Background: Based on the embodied cognition perspective, interdisciplinary hands-on learning combines several disciplines, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), to improve students' capacity to solve real-world problems. Despite the popularity of interdisciplinary hands-on learning, particularly the six-phase 6E model,…

Background: Integrated STEM approaches are acknowledged as important for making school subjects relevant and engaging for students and are reinforced with the current emphasis on computational thinking. Still, such approaches are rarely realized in schools. This study investigates how the traditional 'grammar of schooling' may prevent realization…

High school students are currently transitioning out of an autism program at the author's school, without functional life skills. This impacts their ability to live independently and reduces their employment opportunities. Life skills are "skills or tasks that contribute to the successful, independent functioning of an individual in…

This qualitative evaluation of Emory's Oxford Summer Experience Program examined rural students' college aspirations. Educational and economic barriers hinder rural students' college enrollment and degree attainment (Adelman, 2002; Byun, Meece, & Irvin, 2012; Means, Clayton, Conzelmann, Baynes, & Umbach, 2016). Because of these barriers,…

Building foundational job and social skills for high school students with intellectual disability (ID) is critical for post-school employment success. Unfortunately, students with ID often experience limited opportunities to learn and hone these skills while in school. One way to build job and social skills are through a peer-mediated intervention…

Accumulating research points to the effectiveness of clinical simulations as a means for improving pre-service educators' social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies. However, no available research addresses in-service educators. The present study attempts to add to the research literature by exploring the differential effect of clinical…

This study aims to assess the effect of experiential learning coupled with thinking-based learning (TBL) pedagogy in developing higher-order thinking skills. We utilized OLabs, a virtual lab, as a mode of experiential electronic-learning for the topic "chemical reactions." Online experimental activities, embedded with thinking-based…

The microscopic composition of substances is a piece of essential but abstract knowledge in chemistry. Junior high school students may experience difficulty in mental representation when learning micro concepts, which leads to problems such as unsatisfactory academic performance and low learning motivation. Augmented reality (AR) is an optimal…

This qualitative study investigates the impact of the traditional multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) on Black and Brown students in high schools in the Northeastern United States. The MTSS framework, designed to monitor academic and social-emotional progress, has faced criticism for perpetuating disparities among historically marginalized…

There is a growing need for science educators and communicators who can support public understanding of complex science issues. Furthermore, little is known about how to nurture career aspirations for teaching science. This study examined the influence of youth volunteer experiences on career aspirations through a lens of science identity.…

Background: Continuing education programs for teachers seek to enhance outcomes for participants and their students. Experiential wilderness-based programs offer outdoor-recreational activities and experiential teaching initiatives. Research needs to be conducted to reveal how they influence individual behaviors. Purpose: This research…

In this study, the positive aspects that active participation in the Erasmus+ project "Different but together" has on students are highlighted. In the project initiated and coordinated by the Technological High School "Gheorghe Sincai" from Târgu Mure? (Romania), high schools from Italy, Greece, the Czech Republic and Turkey…

Recent updates to federal policy governing career and technical education (CTE) in the United States have emphasised the need to include work-based learning (WBL) experiences as central components of CTE programming. Many of these experiences showcase an informal learning component which has strong ties to early career success as suggested by the…

It is important that teens are exposed to STEM education both through formal and informal learning opportunities. STEM cafés are an instance of the latter. Within an informal setting, teen science cafés can significantly enhance teens' view of the importance of science in their lives, positively influencing teens' understanding of science in the…

The Maryland Action for Drug Discovery and Pharmaceutical Research (MADDPR) Program provides hands-on lab experience and mentoring to underserved minority high school students. Over 4 years, 93 high school students and their science teachers participated in the two-week summer camp program which was led by 15 faculty from the School of Pharmacy.…