One in three children in the US is overweight or obese. One in five lives in food-insecure households that struggle to put food on the table. Both problems are linked to poor academic performance, behavior problems, and high rates of school absenteeism. To address these issues, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Out-of-School Time initiative has been working since 2011 in eight cities to support the adoption of the National Afterschool Association's healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) standards by before-school, afterschool, and summer programs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Daniel HatcherCrystal Weedall FitzsimonsJill Turley
This article reviews a book that provides a detailed account of the interviews, observations, research, and successes and failures that led to the development of Project Coach, a program that helps youth gain life skills through mastery of a sport. Project Coach empowers and employs teenagers to become coaches and academic mentors to elementary youth in the community.
What would it be like to increase the number of youth-serving volunteers who can competently lead science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities? This question guided the Inquiry in the Community project, launched in 2008. Along with Girl Scout staff colleagues and volunteers, the project created a system for embedding inquiry-based science into a youth development organization.
Over the last ten years, out-of-school-time (OST) science programs have multiplied to increase young people’s exposure to science. However, there are still not enough opportunities for long-term engagement, which is essential to move youth from having interest in science to having the skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy to pursue careers in science. This article describes findings from exploratory research conducted to document the experiences of a small group of young women of color who participated in a museum-based OST program during their middle and high school years.
With 8.4 million children in the US spending an average of eight hours a week in afterschool programs, afterschool providers are an important part of the network of caring adults who can help to keep children safe. This article explores the topic of mandated reporting of suspected child abuse by afterschool staff.
Grounded in literature on best practices in science education, this article describes a systematic and intentional approach to developing out-of-school time (OST) science curricula and professional development models. Examples from the California 4-H Science, Engineering, and Technology Initiative demonstrate promising practices in action.
Educational researchers, scholars, theoreticians, and practitioners define, interpret, and study out-of school science education in various ways. Some use the term informal, while others prefer free-choice, outdoor education, everyday learning or lifelong learning. Preferences reflect theory, settings and practice, but regardless of the terminology, all researchers who are engaged in learning that occurs outside of schools are convinced that a wide range of environments—structured and unstructured—afford various types of engagement and learning. Learning science in such environments has
This article from "The Atlantic" describes ways that teachers are integrating hands-on and experiential STEM learning into the classroom, which include collaboration with informal learning environments through creative field trips.
In spring 2009, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (Museum) contracted with JVA Consulting, LLC (JVA) to conduct a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation of the Passport to Health (P2H) program. The Museum designed P2H, originally a three-year program funded by the Colorado Health Foundation (the Foundation), to improve health outcomes for fifth-grade students as well as their families and teachers throughout the Denver metro area. Appendix includes survey.
In the Communities of Learning for Urban Environments and Science (CLUES) project, the four museums of the Philadelphia-Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative worked to build informal science education (ISE) capacity in historically underserved communities. The program offered comprehensive professional development (PD) to Apprentices from 8-11 community-based organizations (CBO), enabling them to develop and deliver hands-on family science workshops. Apprentices, in turn, trained Presenters from the CBOs to assist in delivering the workshops. Families attended CLUES events both at the museums and in their own communities. The events focused on environmental topics that are especially relevant to urban communities, including broad topics such as climate change and the energy cycle to more specific topics such as animals and habitats in urban neighborhoods.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington DC. It describes the CLUES project that provides STEM education opportunities to families.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
New Jersey Academy for Aquatic SciencesBarbara Kelly
The Planet Earth Decision Theater (PEDT), funded by NOAA (grant # NA10SEC0080021), will be a major component of the Future Earth exhibition, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM or the Museum) in late October 2011. The theater will operate in two modes: a facilitated show with live actors and an audience response system to engage the audience, and an autorun show with similar content. This evaluation focuses on the live performance part of PEDT. When complete, live performances will take place in SMM’s newly refurbished Science on a Sphere (SOS) space that will include SOS, a