Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) are nationally-held outreach events that are commonly organized by local chapters of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) to encourage young women to continue their study of mathematics. The AWM Student Chapter at Worcester Polytechnic Institute hosted virtual renditions of SK Day for middle school girls…

Many adolescent readers experience difficulties comprehending informational text, which may result from underlying difficulties with foundational skills (e.g., word recognition and fluency), knowledge demands (e.g., background, text structure, and vocabulary), and/or reading motivation. Supplemental interventions for adolescents targeting only…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many youth felt disconnected from on-the-ground engagement with their peers, their communities, and the wider society. School closures also impeded progress in some students' abilities to write, speak, and express themselves through various media. A team of interdisciplinary and intergenerational faculty and…

Recent studies have identified that engaging middle school students (grades 6-8) in STEM activities increases their chances of choosing STEM-related disciplines when entering college; however, very few university-sponsored opportunities are available for these students. This paper describes an outreach day for middle school students consisting of…

From global hunger to the world's water crisis, middle school students at New Jersey's West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District spend the last few days of the school year problem solving about the planet's most dire issues. With the Global Challenge, the school district's administrators not only want to implement an interesting and dynamic…

In this paper, we explore how tutoring could become a permanent feature of the U.S. public education system. We outline a blueprint for taking tutoring to scale nationally and estimate its costs, while highlighting a range of design and implementation challenges. Our blueprint is centered on ten core principles and a federal architecture to…

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…

A practical exercise for developing a simple cost-effective solar ultraviolet radiation dosimeter is presented for use by middle school science students. Specifically, this exercise investigates a series of experiments utilising the historical blue print reaction, combining ammonium iron citrate and potassium hexacyanoferrate to develop an…

Today's youths seem to be facing more obstacles and receiving less direction than ever before. Rather than just focusing on trouble prevention and deterrence, many youth development and preparation programs are striving to help youths develop the necessary assets, skills, and qualities to become productive and satisfied adults, as well as…

Considers some of the groundwork affecting the foundations of advisory programs in middle schools, focusing on key decisions made in the planning stages of the program. Presents an advisory typology that can be used to compare existing programs, design a new program, or evaluate and renovate an existing program. (KB)

Policymakers sometimes view arts education and experiential learning as distractions from the goal of enabling all students to master rigorous content standards. The three school programs described in this article, however, demonstrate that content standards can be integrated into engaging, motivating curriculums based on the arts and authentic…

This article describes the application of constructive conflict resolution techniques in a middle-school program for students with behavior disorders, discussing the use of mediation, negotiation, constructive controversy, and classroom meetings. Initial efforts to explore the impact of the program are recounted, and implications for implementing…

Describes an online exchange project between middle school students and college English Education majors being introduced to middle school language arts teaching. Specifically details: (1) preparation for an online exchange; (2) goals for the project; (3) the exchange going online; (4) questions college students asked; (5) what all the students…

This article provides an overview of an after school program one school implemented that included gifted middle school students as peer tutors for those who needed additional outside help and support. The development, design, objectives, and positive outcomes of the Homework Helpers program are described. (Contains references.) (CR)

The implementation of a school-wide discipline plan based on the Effective Behavior Support model in nine elementary and middle schools, in addition to the Second Step violence prevention curriculum, resulted in reductions of discipline referrals, improved social skill knowledge, improved school operations, and motivation to continue with the…