ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Girls' Challenge Seeking: How Outdoor Exposure Can Support Girls in Taking Positive Risks
Author: Tsikalas, Kallen
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Females,Outdoor Education,Child Development,Youth Programs,Goal Orientation,Experience,Leadership Training,Social Development,Gender Issues,Experiential Learning,Children,Early Adolescents,Online Surveys,Scores,Self Esteem,Environmental Influences,Age Differences,Program Effectiveness,Volunteers,Regression (Statistics)

Challenge seeking is an important component of children's personal and academic development. Defined in this paper as a set of beliefs and behaviors that propels individuals to initiate and persist at difficult ventures, challenge seeking is a key indicator of mastery goal orientation. This orientation has been linked with a number of positive and adaptive behaviors. For instance, research shows that individuals who pursue mastery goals are more likely than others to value cooperation, seek help when confused, and use deeper learning strategies such as monitoring their comprehension and actively trying to integrate new information with prior knowledge. They are also more likely to negotiate decisional ambiguities and experience positive emotions (Dweck, 1986; Grant &amp; Dweck, 2003; Senko, Hulleman, &amp; Harackiewicz, 2011). In Girl Scouts, challenge seeking is an essential element of leadership--a key to girls' discovery of themselves and their worlds. In moving beyond their personal and interpersonal comfort zones, girls learn their strengths and values as well as ways to interact with others. Enabling girls to seek challenges in the world involves helping them to &quot;develop positive attitudes toward learning, seek opportunities for expanding their knowledge and skills, set challenging goals, and take appropriate risks&quot; (Girl Scouts of the USA, 2008, p. 28). Despite the importance of challenge seeking, Girl Scouts have not typically reported high levels of this outcome. A recent national evaluation, for example, found that only about 40 percent of Girl Scouts in grades 4-8 consistently endorsed positive responses, such as &quot;agree&quot; or &quot;agree a lot,&quot; to statements about taking positive risks (Tsikalas &amp; Martin, 2014). Outdoor experiences often entail authentic tasks that have the potential to foster girls' challenge seeking. For this reason, senior researcher with the Girl Scout Research Institute, Kallen Tsikalas and director of council initiatives and research for Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, Karyn Martin used survey data to explore how the breadth and intensity of their exposure to outdoor activities affected Girl Scouts' challenge seeking. Their findings have implications for practice not only for Girl Scouts but any out-of-school time (OST) program committed to girls' development. The research methods and results of the study are described herein.
Global Kids Organizing in the Global City: Generation of Social Capital in a Youth Organizing Program
Author: De Jesús, Anthony
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Capital,Youth Programs,Youth Agencies,Immigrants,African American Students,Urban Youth,After School Programs,Program Descriptions,Integrated Activities,Interviews,Citizen Participation,Qualitative Research,Trust (Psychology),Interpersonal Relationship,Collectivism,Cooperation,Empowerment,Political Influences,Youth Opportunities,Participant Satisfaction,High School Students

Positive youth development and youth organizing are strengths-based approaches to the lives, needs, and contributions of young people (Damon &amp; Gregory, 2003). These approaches privilege the voices of youth as they engage with issues in their communities and challenge institutions to respond. Few studies, however, have explored the role of positive youth development and youth organizing initiatives among immigrant youth of color. The challenging terrain of modern urban life requires these youth to navigate the political, economic, and legal demands confronted by their families; to understand the rules for success in public schools; and to steer clear of violence in their communities. Larger issues such as climate change and environmental justice understandably cannot be priorities for youth who are preoccupied with day-to-day survival. The Global Kids Greening Western Queens initiative sought to bridge the gaps between individual and collective concerns and between local and global issues by training immigrant youth of color to become community organizers. This out-of-school time (OST) program emphasized positive youth development and youth organizing to help New York City immigrant youth of color address key issues in their lives, their communities, and their world. This article describes the initiative and provides an integrated theoretical framework that synthesizes the literature on youth organizing, civic engagement, and social capital to reveal the substantive processes that occur in positive youth development and youth organizing. The experiences of 12 Greening Western Queens participants, captured through in-depth interviews, highlight the transformative potential of OST programming for immigrant youth of color.
Planning Considerations for Afterschool Professional Development
Author: Bradshaw, L. Daniele
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Professional Development,Staff Development,Program Development,Strategic Planning,Guidelines,Program Implementation,Educational Resources,Needs Assessment,Educational Needs,Program Descriptions,Context Effect,Expertise,Access to Education,Time Management,Partnerships in Education,Cooperative Planning,Training Methods

