Intersection of Afterschool and Dropout Prevention

By Guest Blogger, Usha Chidamber (Published by the Afterschool Alliance)

Usha Chidamber

In support of September being Attendance Awareness Month, the Afterschool Alliance is releasing the issue brief, Preventing Dropouts: The Important Role of Afterschool that shines a light on the national dropout problem and the increasingly important role of afterschool in helping kids stay in school.   

While encouraging progress has been made on increasing the national graduation rate over the last decade (now 78.2 percent), graduation gaps remain among racial minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged students.  Dropping out, first and foremost, represents a significant loss for the individual who drops out.  And for the nation, dropping out represents lost productivity, taxes, earnings, savings, and increased costs due to unemployment and crime.

For the individuals and the nation, how can we intervene to prevent dropouts? 

First, we can focus on the approximately 1,400 schools that produce 40 percent of the dropouts. 

Second, we can use the right tools—early indicators of attendance, behavior and coursework—the ABC’s—to identify potential dropouts as early as elementary school and use targeted intervention strategies such as school-community collaboration, safe learning environments, mentoring, afterschool programs and career training.

Research shows that afterschool is effective in mitigating dropout rates by focusing on the ABC’s.

• A meta-analysis of 68 studies of afterschool programs showed that participating students attended school more regularly, showed improved behavior and received higher grades.
• A study of 3,000 low-income, ethnically diverse students enrolled in high-quality afterschool programs displayed a reduction in aggressive behavior with peers and in risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use.
• A meta-analysis of 35 out-of-school-time studies funded by the Department of Education found that students at risk of failure in reading and math who participated in afterschool programs had positive results on reading achievement in lower elementary grades, and positive effects on math achievement in middle and high school.

Third, recognize and put to work what psychologists and parents know.  We are all familiar with the power of immediate feedback to incentivize child behavior, as in “you can have dessert if you eat your vegetables.”  

Afterschool activities such as drama, debate and chess have a quick “effort-performance-success” feedback loop in contrast to traditional learning.  A shorter psychological gratification time-cycle can be a powerful motivator for further success. Afterschool programs may be the dessert that keeps at-risk students in school.  

We can fix this problem.  We have the knowledge, tools and know how.  But…it calls for collective action by all constituents.  We need policy makers—federal, state, local—and private and philanthropic organizations to invest in increased student access to afterschool programs and we need coordinated programming between schools and afterschool programs that ensures regular student participation and groundwork for academic success.

This week, as Attendance Awareness Month comes to a close, let’s decide to get it done for all of the kids. Now.

__________________

This guest blog is by Usha Chidamber, a D.C. Schools certified educator and management consultant working on education research and policy issues.

Homework Help: A Service to Parents and Families

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Many school-linked afterschool programs spend about a third of their time and effort to help participants with their homework. While this is a service to the school, it is more importantly a service to parents and guardians. Past surveys have revealed that helping their kid with homework is one of the leading reasons that parents enroll their kids in afterschool programs. This is reinforced by a recent survey that found that 50% of parents and guardians struggle with their children's homework. Nearly 22% say they are too busy; 31% say their kids do not want their help; and 46% say they do not understand the material. For a full copy of the study, click here. To read one parent's experience of homework, published in The Atlantic Monthly, click here. 

Homework help can be more than a study hall. It is an excellent time to teach study skills such as organizational skills, time management, how to prioritize, etc. And the use of young homework helpers, college and high school aged youth, is very popular with afterschool participants. It is also helpful to have a credentialed teacher on board who can serve as a liaison with the school day teaching staff, offer strategies for children with learning difficulties, and help identify youth who need tutoring support, which is different than homework help. For more information, click here. For a complete literature review regarding homework help in afterschool programs, click here. 

Bringing Mindfulness into Afterschool

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We first met Ken Dyar through training his staff in Mindfulness in Afterschool. We were very impressed with his enthusiasm and wisdom. It made sense when we learned that he was named California Teacher of the Year in 2006. Below is an interview about his past history and perceived benefits of bringing mindfulness into afterschool.

Q: You were named a California Teacher of the Year in 2006. Can you tell us what teaching attributes or methods were cited that influenced this honor? 

