations participating in a project called the California Tinkering Afterschool Network. Over three years, the project identified key characteristics of inclusive and equity-oriented Maker activities and facilitation. It also defined the…

At High Tech Elementary Chula Vista in California, teachers are using improvement science, a method for solving a problem of practice with disciplined inquiry, to help students make their thinking visible. The teachers wanted to increase students' use of how and why language to articulate their thinking; to that end, they have been using short…

Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)--convened by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute--review current data and propose deliberation about why the academic "pathways"…

University earth science departments seeking to establish meaningful geoscience outreach programs often pursue large-scale, grant-funded programs. Although this type of outreach is highly successful, it is also extremely costly, and grant funding can be difficult to secure. Here, we present the Geoscience Education Outreach Program (GEOP), a…

This article examines the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program and investigates its impact on underrepresented student populations. MESA was started in California during the 1970s to provide pathways to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers for underrepresented students and represents an exemplar model…

Studying Topography, Orographic Rainfall, and Ecosystems with Geospatial Information Technology (STORE), a 4.5-year National Science Foundation funded project, explored the strategies that stimulate teacher commitment to the project's driving innovation: having students use geospatial information technology (GIT) to learn about weather, climate,…