Professional development is vital to the success of afterschool programs. Effective professional development enhances afterschool program quality by facilitating staff performance and knowledge; in addition, professional development is vital for improving student learning outcomes (Bouffard &amp; Little, 2004; Hall &amp; Surr, 2005; Joyce &amp; Showers, 2002). Well-planned professional development also contributes to increased staff satisfaction and retention (Huang &amp; Cho, 2010). Some researchers have noted that professional development efforts may be more successful when they fit site context and needs (Joyce &amp; Showers, 2002; King &amp; Newmann, 2000; Shelton &amp; Jones, 1996). Afterschool includes a wide variety of academic, arts, and recreational programs in a wide variety of settings. There are variations in schedules and program offerings. Staff members vary in backgrounds and professional development experience (Hall &amp; Surr, 2005). Because of these variations, afterschool professional development will be more successful if it is carefully planned and customized to site needs. Afterschool program staff and leaders are usually well aware of the need for professional development, but they often experience a gap between intention and implementation. To address this issue, this article provides implementation guidelines that can help afterschool staff plan for effective professional development. It also suggests resources that can assist with planning efforts. The TEARS (Leggett &amp; Persichitte, 1998) implementation framework described here can help afterschool professionals evaluate their professional development needs and plan staff training that fits the context of their program or site.
Should Rey Mysterio Drink Gatorade? Cultural Competence in Afterschool STEM Programming
Author: Ciechanowski, Kathryn
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,STEM Education,Culturally Relevant Education,Questioning Techniques,Science Education,Academic Standards,Educational Practices,Chemistry,Nutrition,Nutrition Instruction,Investigations,Program Implementation,Undergraduate Students,Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Elementary School Students,College School Cooperation,Staff Development,Faculty Development,Teaching Methods

Creating a space for learning science outside the traditional classroom shifts the expectations for both educators and children. In the classroom, both groups have preconceived notions of their roles and of what classroom science looks like. In the hybrid space of afterschool, students and educators are free to explore alternative ways of teaching and learning science. In the co-constructed learning environment of FIESTAS (Families Involved in Education: Sociocultural Teaching and STEM), afterschool and preservice educators created new expectations of what it means to study STEM content and of the roles of educators and students in that process. This article describes the three-part framework that creates an expectation for cultural competence in afterschool STEM programming: (1) Make children's cultural practices the basis of science learning when educators intentionally notice; (2) Ask questions; and (3) Connect cultural practices to science education standards. This framework was put into practice when an afterschool educator engaged boys in a conversation during an afterschool program. The discussion led to an investigation involving two items of particular interest to the boys: (1) Rey Mysterio (a wrestler), and (2) Gatorade. These items provided the basis for an engaging project in chemistry and nutrition. Throughout the investigation, the educators were guided by the three-part framework for cultural competence. The activity was both standards-based and culturally competent because it engaged children in listening, talking, and reading as they investigated a question connected to their cultural passions.
Teachers Uncaged: Helping Educators Create Meaningful Change
Author: Hess, Frederick M.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Professional Isolation,Change Strategies,Educational Environment,Educational Practices,Teacher Administrator Relationship,Teacher Improvement,Teaching Conditions,Organizational Climate,Organizational Culture,Organizational Development,Elementary Secondary Education

Upon the realization that teachers inhabit a &quot;cage&quot; of their own, but one very different from that which ensnares school or system administrators, the author wrote the book, &quot;The Cage-Busting Teacher,&quot; from which this article is drawn. The author spent a year interviewing a couple hundred teachers, teacher advocates, union leaders, and others about the cage teachers inhabit and how they can bust out of it. The results of these interviews show that while teachers lack ready access to &quot;organizational authority&quot; which school and system leaders can use to bust free of their cage, teachers have powerful tools of their own, including the ability to tap the &quot;authority of expertise&quot; and to summon &quot;moral authority.&quot; The problem is that most teachers have little understanding of how to marshal and wield these tools. Drawing on the wisdom of savvy practitioners, the author seeks to offer practical guidance on how teachers can do just that. Cage-busting is not a substitute for attention to classroom practice, curriculum, and instruction, but a complement that equips teachers to create the schools and systems where they can do their best work.
You Are Embarked: How a Philosophy Curriculum Took Shape and Took Off
Author: Senechal, Diana
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Philosophy,Curriculum Design,High School Students,Secondary School Teachers,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Prior Learning,Questioning Techniques,Educational History,Instructional Materials,Publications

