A major question for the study of learning and memory is how to tailor learning experiences to promote knowledge that generalizes to new situations. In two experiments, we used category learning as a representative domain to test two factors thought to influence the acquisition of conceptual knowledge: the number of training examples (set size)…

The iDrone Online Camp aims to enhance middle and high school students' engagement in STEM fields through hands-on experiences with drone technology. By immersing participants in project-based learning activities, competitions, and discussions on FAA part 107 regulations, the camp seeks to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and…

In 2 experiments, eye-tracking was used to examine individual differences in attention during encoding and their relation to associative learning. Pupillary responses were used as an indicator of the amount of attention devoted to items, whereas eye fixations provided a means of assessing attentional focus among items within each to-be-remembered…

An innovative system-building initiative known as the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP) is transforming U.S. STEM education through cross-sector partnerships between schools, afterschool and summer programs, libraries, museums, and businesses, among others. Although logic models exist to describe how SLEs can make positive…

Invasive species outreach has long leaned on problematic and oversimplified messaging that narrowly frames the issue as binary: good-native vs. evil-invasive. Contemporary invasive species educational programming in the United States, as illustrated in this article, draw on this same approach that, while attention grabbing, both reinforces…

How much face time do students and teachers need to keep pace with expectations for learning? It is an urgent question during a pandemic that has kept many students out of school buildings for more than a year. The importance of school attendance has divided communities across the country, as they weigh the potential risks of in-person instruction…

This report describes a project undertaken by CCRC, Education Northwest, and three community colleges in Oregon to adapt lesson study for use among faculty teaching a precollege (developmental) quantitative literacy course. Lesson study is a collaborative professional development approach that has been implemented among K-12 mathematics teachers…

This qualitative case study examined the cultural learning insights of four educators during and after an immersion experience in Kenya. During this experience the participants delivered professional development sessions to teachers in two rural Kenyan schools, and stayed with Kenyan families. Mezirow's transformational learning theory,…

Service-learning practitioners design community engagement activities to affect students in powerful and even transformative ways. This qualitative study explores the long-term impacts (3-16 years after graduation) of participation in a senior-level service-learning course. Through interviews with 20 randomly selected participants, the researchers…

This paper examines STEM-based informal learning environments for underrepresented students and reports on the aspects of these programs that are beneficial to students. This qualitative study provides a nuanced look into informal learning environments and determines what is unique about these experiences and makes them beneficial for students. We…

As facilitator, the author noted some trepidation in the room as the eight secondary principals from Eugene (Oregon.) School District 4J quietly discussed questions that surfaced through their hopes and fears exercise. Could the practice of visiting classrooms together help them to better lead instruction in their buildings? Would this process…

Educators are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability and the need to educate for sustainable change within higher education. This article addresses the growing need to focus on how teaching and learning can be re-oriented towards sustainability, and more specifically how educators can effectively address increasingly well-known…

Project CRISS[R] (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) is a professional development program for teachers that aims to improve reading, writing, and learning for 3rd- through 12th-grade students. The implementation of Project CRISS[R] does not require a change in the curriculum or materials being used in the classroom, but…

As teachers plan instruction--even instruction about punctuation--they have the opportunity to engage students' minds and create new labels: question-asking, problem-solving. How teachers teach embeds a vision of who they think kids are and what they think kids are capable of. Are they destined for a future of critical thinking, questioning,…

Relating learning processes to the implementation of a career education program, the article summarizes four learning models for career awareness: the curriculum model, the guidance model, the conceptualized model, and the process model. Suggested teacher competencies and questions for program administrators are offered. (MW)