Ken Dyar, Delano Union
School District

A: It was our commitment to improving children's health & fitness in our school and our community.  We were making Physical Education relevant and critical to our student's lives.  We also pushed the link to increased student academic achievement through student wellness.  Healthy children learn better.  I was relentless in my advocacy for quality, daily physical education.  I wanted my content area, which is so frequently marginalized by school districts who consider it "non-essential", to be considered "core content" in the same way that math and language arts are considered core.  My passion for my community and for physical education put us on the map, and it got the attention of the CA Department of Education.  Simply, I love my kids.  I grew up in Delano.  I used to be one of those students who walked through a classroom (or gym) door every day hoping that my teachers would take an interest in me and help guide me toward my best life.  I understand my community.  So I pushed hard to make my community and my students healthier.  We're not there yet, but we've come a long way.

Q: You are now overseeing Delano Union School District afterschool programs. What influenced your interest in afterschool programs?

A: I got involved completely by accident!  My superintendent asked me to work at a district level to improve PE for all of our campuses (instead of just the one in which I was teaching).  After I move over to the district office, he gave me the after school program as well and said, "I need you to fix this."  I had no idea what a quality after school program looked like or what I was getting myself into.  But again, I knew that Delano kids needed this program, and they needed it to be great.  So I started reading and learning about after school.  I also visited another program that was near Delano that had a state-wide reputation for excellence in after school.  What an eye-opener!  After that visit, I had a clear picture in my mind of what after school should be and what we needed to do to improve the quality of our program. 

Kids go to after school for 3 hours every day for 180 days a year.  If we do the math, that equals an extra 90 days, or an extra HALF YEAR, of school for our kids.  Who wouldn't benefit from that if we do it right?  So we committed to making Delano's after school program great.  One of the first things we did was re-brand the program as POWER (Powerful Outcomes in Wellness, Education, & Recreation), including a logo and t-shirts.  We needed to present a fresh image to our community and let them know this was a safe and effective place for parents to enroll their children.  We sold it well (seems like I'm always selling!).  POWER has since expanded from 4 sites to 10, and we are serving over 830 children.  Every year has been an improvement over the previous year.

Q: You recently introduced Mindfulness in Afterschool as a strategy to promote self-care for your afterschool staff and for your afterschool program participants. Why did you make this decision?

A: I saw a presentation at one of our regional after school meetings called "Fighting the Bear."  Children who are fighting the bear are in survival mode when they come to school.  Fighting the bear has to do with children at the base level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  They may not know where they are going to sleep on a given night.  They may not be eating regularly.  They may be dealing with family problems or substance abuse in the home.  They are in survival mode.  Unfortunately, this is an all-too common occurrence in my town.  When a child is just trying to survive, he or she is not capable of learning. 

I needed something to help get these kids "out of their head," feeling safe, feeling cared for, and more ready to learn.  Mindfulness was presented to us at this same regional meeting.  I did some research, learned a lot, and decided that this is exactly what my kids need in their lives.  Of course, the stress and demands placed on our after school staff also cried out for some type of tool that they could use to manage their emotions and their stressors effectively.  Mindfulness fit the bill for our staff as well.  Additionally, as Laurie Grossman (Temescal Associate) so aptly stated, "You can't teach someone to play the piano if you can't play the piano."  So in order for our staff to effectively bring Mindfulness to our kids, they had to learn about it and practice it themselves.  In the short time we've been practicing Mindfulness, I can tell you that I already know it's one of the best decisions we've made...professionally, programmatically, and personally.

Q: Have you seen a positive impact of introducing mindfulness training for your staff? Can you describe?

A: I have seen a positive impact.  Staff have already shared stories of how their Mindfulness training has helped them through stressful situations - upset parents, demanding bosses (not me of course!), difficulties with students.  They've also shared how Mindfulness has aided them in their personal lives.  I expect these types of stories to become even more evident as we continue this journey.

Q: Have you seen a positive impact of introducing mindfulness exercises for program participants? Can you describe?

A: Our student's LOVE Mindfulness!  They are responding in such a positive manner!  I've had a few students stop and talk to me when I visit sites and tell me how Mindfulness has helped them focus, or in their words, "it just calms me down."  Staff report seeing less student impulsiveness in class, and more openness to differences among their peers.  They are learning to be more patient and tolerant.  They are learning kindness.  And this all comes out of their Mindful practice.  I truly believe the potential for this program is limitless.  I think it will be a game-changer for Delano children.

_____________________

Ken Dyar was named a California Teacher of the Year in 2006.  He is currently the Director of Physical Education & After School Programs, including DUSD's after school program - POWER.  He taught for 18 years prior to this assignment, teaching 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades (13 of those years as a physical educator and department chair at Cecil Avenue Middle School in Delano).

