This study investigated the relationships between professional learning communities (PLCs), teacher self-efficacy, and experiential learning. A conceptual model that connects PLC components, including shared vision, interactive reflection, and collegiality, to teacher self-efficacy was proposed, as mediated by experiential learning. The data…

This article offers a model of how to construct a course that makes the abstract principles of the Catholic social tradition more concrete through community-service learning (CSL). Primary source readings from scripture, the Apostolic Fathers, Thomas Aquinas, and the major documents of Catholic social thought provide the academic theory of the…

Interweaving my thinking with childhood stories of schooling, familial narratives, and experiences as a teacher alongside children, this article makes visible how my pedagogical approaches and desires for children to experience belonging shape my intentional work to recraft marginalizing curricula and assessment practices. In sharing my learning,…

This design case details the development of an international, student-led, co-curricular, community-engaged, experiential learning project during its first two years, during which staff and faculty guided and mentored undergraduate students as they developed a process for mentoring young writers in the US and Rwanda and creating an anthology of…

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of university students who served as outside facilitators for evidence-based nutrition education for elementary-age children. Design: Qualitative case study. Methods: Thirteen undergraduate university students facilitated four nutrition education sessions for elementary-age…

Teacher self-efficacy is a construct that exerts a powerful influence on the behaviors of teachers. Yet, few studies have been conducted examining the impact of contextual structures within educator preparation programs on the development of general and domain-specific teaching efficacy. This study investigated the impact of an embedded internship…

Student teaching offers a potentially rich yet underutilized space for teacher educators to support elementary teacher candidates (TCs) in developing dispositions and practices consistent with culturally responsive teaching (CRT). In this study, we found that a cohort of TCs who engaged in a hands-on anti-bias family/community engagement module…

Arts-in-nature practice has been shown to have positive impacts on children's mental health and wellbeing; however, introducing new innovations in schools can be challenging and requires involvement of staff in the process. The 'Branching Out' project explored how arts-in-nature practice can be scaled up to achieve greater reach in primary schools…

Purpose: School gardening and garden-based learning (GBL) have gained great popularity in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced many educators to think creatively about safe, outdoor education. Scholarship from diverse disciplines has demonstrated the positive impact of GBL on student learning, attitudes toward school and various health…

The present qualitative study aimed to investigate how school garden-based science pedagogy improves students' attitudes toward science learning, particularly in under-resourced urban school districts. The findings of this study suggest that the implementation of school garden-based science pedagogy can positively impact elementary students'…

The life experiences of Indigenous students are often overlooked in school learning, thereby causing dissonance in learning. To address this issue, this study incorporated local and traditional ecological knowledges of community in this year-long course of 'place-based Indigenous education for sustainable development', using place-based design…

Contributions: This study examined the effectiveness of making activities in fostering the competency development of school-age children engaged in a making program. The findings suggest that community-based makerspaces can provide autonomous and informal learning experiences, facilitating their competence development. When integrated with formal…

Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a promising practice for communities to engage in self-determination through the efforts residents invest in identifying community assets, framing and documenting the issues communities face, and taking action to advance quality of life. The ABCD literature does not report on the application of ABCD…

This year's report examines the critical role community plays in education. Integrating learning that takes place inside and outside of school has always been a powerful strategy to support student success, but it gained special relevance this year, as school closures made family and community members integral parts of students' daily learning.…

Through the participation of local communities in the arts, Community-Based Arts Education (CBAE) raises awareness of ecology and the environment, and also facilitates the search for and establishment of a socio-cultural identity. It provides students with specific forms of experiential learning involving out-of-classroom experiences. Since 2003…