Engaged Learning is Active Learning

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

An important part of engaged learning is ensuring that the learning experience is active. We know that young people tend to be wiggly and need to be physically active and that they learn best when they are allowed to learn by “doing”. We also know that they are more difficult to manage when we allow them to be who they are, and hands-on projects are messier and pose greater challenges in planning and implementing activities. It is important that we accept the need for young people to be active learners and take on the challenge of designing activities that meet these needs. 

What does new brain science tell us about active learning?

“As the neuroimaging evidence has shown, the more a student is engaged in a learning activity, especially one with multiple sensory modalities, the more parts of his/her brain are actively stimulated. When this occurs in a positive emotional setting, without stress and anxiety, the result is greater long-term, relational, and retrievable learning.” – Dr. Judy Willis, Neurologist and Classroom Teacher

What ACTIVE learning looks like:

• Young people are involved in activities that are hands-on and project-based 
• Young people are involved in activities that result in a finished project
• Young people participate in activities that allow them to be fully physically active to their ability
• When young people’s curiosity is peaked within an activity, they are able to express and explore this 
• Young people are involved in activities that require and encourage them to think critically (asking open ended questions, categorizing and classifying, working in groups, making decisions, and finding patterns)
• Young people are allowed to explore things in ways that are self-directed
• Young people appear excited about what they are doing or learning 

Four things program leaders can do to begin promoting active learning:   

1. Explore and assess: It is important that you take the time with your staff to explore and assess your alignment with this first learning principle. 

2. Project-based learning: If your program is lacking the use of this teaching and learning method, offer a training in project-based learning for your staff. Try adding one club that features project-based learning. The Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center in San Francisco, CA features a large number of project-based clubs for their middle school youth. They published a great guide entitled The Best of Both Worlds: Aligning Afterschool Programs with Youth Development Principles and Academic Standards. Click here to purchase. 

3. Promoting positive behavior: When young people are physically active and engaged in hands-on activities, they become excited. It is important that program staff are skilled in behavior management, which is often the result of good training. You can contact Temescal Associates if you wish help in offering a training in promoting positive behavior.  

4. Activity planning: Active learning requires that activities are carefully planned and the right materials are available to ensure the activity is a success. It can be very useful to require that program staff develop clear lesson plans that articulate the sequence of the activity and activity directions and list the needed materials. This takes time and it is important that the organization provides staff with training and additional time to develop these plans.

Below is a good program example of active learning:

Techbridge; Oakland, San Lorenzo, Fremont, and Concord School Districts; (Grades 6 – 8) Techbridge offers hands-on summer academies that inspire middle school youth (particularly girls and those underrepresented in STEM) a chance to explore science, technology, and engineering. Curriculum is developed with girls in mind, and includes projects like remotely operated vehicles where girls design and construct their own remotely operated boats and test them out on water; Electrical Engineering, where girls build solar night lights and learn to solder; Cleantech, where girls build solar cells and learn about renewable energy; and AppInventor, where students use creativity and technology to create their own Android app. In addition to the learning being very active, the youth also expand their horizons as staff provide career exploration to help students make the connection between STEM projects and careers. Role models and field trips are key to their success.

The LIAS Principles and the CA Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In 2010, the Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) project was launched to offer five research based principles that serves as a guide for programs wishing to increase the engagement, motivation, and learning of their young participants. 

Four years later, the California Department of Education (CDE)/After School Division released the California Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs (CA Quality Standards). LIAS staff served on all three phases of the development of these standards to ensure that the LIAS principles were embedded. These standards focused on points of direct service with youth (#1-6) and standards that are intended to guide program managers (#7-12). 

Many afterschool and summer leaders asked how the LIAS learning principles correspond to the CA Quality Standards. To address this question, we issued a “crosswalk” paper, which correlated the LIAS learning principles with the CA Quality Standards for points of service with young people. This “crosswalk” paper can be found on the LIAS website here.

Below we offer a summary of this crosswalk. 

Learning that is Active: 
Learning and memory recall of new knowledge is strengthened through different exposures – seeing, hearing, touching, and doing. Afterschool and summer learning should be the result of activities that involve young people in “doing” – activities that allow them to be physically active, stimulate their innate curiosity, and that are hands-on and project-based. 

Learning that is Collaborative: 
Afterschool and summer programs should help young people build team skills that include listening to others, supporting group-learning goals, and resolving differences and conflicts. Collaborative learning happens when learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other.