He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1989 with a B.S. in Physical Education.  Ken has led more than 200 PE workshops throughout California, and has done presentations for delegations across the western United States and in Boston and Washington DC.

Mindfulness in Afterschool is a training and curriculum offered by Temescal Associates. For more information, write to spiha@temescalassociates.com. 

Exploring Creativity

Sam Piha

By Sam Piha

In her recent blog entitled "Creativity is the Secret Sauce in STEM" published by Edutopia, Ainissa Ramirez wrote, "Creativity is the secret sauce to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It is a STEM virtue. While most scientists and engineers might be reluctant to admit that, and to accept the concept of STEAM (where A is for Art), I’ve witnessed that the best of the best are the most creative. 

So how do we make our children more creative? 

Ainissa Ramirez

Researchers have found that play is important for productive thought.Playing with ideas also increases learning. We must encourage playing with concepts to nurture creativity in students." 

To explore this notion of creativity, I interviewed several people in the arts, including Judith Leinen, a young adult sculptor from Germany and Sheri Simons, an art professor at Chico State University. Below are some of their responses to my questions.

How would you define creativity for yourself?

Sheri: Curiosity. Looking and listening, paying attention, willingness to risk.

Judith: There's one thing I can often see in creative processes. It's a paradox interplay between knowledge and forgetting knowledge. Every decision is made in a system with laws of nature and general principles or even with the knowledge of common ways to do something or to solve a problem. A creative way of working would often ignore or overcome these contexts but with the knowledge about all of these rules in mind. Maybe a definition for creativity could be "a flexible mind".

How important is creativity in your life?

Judith Leinen

Judith: I think creativity is important for everybody's personal life and also for every society itself. To me, its the key to development and also to critical thinking. To me it's much more than a floating skill in a context of art but a general ability and a part of thinking in general. I would consider creativity as a very important thing in my life.

When you were young, how was creativity supported?

Judith: I think the biggest influence in my life was my father and my grandmother, who lived in the same house. My grandmother always challenged, questioned and tried out a fact or a rule before she accepted it. She did this with small things, for example, instructions in any recipe. “No we'll do this different and take cream instead of milk....” I think this had an effect on me. It made me act in a similar way and led me to experiment in my daily life. As I grew up I had nearly no access to contemporary culture like exhibitions or theatre. But I always wanted to build something. My parents would provide me with tools and craft supplies, would always involve me in hands-on projects around the house, and also encouraged me and my siblings to invent self made gifts.

In public school, I had art as a subject from the age of 6 to 18. Looking back,  I think this was a giant support for creativity and also an intense influence on all the other subjects. 

As an art instructor, how have creative endeavors benefitted your students? 

Sheri Simons

Sheri: By allowing them to practice divergent thinking, not settling for the first thirty ideas that slide off of the top of the brain easily; and accepting trial and error as a methodology.


Do you find that creative endeavors are easy, fun, or hard and challenging?  

Sheri: Both, neither and all. In sculpture we say, “Everything works on paper”… meaning you have to take the idea into the world. Easier said than done. There are many searches involved in that activity: materials, ideas, gravity, and reality. So even more than the fun or easy or hard or challenging, there’s the simple satisfaction of TRYING things out, which means you interface between the thoughts in your mind and the real world. The learning quotient is somewhere between what you think and what you do.

How did engaging in creativity when you were young shape your adult life?

Judith: I think it shaped my approach to a lot of small daily life decisions, figuring out daily decisions and logical problems. But also in a more general way, it shaped my skills and access to my environment. It provided a pool of personal experiences. I was able to collect these experiences that included simple insights about the world and my engagement with it. I was always encouraged to act in a creative way.  

Is there a reason why we should keep the arts as part of the educational experience? 

Sheri: Dubuffet said, “Art is to disturb”. To make waves might mean beauty amid the ugly. It may redefine both terms. It calls for constant awakening. If we stop teaching visual thinking, how long might it take before we become art somnambulists? Lazy in our eyes, clumsy fingers, lost in our problem solving abilities, and ultimately prone to submissive living?

Do you think the typical child in schools is given enough support and access to creative expression?

Judith: I don't think so. From my point of view, creative activities in public schools are often not as appreciated as they should be. My experience is that the arts are usually the first subjects to be cut in tight financial times. Creative expression should be supported as it can lead to successful results in scientific subjects or even help to formulate one's own opinion in social, philosophical or linguistic subjects. A specialty of public schools is that their curriculum is accessible in a very democratic way and to all children independent of their economic background. But if creative education at school is replaced by other programs, it will only be accessible by privileged children. Thus, public education would not comply with its responsibilities.  

