After more than a decade of funding from the "National Geographic Society," questions have increasingly been raised about the effectiveness of geographic alliances as vehicles for professional development in geographic education. This study explores the impact of participation in a summer institute on teacher beliefs and practices in…

In this study, we surveyed the participation rates of academically talented students across 9 areas: dance, solo instrument, choral music, band, athletics, student government, academic clubs, ethnic/cultural clubs, and an "other activities" category. Participants consisted of 2 independent cohorts (Cohort 1, N = 842; Cohort 2, N = 290) attending a…

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is celebrating 25 years of working with gifted children both in the USA and from throughout the world. Beginning in 1979, its mission has been to identify students of exceptional academic promise and to offer them distinctive and challenging educational opportunities. More than one…

This paper describes an ecological framework for environmental education and uses the example of a recent summer institute for teachers conducted on "Haida Gwaii" to describe how the framework can be enacted. In our description, we use a narrative approach to "tell the story" of how this framework can organize experience…

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home. It is characterized by preoccupying thoughts of home and attachment objects. In its severe form, homesickness is subjectively distressing and has clinically significant cognitive, emotional, and behavioral sequelae. This study provided 75 boys who…

In a sample of underserved youth, this study examined the relationship between achievement goal theory and affect and attitudes. The study also explored if constructs of Hellison's taking personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model mediated the relationship between goal constructs and the dependent variables. Participants were 135 multiethnic…

An adaptation of the Coping With Depression Course (CWDC) was evaluated in mothers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a population at risk for depression. Mothers were randomly assigned to receive the CWDC either immediately following an intensive summer treatment program targeting their child's behavior or after a…

This article presents IISME, a U.S. program that can give educators a real-world experience and that can deepen their subject-matter knowledge. It also presents the experiences of some teachers who are into this program. IISME's summer-fellowship program started out with 40 teachers and 12 companies. The group's growth picked up in 2001, when it…

To help address continuing disparities in academic achievement and under-representation of disadvantaged groups in math and science majors and careers, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) established a math and science initiative in 1990 within Upward Bound, a federal grant program known as Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS) designed to provide…

Prior research has demonstrated that summer learning rooted in family and community influences widens the achievement gap across social lines, while schooling offsets those family and community influences. In this article, we examine the long-term educational consequences of summer learning differences by family socioeconomic level. Using data…

During the past several decades, child poverty rates have been higher in rural than in urban areas, and now 2.5 million children live in deep poverty in rural America. Studies indicate that poor children are most affected by the typical "summer slide." Summer programming has the ability to address the issues of academic loss, nutritional…

Peering through a thematic science lens--elementary students embarked on a one-week study of ants during a month-long summer school program. This integrated unit addressed reading and writing skills while developing the science-process skills of observation, inferring, and communicating in a motivating and authentic way. Pre- and post-assessments…

A summer program was created for undergraduates and graduate students that teaches bioinformatics concepts, offers skills in professional development, and provides research opportunities in academic and industrial institutions. We estimate that 34 of 38 graduates (89%) are in a career trajectory that will use bioinformatics. Evidence from…

Mario, an adolescent English-language learner and struggling reader, participated in a university-sponsored summer literacy program. After the program, a follow-up literacy assessment was conducted, and Mario was interviewed about his perceptions of and practices with literacy. The findings of this case study demonstrate the possibility that…

Faculty members at a large state university engaged in discussions of 21st century communication, new media, and the demands for new communication skills as they elected to establish a Communication across the Curriculum (CxC) program in 2005. Faculty leaders reviewed communication theory (e.g., from McLuhan to Kress), best practices from other…