Collective impact is an organizational model that is often used as a tool for solving complex social problems through cross-sector collaboration. Traditional applications of this model require a separate backbone organization to oversee the organizational partnership. Using qualitative data from a larger mixed methods study, we examined…

Social studies instructional time in elementary schools has declined substantially. Responding to this, the National Geographic Society (NGS) developed a professional learning program called the Elementary Social Studies Community of Practice (ESSCoP). This article describes this program's design and content, as well as evaluates its…

Capacity to teach the arts is a problem reported by many teachers in primary (elementary) school settings in Australia. This paper reports on research which explored how to build primary school teachers' capacity in arts-based pedagogy. It outlines the design and development of a co-mentoring program between arts mentor practitioners and…

This study reports the findings from a year-long randomized evaluation assessing the impact of assigning 62 classrooms in Nigeria to receive either blocked or interleaved math problem sets. Blocked practice sessions focused on a single skill at a time. Interleaved problem sets alternated between different skills within a practice session. On tests…

Disparities in gifted representation across demographic subgroups represents a large and persistent challenge in U.S. public schools. In this paper, we measure the impacts of a school-wide curricular intervention designed to address such disparities. We implemented Nurturing for a Bright Tomorrow (NBT) as a cluster randomized trial across…

This promising practice describes the summer programming transformation at a rural, Title I school. After eliminating barriers to education and remediation overtones, the school now provides free transportation, meals, and books for all participants and engages them in research-based, enrichment-focused literacy learning. The program's first year…

In order to evaluate the impact of "The Imagineerium" a 10-week educational project, teachers were asked to observe and rate the behaviour of a pilot sample of 135 participating students both at the beginning and at the end of the 10-week period. Scores recorded on the seven-item Trowsdale Index of Teacher Observation of Student…

In 2023, Auckland Council's Sustainable Schools Team (SST) piloted a project called "Mana Ora: Students Decarbonising Schools." The aim was that students, with guidance and support from teachers and SST, would plan and implement climate and sustainability action projects linked to decarbonisation within their schools. Eighteen Mana Ora…

After-school physical activity programs for youth can develop and extend physical and mental skills necessary for health across the life span. With the considerable time and effort required to operate such programs, it is important that youth are achieving tangible goals and benefit from the programs. Unfortunately, many after-school programs lack…

Each summer families across the globe send their children to summer camps and daycares for what amounts to babysitting. This study takes the discussion beyond babysitting and explores a unique summer enrichment program offered to rising second through fifth grade students in a modified enrichment camp model. During the four-week program, students…

When the world abruptly halted in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, stakeholders of K-12 education sought ways to directly serve teachers, parents, and children socially, emotionally, and academically "at a distance." Elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) immediately experienced the direct and indirect impacts of the crisis as they were…

Previous research suggests that early experience of and exposure to the world of work is an important predictor of a child's future involvement in a STEM career. Many interventions have focused on those in secondary education age 11 years and above. Far fewer interventions have explored the impact of STEM outreach engagements among younger age…

Service-learning is a pedagogical approach with documented effectiveness for building civic engagement and promoting awareness of social justice issues. Little attention is given in the literature to the design processes that undergird the development of effective service-learning projects. In this case study, authors report on their application…

SPLASH is a 3-year professional development program designed to work with classroom teachers of students with moderate and severe disabilities. The program targets new teachers and employs methods aimed at supporting rural classrooms. The training content focuses on evidence-based practices in English language arts, mathematics, and science, as…

This paper considers one challenge from recent emphasis on rigorous research for decision-making in education: the interpretation of non-replicated findings. Under Clinton and Bush, the federal government called for and funded highly rigorous research. The "gold-standard" for research was randomized-control trials (RCTs), which…