Diana Senechal teaches philosophy at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering in New York City; in addition, she serves on the faculty of the Sue Rose Summer Institute for Teachers at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. In this article she states that if someone had told her five years ago that she would be a high school philosophy teacher, she would have been astounded and thrilled. Senechal begins with a brief history of the philosophy program at Columbia Secondary School which began in 2009. She then goes on to explain how one goes about teaching philosophy at the high school level by describing the curriculum and reflecting on the program as a whole. She chose to make texts a major part of the philosophy courses. Yet the goal was to have students not only learn the arguments and ideas, but respond to them. Each of the courses (for grades 9-11) consists of four long units. Each course meets twice a week; students must read and write in preparation for every class session. (There are about 90-100 students in each grade and up to 34 in a section.) The sequence allows students to draw on their previous learning. Senechal concludes the article by saying that she believes it both possible and beneficial to students to include philosophical works and ideas in an English, history, or science curriculum--whether by integrating them in the regular courses or offering philosophy electives. She encourages her colleagues to take the time to do this by pointing out that good questioning is an essential component of teaching-and where is good questioning found, if not in philosophy?
Group Work for the Good: Unpacking the Research behind One Popular Classroom Strategy
Author: Bennett, Tom
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Theories,Classroom Techniques,Misconceptions,Teaching Methods,Teamwork,Cooperative Learning,Educational Research,Evidence,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Practices,Foreign Countries,Secondary School Teachers

As a philosophy and religious studies high school teacher in the United Kingdom, Tom Bennett discovered that a good deal of what was considered orthodoxy in the profession was unsubstantiated. It was the inspiration for his book, &quot;Teacher Proof: Why Research in Education Doesn't Always Mean What It Claims, and What You Can Do about It,&quot; on which this article is based. The book bluntly exposes some of the bigger education myths that still rattle their chains in the classroom. Each chapter is devoted to a questionable educational theory; Bennett examines each claim made for its efficacy by simply following the research crumbs backward. He argues here that one of the most enduring myths he has encountered in education is the subject of this article: group work. Here he presents a discussion of the myth, and everyday realities of group work, and highlights 4 of the usually ignored drawbacks of group work. The article closes with Bennett's recommendation to his colleagues that they use group work when they feel it is appropriate to the task they want their students to achieve and at no other time.
Coming This Fall to a School Library near You: The Challenged, the Banned, and the Filtered
Author: Ballard, Susan
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Libraries,Intellectual Freedom,Summer Programs,Information Sources,Library Services,Library Materials,Advocacy,Best Practices,Elementary Secondary Education,Change Strategies,Library Administration

Important happenings related to the concept of intellectual freedom (IF) coincide with the annual back-to-school ramp up. This article discusses how to use the summer hiatus to develop learning opportunities related to events such as Banned Books Week (BBW) and Banned Websites Awareness Day (BWAD). The author provides resource information to aid in observing these events. Helen Adams, Michelle Luhtala, and Christopher Harris share their insights on what school librarians can do to develop programs to observe BBW, BWAD, and deal with filtering issues as well as ensure the development of school communities that value the concepts of intellectual freedom.
Still the One: Reflections on Sixty-Five Years of Resilience and Relevance
Author: Adcock, Donald
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Resilience (Psychology),Relevance (Education),School Libraries,Library Associations,Educational History,Continuing Education,Conferences (Gatherings),Standards,Guidelines,Publications,Awards,Certification,Partnerships in Education,Organizational Communication,Research,Advocacy,Legislation,Influences,Organizational Objectives,Organizational Theories,Elementary Secondary Education

2016 marks an important milestone for the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Despite the ever-changing and always-challenging economic, political, and societal landscape, for nearly sixty-five years the association has grown and prospered within the structure of the American Library Association (ALA) and remains &quot;the only national professional membership organization focused on school librarians and the school library community&quot; (AASL, 2014c). This article provides an overview of the history of AASL by discussing the following: (1) Humble Beginnings; (2) Continuing Education: National Conference, Fall Forum; (3) Standards and GuidSchool Librarielines; (4) Publications; (5) Awards; (6) Certification of School Librarians; (7) National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; (8) Partners; (9) Affiliate Assembly; (10) Community and Communications; (11) Research; and (12) Advocacy, Legislation, and Influence. Though AASL has accomplished much in the past sixty-five years, important work remains.
Books on Bikes
Author: Genay, Tina
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Program Descriptions,Phenomenology,Library Services,School Libraries,Outreach Programs,Reading Programs,Library Materials,Summer Programs,Access to Information,Elementary Secondary Education