Learning that is Meaningful: 
Learning is meaningful when youth have some ownership over the learning topic, the means to assess their own progress, and when the learning is relevant to their own interests, experiences, and the real world in which they live. Community and cultural relevance is important to all youth. 

Learning that Supports Mastery: 
If young people are to learn the importance and joy of mastery, they need the opportunity to learn and practice a full sequence of skills that will allow them to become “really good at something.” Afterschool and summer activities should be explicitly sequenced and designed to promote the layering of new skills. 

Learning that Expands Horizons: 
Afterschool and summer programs should provide learning opportunities that take youth beyond their current experience and expand their horizons. They should go beyond the walls of their facilities to increase young people’s knowledge of their surrounding neighborhood and the larger global community. 

•••

You can read other blogs by the LIAS project by going to: 

• Expanded Learning 360°/365 Project website 
• LIAS Blog Written for the California Afterschool Network

NOW AVAILABLE: Presentation Videos from the How Kids Learn IV Conference!

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

On December 11, 2014, Temescal Associates and the Learning in Afterschool & Summer project sponsored our fourth How Kids Learn conference. This one day conference focused on character building, social emotional learning, and educational equity. 

For those who attended and wished to share the presentations with others and for those who were not able to attend, we have produced videos of the key presentations on our How Kids Learn YouTube channel. On this channel, you can also view presentations from educational and afterschool thinkers from previous conferences. 

Diego Arancibia (ASAPconnect) served as our Master of Ceremonies

Presentations from HKL IV include: 

• Michael Funk (California Department of Education) offering welcome remarks 
• Dr. Gil Noam (Harvard University) on social emotional learning
• Dr. Shawn Ginwright (San Francisco State University) on social emotional learning and kids of color
• Dr. Margaret Bridges (UC Berkeley) on character skills and Mexican-American youth 
• Dr. Carissa Romero (Stanford University) on growth mindsets
• Kwame Jerry Williams (Alchemy, Inc.) and Karina Epperlein (Director of Finding the Gold Within) on the making of this documentary and Kwame offers the telling of a myth
• Alejandra Vila, Ben Gonzalez, Jr., and Blanca Burciaga (Oakland Leaf Foundation) bringing a youth perspective 

We also share three videos that were shown at the conference. These can be accessed below:

• Learning Principles for Afterschool and Summer Programs: This 17-minute video provides an overview of the LIAS learning principles. There are several educational and afterschool leaders as well as practitioners and youth who are featured sharing their thoughts on the learning principles.
• The Power of Belief: This 11-minute video offers an overview of what is known as “growth mindset” and features Eduardo Briceño from Mindset Works.
• 5 Keys to Successful Social and Emotional Learning: This 6-minute video offers an excellent overview of social emotional learning. 

Photo by Laila Bahman at HKL IV

All of these presentations and videos above serve as great discussion and training tools for educational and afterschool leaders. We encourage you to share them with all of your stakeholders and colleagues using social media. You can also view photos of the conference and participants by clicking here. 

Photo by Laila Bahman at HKL IV 

Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs (Part 2)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Several years ago, Bill Penuel (formerly at SRI International) and I developed a Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs. This framework, like the LIAS project, focused on learning so as to capture both the interest of afterschool leaders and education leaders. This framework focused on learning that contributes to school success. When I dug it up recently to review, I was pleasantly surprised how well it held up, given all the new research on learning and the brain, character skills, grit, tenacity, and social emotional skills that influence learning. The citations are not so recent but the ideas and concepts are still relevant. You can view a series of Power Point slides that align the framework here. 

Bill Penuel,
 University of Colorado
at Boulder

Because we know that the practices of the organizations that oversee the programming influence the quality of the program, we list the organizational practices that must be in play to promote learning in afterschool.  

Organizational Practices

Access to high quality resources for organizing curriculum

• Programs need access to high quality educational materials that are engaging to youth and that youth perceive as authentic, rather than as “school-like.” 
• Programs can increase this access by actively seeking such curricula through professional networks, the Internet, and by co-creating curricula with youth and staff.

Staff preparation and ongoing professional development targeted to academic assistance

• Staff may need special preparation to lead homework assistance centers, tutor youth, or orchestrate enrichment activities.  They need to be prepared to answer students’ questions and to help students develop strategies to regulate their own learning.
• Organizations can build staff capacity by hiring staff with teaching credentials or experience and by equipping existing staff with knowledge and skills from research about effective instructional practices.

