Considering the prevalence of mathematics teacher shortages in the United States, together with declining enrollments in teacher preparation programs, it is crucial for districts and teacher preparation programs alike to investigate new recruitment initiatives. In this pilot study, a university aimed to increase high school students' interest in…

DesignYOU! Code Camp is a grant-funded summer outreach camp designed to increase interest in coding and STEM careers among middle school students (6th - 8th graders) through an innovative, immersive summer camp experience. To make the concepts of coding more palpable, researchers incorporated fashion and retail allowing students to learn through…

This study explored the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) attitudes and self-efficacy of secondary students identifying as Black South African, multi-racial or Afrikaans South African, or Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe nationals who participated in a non-formal STEM education camp programme. Using Bandura's social cognitive…

A science camp for blind or visually impaired (BVI) students, covering mainly hands-on chemistry experiments, is described. The scientific experiments are detailed, and the feedback of the students is recorded, highlighting the benefits of the camp and its impact. BVI students actively participated in conducting the scientific experiments using…

Purpose: Self-help and support activities are often recommended for people who stutter, and there is growing interest in understanding whether and how such experiences might be beneficial for children who stutter. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential impact of participation in Camp SAY, an overnight support-based summer camp…

Background: Undergraduate outdoor orientation programs facilitate students' transition into college. Research has yet to be conducted on the few programs at medical schools, which may have unique benefits given the specific challenges of transitioning to medical school and high rates of burnout among medical students. Purpose: This mixed methods…

Nearly 80% of the total American population lives within the urban sprawl, where rapid urbanization has contributed to an immense reduction of green space. Loss of woods, fields, and other green areas, in conjunction with adolescent preference for indoor and screen-based activities, has led to decreased time spent outdoors. However, studies show…

Creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration are thought to be the core skills that will enable students to be successful in the future. Economic and social development of a nation is associated with the individuals' such new skills, which are commonly referred as the twenty-first-century skills. However, the educational methods…

This study investigated middle school students' Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy, focusing on cognitive and affective dimensions with regard to learning about AI. Fourteen middle school students participated in a five-day summer camp. They engaged in a project-based AI literacy program with hands-on activities, data collection and modeling,…

Students benefit from cultural opportunities that expose them to different perspectives beyond what may be encountered in their immediate environment. The Appalachian community that is the subject of this article enjoys a rich tradition of vocal folk songs, instrumental dance tunes, and church music. Young people have opportunities to hear…

Health-related career goals are popular among high school science students, yet few understand the application of chemistry and biology research to the field of medicine and its impact on society. In this five-day multidisciplinary summer camp, high school students learn about the real-world relevance of medicinal chemistry research and its…

Due to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the comparison of online versus traditional face-to-face (FTF) environments has now come under review. The research of online informal learning spaces for K-12 education in particular is underdeveloped and requires more investigation. The purpose for this paper is to report an analysis of the…

Although literacy research has traditionally focused on content area and disciplinary literacies, in this study we argue for the importance of transdisciplinarity. We employed a participatory action research design to examine pre-service teachers' (PST) planning of a transdisciplinary math and music lesson to understand how conceptual framing of…

Today's environmental challenges present us with the opportunity to enhance our ability to hear the voices of the more-than-human world. This was an aptitude that was central to our ancestral practices. Efforts to develop pedagogies that redirect our ways of being in the world are emerging under the broad title, "wild pedagogies." This…

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…