Rural schools, especially smaller ones, offer enormous opportunities for teachers to get to know their students and to cultivate their academic talents. However, students with potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) face specific obstacles to having their talents fully realized in rural schools. Joni Lakin, Tamra…

In a time of social and political unrest and challenge, teaching mindfulness skills to the next generation is a wise investment that will bring positive rewards to all of our futures as we become better able to meet life's challenges. Arnett (2011) said there is a growing awareness of the unique challenges faced by young people in "emerging…

Game-based learning has received more focus as a way to engage students and increase interest in mathematics. Game-based learning should be integrated with effective practices for teaching mathematics, though these is a need for further research on effective implementation models. The purpose of this article is to describe two modes of game-based…

For as long as the profession of technology and engineering education (TEE) has existed (the addition of engineering to the professional title marks the official beginning of the profession, and that occurred in 2010), there has been a struggle. Arguably, this struggle's roots go back to the beginning of public education in the U.S. The struggle,…

To create a clear picture of a personalized learning environment, this article walks us through a day at the Waukesha STEM Academy, a Wisconsin charter school serving about 300 students in grades 6-8. The article follows Cal, a student making the transition from his former traditional school (where every week looked about the same) to a school…

The article discusses a year-long outreach activity, "Sparking interest in German." Five University of Utah German students engaged in the AATG/Goethe-Institut-sponsored SPARK program and taught German to local middle schoolers. At the heart of this outreach project were questions such as whether student-run outreach programs could truly…

In this article, we discuss a partnership with a district-wide Ethnic Studies (ES) program, the Ethnic Studies Professional Development (ESPD) project, through which we designed and led a year-long teacher professional development series for middle and high school ES teachers in one school district. We describe the context of the ESPD project, our…

Service-learning college courses and service-learning components of traditional courses combine discipline-specific learning objectives with service activities in the community. "Chemistry Discovery" is a one-unit service-learning course focused on chemistry outreach at the University of Arizona. In a collaborative learning environment,…

Providing an optimal match in the pace of instruction and level of content increases student engagement and is essential for all students. And while the idea of optimal match makes sense educationally, it can be challenging to determine what pace and level of instruction is optimal for gifted students. Fortunately, there is an effective,…

This article discusses the concept of culturally and geographically relevant content and provides suggestions for its implementation in secondary physical education. The authors define culturally and geographically relevant content as that which is congruent with the contextual environment in which it is being taught and is determined by the…

The authors examined how middle and high school students participating in a literacy-and-songwriting initiative in Detroit, Michigan, experienced moments of possibility that supported the youth in envisioning themselves as college bound. The authors explain how they drew from culturally relevant and sustaining educational approaches to design…

For many educators, the inspiration to teach comes from a desire to make a positive difference in students' lives. As they seek to guide students toward their big goals through trying times, teachers need resources that strengthen social and emotional skills. Facing this very challenge, Allison Silverman, a teacher at Port Chester Middle School in…

The field of STEM education is an educational framework that has surged in application over the past decade. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) is infused in nearly every facet of our society. Filling the gap of current research in middle school career and technical education (CTE) and STEM programs is important as traditional CTE…

Over the course of six years, a diverse group of school districts and charter management organizations in California ran a substantial experiment in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in elementary and middle grades. WestEd led an extensive evaluation of that effort, the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative,…

In this article, we describe the campus visit we organized for Latina girls (grades 6-12) that participated in Somos Escritoras/We Are Writers. Somos Escritoras is a creative space that invites Latina girls to explore their lives and examine their worlds through art, writing, and theater. We focus on the writing marathon we designed for our visit…