Policies and strategies that promote consistency and persistence in participation

• Policies to promote consistency and persistence in youth participation are necessary, because regular attendance is a pre-condition for effectiveness.
• Organizations can establish norms for participation among youth, procedures for follow-up when youth are absent, and strive to provide a variety of programming options to youth to motivate attendance.

Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs (Part 1)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Several years ago, Bill Penuel (formerly at SRI International) and I developed a Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs. This framework, like the LIAS project, focused on learning so as to capture both the interest of afterschool leaders and education leaders. This framework focused on learning that contributes to school success. When I dug it up recently to review, I was pleasantly surprised how well it held up, given all the new research on learning and the brain, character skills, grit, tenacity, and social emotional skills that influence learning. The citations are not so recent but the ideas and concepts are still relevant. You can view a series of Power Point slides that align the framework here. 

The framework looked at learning that affected outcomes measured by schools (grades, test scores, attendance, and behavior), the inputs that afterschool learning can contribute are listed below as Afterschool Learning Outcomes and Afterschool Practices to Promote Afterschool Learning. I believe these are still relevant to afterschool quality practice. 

Afterschool Learning Outcomes

Mastery Motivation and Persistence in Intellectual Tasks

Bill Penuel,
University of Colorado
at Boulder

Importance and Links to External Indicators: Students who adopt mastery goals for learning approach learning tasks as potentially challenging and as requiring effort to complete. Students who are more concerned with performance-avoidance, that is, preventing others from seeing them fail, tend to give up more easily on difficult tasks, especially if they are low-achieving (Ames & Archer, 1988). Students with mastery goals tend to persist more in the face of difficulty on challenging intellectual tasks (Ames & Archer, 1988).

Role of Afterschool Programs: Afterschool programs have been successful in promoting mastery goals and in providing youth with opportunities to persist on authentic, challenging tasks (McLaughlin, Irby, & Langman, 1994). 

Self-Regulation

Importance and Links to External Indicators: Self-regulation is the process by which students plan for, organize, and monitor their own learning.  Higher levels of self-regulation are associated with higher achievement levels in school (Butler & Winne, 1995).

Role of Afterschool Programs: Afterschool programs can improve student self-regulation, particularly students’ skills in planning and organizing activities and in reflecting on significant experiences associated with participation (Nichols & Steffy, 1999; Youniss & Yates, 1997).  

Collaborative Skills

Importance and Links to External Indicators: Collaborative skills are increasingly important for both schools and the workplace. Cooperative and collaborative learning experiences are positively associated with student achievement (Slavin, 1990; Johnson, Johnson, & Stanne, 2000).

Role of Afterschool Programs: Afterschool programs can improve students’ social skills and can also reduce anti-social behaviors (Catalano et al., 1999; Mahoney et al., 2003; Weisman et al., in press). 

Bonding and Commitment to School

Importance and Links to External Indicators: Bonding to school has been cited as an important protective factor in supporting youth development (Cheney et al., 1997). Students vary in their level of identification with school and with doing well in school, a factor that has been used to explain the failure of some groups to do well in school (Ogbu, 1987). 

Role of Afterschool Programs: Afterschool programs can help students feel more connected to school (Catalano et al., 1999; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 1999).

Afterschool Practices to Promote Afterschool Learning

Positive culture of learning

• Encouraging inquiry as an attitude and approach to difficult situations
• Providing a program environment where mastery goals are rewarded
• Discouraging comparisons among participants with respect to school performance  

Meaningful learning activities

• Relying on authentic intellectual activities to engage youth
• Organizing activities that connect to youth’s interests and life experiences
• Opportunities for collaboration in contexts where a diversity of expertise is needed for success  

Effective adult assistance

• Attunement to youths’ needs and interests
• Solving problems with youth rather than for them
• Providing feedback focused on how to improve

Support for self-regulation

• Help with planning for studying, organizing for intellectual tasks, and monitoring progress toward goals
• Providing youth with experiences of regulating their own learning process in a safe environment
• Opportunities to reflect on and revise ideas

Positive connections to school

• Tasks align with and complement schools’ focus on students’ individual academic needs
• Adult staff articulate the importance and value of school learning
• Adult staff help youth build bridges among the cultural worlds of school, home, and community

Support for parent engagement in youth’s learning

• Staff communicate regularly with parents about students’ learning progress and needs
• Staff encourage parents to talk to teachers about their child’s learning
• Staff serve as advocates for parents in the school

Central Valley Afterschool Programs Earn Digital Awards for Quality

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The LIAS project/Temescal Associates joined with Public Profit in forming a Fresno Work Group to develop a digital badge project with local OST leaders. They included Fresno County Office of Education, the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, California Teaching Fellows Foundation, and Johannes Troost from the After School Division at CDE. In this pilot project, we decided to invite a group of middle school and high school afterschool programs to apply for program badges signifying exemplar practice in one or more of the LIAS learning principles.

