Schools often fail to offer minoritized student groups access to quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education experiences. While policymakers should systemically address this curriculum gap problem, out-of-school educational programs offer an important way to provide quality STEM instruction while integrating students'…

There is widespread agreement that collaboration, teamwork and intercultural competence, among others, are essential 21st century skills. Higher education teaching and learning initiatives tend to have a significant focus on developing these skills through assessments and other in-class activities, and yet often do not take advantage of…

There is difficulty in defining the profile of a Heritage Language Learner (HLL) due to the experiences with language that individuals face in their social and academic world. There are questions centered on whether a categorical distinction between the native speaker and the native user can be upheld; this is inherently problematic when there is…

The new Every Student Succeeds Act offers states flexibility to create new approaches to school accountability and to design appropriate interventions for schools in need of assistance. The law states that the interventions should be "evidence-based" and defines the kinds of research evidence states need to provide when choosing…

One in four children in the state of Georgia is food insecure. In the city of Athens, 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, the number approaches one in three. More than 33 percent of residents have significantly limited access to healthy foods, living in areas of the city that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified as food deserts.…

The revised Technology Curriculum for years 1-13 now includes two Digital Technologies areas: 'computational thinking for Digital Technologies' and 'designing and developing digital outcomes'. By 2020, all schools are expected to address these curriculum additions. This article outlines some of the background stated purposes for introducing this…

Students of all ages spend a good amount of their time in classrooms engaged in some type of academic work (e.g. worksheets, workbooks, scientific projects, essays, research papers). On average, students from elementary through high school spend approximately one-half of their classroom time working by themselves ("seatwork") or in…

The purpose of this study was to explore how technical skills taught and learned in Florida engineering and engineering technology-themed career academies fit technical skills desired by local employers in technology and manufacturing. The analysis utilized the narratives of 70 students and four teachers from career academies at four high schools…

The central focus of this multilayered educational action research project was three-fold: (1) to provide opportunities for public school student leadership activities grounded in participatory and youth participatory action research; (2) to support a group of teacher-researchers in practicing and innovating in participatory action research…

What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Investigating Environmental Changes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while…

Authentic learning pedagogy not only allows students to engage in realistic tasks using real-world resources and tools, but it also provides opportunities for students to learn with intention by thinking and acting like professionals as they address real problems. This paper describes a research conducted in a first year university course, where…

Motivating prospective elementary school teachers (PTs) to learn mathematics in university mathematics content courses remains a constant challenge. While authentic tasks are readily available for students taking methods courses, which generally appear later in students' educational experience, authentic experiences for students enrolled in…

Experience working in multidisciplinary teams is important both to prepare Computer Science (CS) students for industry and to improve their communication with teammates from disciplines other than their own. This article describes the evolution and results of collaborations among three courses: an undergraduate CS course about user interface…

In Elizabeth A. Dagrosa Harris' high school English classroom, the writing assignment that inspires the most dread in her students is the literary criticism paper, a common assessment usually assigned in the second semester of the British literature curriculum. This assignment is grounded in solid and time-tested standards that describe research…

To date, lots of research was carried out solely on the effectiveness of Authentic Learning principles in service learning. The results showed positive relationships between theories and practices because students had become relatively analytical thinkers, problem-solvers and collaborators. The uses of Authentic Learning and Facebook in service…