This research recounts a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project aimed at facilitating students' empathic development while also offering ways to identify and assess students' written expressions of empathy. I ground this work in an exploration of the many processes labelled as empathy and the reasons for including empathy as a course…

Purpose: To explore undergraduate students' experiences leading and facilitating an out-of-school-time (OST) physical activity program for middle school girls. Method: Five female undergraduate students (N = 4 Black or African American) participated in semistructured individual interviews and submitted weekly reflections during their time leading…

This qualitative dissertation aimed to understand if an after-school kinesiology service-learning program changed the relationship between a large Research I institution and a local public school. Eight 7th- and 8th-grade students, three classroom teachers, and one administrator participated. Data collection methods included semistructured…

We used community partnerships to develop an integrated science-learning program focused on two groups of learners -- university and middle school (MS) students -- to increase students' interest and confidence in science as well as motivation to pursue science. Key program elements include a university course for undergraduate and graduate…

"Making" STEM Relevant in Underserved Communities, funded by the National Science Foundation, was Pathways project that aimed to develop a research-based model for supporting and evaluating a mobile making program for different social, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts. This project brought making to underserved communities by taking…

Out-of-school time academic/STEM programs provide educational enrichment to a myriad of student populations with some designed to assist those underrepresented and at-risk who desire to purse post-secondary studies. One such program in West Virginia (WV) is the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), which provides hands-on, in person and…

The Promise Fellow Program is an intervention designed to prevent dropout amongst students in grades 6-12 in Minnesota that show early warning signs of school disengagement. The program is led by interventionists known as Promise Fellows and provides three research-based supports that align with the National Dropout Prevention Center's "Basic…

After-school programs serve as a way to enhance student learning with more flexibility regarding the curriculum and classroom structure. In this article, we reflect on our work with youth from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds in an after-school program. Applying Youth Participatory Action Research as our guiding…

The 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a nationally representative survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. State-level data are also available for public schools, principals, and teachers. NTPS collects data on core topics including teacher and…

The 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a nationally representative survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. State-level data are also available for public schools, principals, and teachers. NTPS collects data on core topics including teacher and…

This paper examines the ways in which extended education is manifested in a place where schooling and academic achievement are of primary focus. Over the past few decades, the Hong Kong education system has undergone major reforms that have incorporated various forms of extended education to enhance students' all-round development. Despite these…

As universities create service-learning programs, educators are experimenting with pedagogical approaches that enhance learning outcomes while benefiting communities. We present a qualitative case study of a radio-based, service-learning program, grounded in a Freirean foundation and aimed at developing the cultural competence and sense of…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a longitudinal examination of the relationship between sustained after-school participation and a district's Early Warning Index associated with school dropout in a large urban school district. The study included 64,351 students participating between 2000-2001 and the 2011-2012 school years. Data were…

Educators, policymakers, and other concerned adults share an interest in promoting lifelong patterns of community service in youth. Practitioners and researchers alike highlight the importance of youth participation in afterschool service activities so the author's focus in this paper is on youth involved in PeaceJam, an innovative…

Personalized learning models can give each student differentiated learning experiences based on their needs, interests, and strengths, including students with disabilities. Personalized learning can pinpoint specific gaps in student learning, identify where a student is on his or her learning pathway, and provide the appropriate interventions to…