Six programs applied after attending an orientation to the LIAS learning principles and a workshop which provided an overview of the digital badging project. After completing the application, which included a listing of the learning goals and evidence of learning for each of their clubs, they hosted a site observation by a committee that included at least one youth from their program. Youth who participated as observers received special leadership training from ARC and the Fresno County Office of Education. Awards were based on points earned from a review of their applications and program observations. Congratulations to the programs below which were deemed exemplar in one or more LIAS learning principles. 

• Roosevelt High School Afterschool Program - earned the Active, Collaborative, Meaningful, and Supports Mastery digital badges
• Tioga Middle School Afterschool Program - earned the Active, Meaningful, and Expands Horizons digital badges
• Merced High School C.L.A.W.S. Program - earned the Collaborative and Supports Mastery digital badges
• Madera High School Coyote V.O.I.C.E. After School Program - earned the Active, Collaborative, and Supports Mastery digital badges
• Coalinga High School After School Program - earned the Active, Meaningful, and Supports Mastery digital badges
• Martin Luther King Middle School After School Program - earned the Active and Supports Mastery digital badges

Digital Badges - Taking Learning Seriously

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The use and awarding of digital badges in afterschool and summer youth programs is a burgeoning trend that is rapidly moving across the country. This is important to the afterschool and summer program movement for the following reasons:

• The development of digital badges requires that program leaders think through and explicitly state what learning will go on related to specific badges. This includes the required attendance, the skills and knowledge that will be acquired, and how this will be demonstrated in order to earn a badge. This specificity raises the bar for learning accountability. Also, with digital badges, this information of the learning that took place or  “meta information” is easily communicated to others. 

 
• The awarding of digital badges defines the learning that goes on in programs, which is vital if afterschool and summer programs are to be recognized as important places of learning. These badges are important, visible evidence that afterschool and summer programs take learning seriously. 

• The adult program staff members often acquire important knowledge and skills through professional development and years of experience. Youth acquire valuable skills and knowledge through their participation in specific afterschool and summer activities. Both deserve an artifact that documents their learning and—importantly—can be shared with peers, future employers, and those allowing admittance to higher education. 

To advance the use of digital badges, the LIAS project formed a partnership with Public Profit. We enlisted the participation of provider organizations in piloting digital badge systems. Organizations included CalSAC, California Teaching Fellows Foundation, Fresno County Office of Education, the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, and the Youth Institute (Long Beach and replication sites). Badges will be awarded acknowledging exemplar programs, program staff that have completed certain trainings, and afterschool program youth who have completed “courses” and acquired new knowledge and skills.

We believe that digital badges, when used properly, offer great benefits to program providers and adult/youth recipients. We just finished a digital badge project to recognize older youth programs that demonstrate the LIAS principles. We will announce the digital badge earners in an upcoming blog post. 

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement

Below is an excerpt from a blog by middle school teacher, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, that was posted on the Edutopia website. You can get the whole piece by clicking here. This posting began with her asking 220 8th graders "What engages students?". We believe that these responses affirm the Learning in Afterschool & Summer principles. Below are some of their responses (see the complete article to review all the responses).

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement  

By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

1. Working with their peers

"Middle-school students are growing learners who require and want interaction with other people to fully attain their potential."

"Teens find it most interesting and exciting when there is a little bit of talking involved. Discussions help clear the tense atmosphere in a classroom and allow students to participate in their own learning." 

2. Working with technology

"I believe that when students participate in "learning by doing" it helps them focus more. Technology helps them to do that. Students will always be extremely excited when using technology."

"We have entered a digital age of video, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and they [have] become more of a daily thing for teens and students. When we use tech, it engages me more and lets me understand the concept more clearly."

