Camp has proven to be an effective positive youth development strategy for children and youth who experience trauma and adversity. However, training camp counselors who are prepared to meet the needs of trauma-exposed youth in these settings are less understood. This pilot evaluation study provides the results of a social simulation-based training…

The Junior Knight Camp is an annual summer program that specifically supports elementary school students in an effort to increase knowledge of social studies using an interdisciplinary thematic approach. This interdisciplinary approach includes STEM, the arts, literacy, and physical education. The camp operates on multiple campuses of the…

Students who develop interest in STEM careers by the eighth grade are more likely to pursue careers in STEM (Tai et al., 2006). Interest development can happen through a variety of sources, including informal learning experiences such as out of school programs and summer camps. This study looks at one such informal STEM experience, an engineering…

Digital safety involves protecting oneself, and one's personal information to mitigate the risks that are inherently associated with using digital technologies. This study employed a multi-method design to explore 26 inservice and preservice elementary teacher experiences from attending a professional development on digital safety and facilitating…

The purpose of this paper is to present a profile of middle-school-age youth who participated in a weeklong experiential residential camp focused on helping campers learn about and interact with money, personal finance topics, and mainstream financial service providers. Based on pre- and post-test data, it was determined an experiential real-world…

In "Beyond the Invisible Barriers of the Classroom: iEngage and Civic Praxis," the authors reported on the experiences teachers encountered during a weeklong Youth Engage Civic Institute Camp and the degree to which what teachers learned in the camp was able to move their thinking and practice toward a more critical, justice-oriented…

This study set out to determine whether there was a relationship between teacher efficacy and a standard treatment protocol. Teachers participated in a pre and post survey to measure their confidence level in Leveled Literacy Intervention, the literacy program and their literacy knowledge, before and after implementation over a summer reading…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore experiences of naturalistic interpersonal contact with persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and attitudes toward persons with IDD among Korean American adolescents and young adults. In interviews with 12 Korean American high school and college students, Korean American…

Many barriers restrict children's access to nature resulting in negative consequences, including a lack of opportunities to learn and engage with the natural environment. Fortunately, environmental education programs offer participants an opportunity to counteract these challenges. While the benefits of environmental education as measured by…

This study was to design and explore the effects of an enrichment program on the leadership, attitude, and motivation of ethnic minority gifted and talented students who want to be scientists and engineers in the future. Ten gifted and talented students participated in this study, Youth Science and Technology Leadership Camp (YSTLC). A leadership…

Research on innovative, integrated outreach programs guided three separate week-long outreach camps held across two summers (2018 and 2019). These camps introduced computer science through real-world applications and hands-on activities, each dealing with cybersecurity principles. The camps utilized low-cost hardware and free software to provide a…

Youth have astute observations about site-specific personal and environmental factors that contribute to littering and marine debris, and they have a strong potential to act as change agents in communities. Interactions with youth in Pinellas County Florida add insights into a growing body of research on environmental education and marine debris…

This article explores an experimental effort to develop a short-term informal learning experience to achieve awareness, confidence and knowledge in geography and geospatial technologies related to environmental and climate change for all participants but particularly for female secondary learners. The intervention incorporated various elements to…