This article describes the author's (an elementary school librarian) journey as she researched various bike bookmobile programs in the United States. Though the three programs had different target audiences, all the bike bookmobiles that she observed generated excitement and interest in reading. Public interest for each program was high. People were curious about all the programs. Librarians involved with these programs talked about the importance of funding and grants. The author's experience visiting with the three bike bookmobile programs inspired her to take what she learned from these programs and integrate this new knowledge into a bike bookmobile program for her school. She was able to get the program, Books on Bikes (BoB), started during the summer of 2014. Not only did this program positively impact the students at her school, it also affected the community. The author hopes to inspire others to create their own programs. The greatest reward is knowing that students have access to reading material and are on their way to becoming lifelong readers.
Puzzling out PISA: What Can International Comparisons Tell Us about American Education?
Author: Schmidt, William H.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Education,Educational Change,Achievement Tests,Mathematics Education,Mathematics Achievement,Disadvantaged,Equal Education,Poverty,Low Income,Educational Opportunities,Mathematics Tests,Correlation,Socioeconomic Background

It is no secret that disadvantaged children are more likely to struggle in school. For decades now, public policy has focused on how to reduce the achievement gap between poorer students and more-affluent students. Despite numerous reform efforts, these gaps remain virtually unchanged--a fact that is deeply frustrating and also a little confusing. Does this mean that schools can't effectively address inequality? One of the key factors driving inequality in schools is unequal opportunity to learn (OTL) mathematics. In previous articles for &quot;American Educator&quot; and elsewhere, the authors define OTL as the important yet often overlooked relationship between mathematics performance and exposure to mathematics content. They explain here that it is very unlikely that students will learn material they are not exposed to, and there is considerable evidence that disadvantaged students are systematically tracked into classrooms with weaker mathematics content (e.g., basic arithmetic taught in a so-called algebra class). Rather than mitigating the effects of poverty, many American schools are exacerbating them. Specifically, the latest PISA data find that: (1) There is large variation in exposure to mathematics content; (2) OTL is strongly related to student performance; and (3) Lower-income students are generally exposed to less-rigorous math. It's not just that lower-income students are less well prepared when they enter school; the weakness of their math coursework actually keeps them from catching up. What is truly fascinating about the PISA results is that this is a &quot;global phenomenon.&quot; In every country, more exposure to formal math content was related to better math performance, and almost every country showed a statistically significant relationship between student socioeconomic background and OTL. In other words, the problem the authors identified in the United States turns out to be a problem everywhere. The authors posit that these findings should make American educators reconsider their approach to education reform. Educational inequality is not a U.S.-specific problem, but some education systems do a much better job than America does in coping with the effects of poverty. More important, the math content that is taught in the classroom plays a critical role--a fact that has received far too little attention and one that is examined here.
Booktalking: Avoiding Summer Drift
Author: Whittingham, Jeff
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Summer Programs,Reading Programs,Reading Comprehension,Reading Skills,Reading Achievement,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Teaching Methods,Student Motivation,School Libraries,Librarians,Role,Reading Motivation

Summer drift, otherwise known as loss of reading comprehension skills or reading achievement, has been a well-known and well-documented phenomenon of public education for decades. Studies from the late twentieth century to the present have demonstrated a slowdown in summer drift attributed to specific summer reading programs addressing motivation through student choice, student ownership, and teacher/parent scaffolding. Scaffolding, or support given to students during the learning process, includes activities such as booktalks, vocabulary development, reading ladders, book groups, and anything else providing support for students' independent reading. Successful booktalking by school librarians can help provide the intrinsic motivation students need to read independently during the months they are out of school. Because of the constant barrage of information--and distraction--in today's society filled with Internet, social media and instant gratification, school librarians must work to get the attention of their patrons. Well-planned and executed booktalks are one way in which school librarians can get this attention. This article provides a few simple guidelines for making booktalks successful.