3. Connecting the real world to the work we do/project-based learning

"I believe that it all boils down to relationships. Not relationships from teacher to student or relationships from student to student, but rather relations between the text and the outside world. For example, I was in a history class last year and my teacher would always explain what happens in the Medieval World and the Renaissance. And after every lesson, every essay, every assignment, he asked us, "How does this event relate to current times?" It brought me to a greater thinking, a kind of thinking where I can relate the past to the present and how closely they are bonded together."

"If you relate the topic to the students' lives, then it makes the concept easier to grasp."

"Students are most interested when the curriculum applies to more than just the textbook. The book is there -- we can read a book. If we're given projects that expand into other subjects and make us think, it'll help us understand the information."

"What I think engages a student most is interactions with real-life dilemmas and an opportunity to learn how to solve them. Also, projects that are unique and one of a kind that other schools would never think of. Also something challenging and not easy, something to test your strengths as a student and stimulate your brain, so it becomes easier to deal with similar problems when you are grown up and have a job. Something so interesting that you could never ever forget."

"I like to explore beyond the range of what normal textbooks allow us to do through hands-on techniques such as project-based learning. Whenever I do a project, I always seem to remember the material better than if I just read the information straight out of a textbook."

"I, myself, find a deeper connection when I'm able to see what I'm learning about eye-to-eye. It's more memorable and interesting to see all the contours and details of it all. To be able to understand and connect with the moment is what will make students three times more enthusiastic about learning beyond the black and white of the Times New Roman text."

5. Get me out of my seat!

"When a student is active they learn in a deeper way than sitting. For example, in my history class, we had a debate on whether SOPA and PIPA were good ideas. My teacher had us stand on either ends of the room to state whether we agree or disagree with the proposition. By doing this, I was able to listen to what all my classmates had to say."

7. Student choice

"I think having freedom in assignments, project directions, and more choices would engage students...More variety = more space for creativity."

"Giving students choices helps us use our strengths and gives us freedom to make a project the way we want it to. When we do something we like, we're more focused and enjoy school more."

"Another way is to make the curriculum flexible for students who are more/less advanced. There could be a list of project choices and student can pick from that according to their level."

8. Understand your clients -- the kids

"Encourage students to voice their opinions as you may never know what you can learn from your students."

"If the teacher shows us that they are confident in our abilities and has a welcoming and well-spirited personality towards us, we feel more capable of doing the things we couldn't do...What I'm trying to say is students are more engaged when they feel they are in a "partnership" with their teacher."

"Personally, I think that students don't really like to be treated as 'students.' Teachers can learn from us students. They need to ask for our input on how the students feel about a project, a test, etc. Most importantly, teachers need to ask themselves, "How would I feel if I were this student?" See from our point of view and embrace it."

"Students are engaged in learning when they are taught by teachers who really connect with their students and make the whole class feel like one big family. Teachers should understand how the mind of a child or teenager works and should be able to connect with their students because everyone should feel comfortable so that they are encouraged to raise their hands to ask questions or ask for help."

"Teachers should know that within every class they teach, the students are all different."

9. Mix it up!

"I don't like doing only one constant activity...a variety will keep me engaged in the topic. It's not just for work, but also for other things such as food. Eating the same foods constantly makes you not want to eat!"

"Fun experiments in science class...acting out little skits in history...if students are going to remember something, they need visuals, some auditory lessons, and some emotions."

I'd like to end this post with one more quote, this one from my student, Sharon: "The thing is, every student is engaged differently...but, that is okay. There is always a way to keep a student interested and lively, ready to embark on the journey of education. 'What is that way?' some teachers may ask eagerly. Now, read closely... Are you ready? That way is to ask them. Ask. Them. Get their input on how they learn. It's just as simple as that."

Go on. Try it. Ask.

Learnings from a Study of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

SRI International recently published the first part of a 5-year National Science Foundation funded research project, the Afterschool Science Networks study. In this important report, SRI presented case studies of science activities in California afterschool programs and identified the source of limitations of the various programs. Limitations were often related to:

• Lack of time
• Staff capacity
• Instructional materials
• Lack of support through external partnerships

Below, we interviewed SRI’s Ann House (Project Director of this study) to learn more. The results and implications of this study is a subject of several forums hosted by the California AfterSchool Network. Click here to learn more.  

Q: What were you seeking to learn in your study, Case Studies of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs?  

