This study examines science interests, efficacy, attitudes, and identity--referred to as affinities, in the context of an informal science outreach program for girls. A mixed methods design was used to explore girls' science affinities before, during, and after participation in a cohort-based summer science camp. Multivariate analysis of survey…

Youth voices, experiences, and perspectives are sometimes overlooked because debates regarding "best practices" in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment often distract educators from centering youth. Also, while the theory and practice of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies have been increasingly well received by educators and…

This paper explores Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Schools, a local variant of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD's) influential PISA that not only assesses an individual school's performance in reading, mathematics and science against international schooling systems, but also promotes 17…

Native American secondary students have consistently scored lower in reading than other racial groups. Research has suggested that increasing student reading engagement and using a culturally-responsive pedagogy may help Native American students to improve reading levels. The problem addressed by this study is the need to identify best practices…

Afterschool and competency-based learning are increasingly emerging as student-centered, supportive learning models to prepare students for college and career. This white paper explores the intersection and relationship between these two fields, recommends ideal policy environments for implementing successful programs, provides real-world…

This article describes three reasons Twitter has become an essential part of US National Teacher of the Year Rebecca Mieliwocki's teaching life: (1) It provides professional development on demand by offering a steady stream of great new ideas, activities, lesson suggestions, book recommendations, and teaching tips that can be immediately…

Learning about restorative justice involves examining conventional thinking about crime (or wrongdoing generally), values in relation to how people associated with wrongdoing are treated, and best responses when a wrongdoing occurs. In this introductory article, the author highlights key developments in the restorative movement and main…

Adolescent drinking represents a significant problem in the United States. Although high school juniors and seniors are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences associated with alcohol use, evidence-based interventions for this age group are limited. The purpose of this article is to introduce a Web-based alcohol intervention with…

As a result of cheaper, accessible, and user-friendly technologies, there is an increasing volume of videos created by children, yet these works often lack excellence. Strong pedagogical practice is important to nurture excellence in video production, but there is scant literature in this area. In this paper, I examine best practices through a…

The idea of "best practices" in the performing arts is introduced as a set of progressive educational values and pedagogical strategies that attempt to not only train youth in the performing arts, but also to be transformative. This article builds on the work of educational reformer John Dewey to describe progressive performing arts…

As part of the Advanced Placement (AP) Program's commitment to continually enhance alignment with current best practices in college-level learning, the AP Program is currently evaluating and redesigning courses and exams, one of which launched during the 2013-2014 academic school year: AP chemistry. The history of the AP chemistry course and…

Despite impressive progress in education enrollments in recent decades, Brazil continues to face important obstacles to overall quality and secondary school completion rates that restrict the nation's ability to produce a skilled workforce. Vocational and Technical Education and Training (VET) is a key element in the strategy to more quickly…

Even with recent advancements, education inequities in science remain for students with learning disabilities (SWLDs) and English learners (ELs), as evidenced through poor national assessment performance. When leveraged appropriately, educational technology provides a pathway for disadvantaged students to receive equal learning access. Project…

It is imperative that career and technical education (CTE) utilize research-proven pedagogy. Pushing on relevance to arrive at rigor provides an opportunity for "limited" and "perpetual duration" real-world learning experiences to be implemented within every contemporary CTE program. This study describes how secondary CTE programs are currently…

Education is a lifelong process of continuous learning and renewal. This is necessary because of ongoing research and changes in technologies. For educators, the need for training leads to a continual search for learning opportunities from many sources. School administrators routinely provide in-service training. National and state associations…