Ann House, SRI International

A: Our case studies were conducted within a larger, 5-year NSF-funded research project, the Afterschool Science Networks study. The project set out to examine the extent and types of opportunities for inquiry science learning in California’s large, publicly funded afterschool system. It explored the science offerings available to young people, and sought to understand the role partnerships and networks play in supporting science offerings. The case studies were an important component, providing an opportunity to observe science programming, and to better understand the contexts of the afterschool sites. We selected case study sites we felt were providing rich, interesting, and frequent science offerings with good support, to help us identify the key factors relating to strong afterschool science. 

Q: What were the primary findings of your study?

A: While the overwhelming majority of sites we studied offered some science programming, the afterschool science learning opportunities were constrained and shaped by limited time, and staff comfort with science. Sites tended to have 45 minutes to an hour for science activities, which after setting up and taking down, ended up sometimes amounting to no more than half an hour or so of actual activity. Another time limitation was that about half offered science once a week or more. The other half offered science less often. 

The fact that staff did not have training in leading science activities meant that science tended to be focused on keeping young people active and interested. This meant, for example, focusing on enjoying the reaction produced when you combine vinegar and baking soda, rather than exploring the underlying science content or providing opportunities to participate in inquiry practices. In the two cases where observed science activities were fairly rich, the facilitators of the activities had participated in professional development focused on how to facilitate science activities – an unusual opportunity. Facilitators at other sites did not have access to such training. 

Q: In terms of the limitations that were the result of staff capacity, do you think that the absence of skills on “inquiry-based activities” were more or less important than a background in science content? Can you say something about what you mean by “inquiry-based activities”?

A: When we talk about “inquiry-based activities” we were primarily guided by the National Research Council’s 2009 report, Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits, and framed inquiry in terms of:

• Working on extended investigations or projects
• Designing or implementing their own investigation
• Allowing for children to choose their own activities
• Providing leadership opportunities for children
• Posing questions or setting up a scientific investigation
• Enabling children to connect science to their real lives
• Making connections to children's interests
• Working in small groups or teams

Facilitating children’s engagement in inquiry takes specific skills and insights that staff can learn. We believe the case study findings show that a science background is less important than having access to professional development focused on how to engage and lead children through inquiry-based activities. Someone with a science background may or may not have such skills. Furthermore, we believe that inquiry practices and mindsets are not specific to science, but can be applied to a range of other subjects and activities and empower youth and facilitators to be more skilled in problem solving, collaborating, and reflecting on the world around them. 

Q: Specifically, what core skills are required in leading effective “inquiry-based activities”?

A: This is beyond the specific scope of our study, but our experience from this and other projects suggest that it’s important for staff in afterschool settings to understand their role as a facilitator of the children’s experiences rather than a teacher who delivers knowledge. We saw some instances of science activities that resembled unruly classrooms, where the children were primarily asked to sit still, listen, and follow directions. This did not allow for the kind of learner-centered approach that is essential both to good inquiry learning and good youth development practice. 

Some of the concrete skills we believe are important are:

• Asking constructive questions; 
• Addressing children’s questions in ways that build on and deepen their engagement; 
• Facilitating children’s group work and collaboration; 
• Supporting children in asking questions about their world and building answers to those questions; and 
• Facilitating discussions that help children synthesize their learning and experiences. 

Q: The LIAS project takes the position that youth workers need to make learning activities active, collaborative, meaningful, support mastery, and expand the horizons of the participants. This means everything from hands-on learning to knowing how to work as a unified group; from drawing on prior knowledge to working on real world issues; and working on activities over time that results in an accumulation of knowledge and skills. How do you think the LIAS principles relate to leading STEM activities?

A: We believe that LIAS principles are very well aligned with inquiry science activities. For example, conducting investigations, collecting data, and designing solutions make learning activities active, meaningful, and support mastery. Engaging in scientific reasoning and argument provides additional skill development, deepens the meaningfulness of activities and often involves collaboration. Finally, while investigating science phenomena and designing solutions in and of themselves broaden youth’s horizons in terms of opening up their understanding of the world and empowering youth to engage with the world, their horizons can also be broadened in terms of learning more about STEM-related careers and how STEM skills and knowledge can help them become more informed citizens. 

It’s important to note that STEM activities need to be facilitated in ways that attend to children’s thinking, interests, and learning process. Asking youth to follow specific instructions without providing the opportunity to learn about or explore their world using scientific practices does not deeply address LIAS or STEM learning principles, even if the activity covers science topics. 

______________________

Ann House, Ph.D., the project director of this study, is a senior research social scientist at the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. Her research and evaluation experience covers both informal and formal education environments using mixed methods of investigation. She holds a Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Texas at Austin.