Do you have any thoughts you would care to share on the link between creativity and learning?

Judith: I think creativity is fundamental for any kind of learning and thinking. Learning is more than just acquiring knowledge - it includes a way of thinking. It includes the ability to use this knowledge in our daily lives, making connections between different fields of information, linking facts in a logical way, and in transferring our knowledge from one context to another. Without the ability to use cognition with creativity, most of the learned content would just be empty information. The practice of tackling projects that require creative thinking has a large influence on our ability to find solutions and solve problems. It allows us to apply theoretical knowledge to practical life. 

_____________________________

Judith Leinen was born in 1985 in a village close to the German- Belgian Border.  After her Abitur degree she studied fine arts, mathematics and pedagogics in Mainz, Germany. Since 2007 she has participated continuously in solo- and group-exhibitions. With the art-group Upper Bleistein, she realized several art projects, interactive sculptures and space- related installations  revolving around issues like public space, imagination and reality, parallel worlds, participation and communication. In 2010 a catalog documenting the work of Upper Bleistein was published by Gonzo-Verlag. Her first public commission was installed in summer 2013 at a school in Mainz, Germany. Judith Leinen worked freelancing as a pedagogic for different organizations and directed Media projects with youth. Judith Leinen is currently enrolled in a postgraduate program at California State University Chico as a guest scholar. 

Sheri Simons is interested in sculpture as an instrument, broadly defined as something that aids in or causes an action or a reaction. Working in wood, sound, and movement for the last eleven years has led to solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in the U.S., Canada and South America.  

She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council and The Michigan Council for the Arts. Public arts commissions in California, Ohio, and Washington have provided the opportunity to think large, incorporate pedestrians in art, and experiment with varied media. Her commissions include public installations for three libraries, a juvenile court, and an administration building for the Water Board. In addition to maintaining a studio practice, Sheri is a professor in the sculpture area of the Department of Art and Art History at California State University, Chico. 

Think Outside the Classroom

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

It wasn't long ago when we had to defend afterschool programs if they didn't raise test scores. We were told that "if it doesn't raise the test score, learning didn't happen". Some stood in opposition to this reductionistic thinking while others cowered with fear of losing funding.

Today, the clouds are parting and the pendulum has swung the other way, as educators better appreciate what afterschool and summer programs can do. This is due in part because of the failures of No Child Left Behind and new studies on the importance of social emotional skills, 21st Century learning skills, findings from neuroscience, and many other areas that show that learning is more than a test score. And the willingness to take risks, make mistakes, persevere in the face of a challenge are all important parts of learning. 

The upcoming How Kids Learn conference in October is a celebration of these developments as it focuses on the importance of play, creativity, tinkering, and the arts in children's learning. In the conference, participants can hear from the founder of the Maker Movement, educators and researchers from the Center for Childhood Creativity and the Exploratorium, and new research sponsored by the DOE on the importance of grit, perseverance, and tenacity. The conference will also sponsor breakout groups led by innovative practitioners and allowing participants to experience their techniques in a hands-on way. For more information and to register, click here. 

Moving away from the old API score and a single standardized test score to evaluate schools will be tricky. The California Board of Education and legislators in Sacramento will have to name the multiple measures that will take the place of the API ranking. For a detailed description of what has to be done and who has to do it, see this EdSource briefing here. Meanwhile, it is important that we declare what afterschool can do, hold our positions when pressure returns, and be sure that we have the quality programs that can fulfill the logical promise of afterschool and summer learning experiences. 

School’s Starting: Are Students Ready? The Benefits of Summer Learning for Kids’ Physical and Academic Fitness

By Guest Bloggers Patrice Chamberlain, Director of the California Summer Meal Coalition & Jennifer Peck, Summer Matters Campaign Co-Chair   

Patrice Chamberlain

It’s almost time to head back to school– but are students ready? One telling sign of a student’s physical health and academic readiness for the year ahead is whether they had access to a high quality summer learning program.

It is well documented that a lack of summer learning opportunities leads to “summer learning loss” – the loss of skills and knowledge that causes teachers to spend valuable fall classroom time re-teaching students who need catching up. 

According to the National Summer Learning Association, the cost of re-teaching material that students forget due to summer learning loss is four to six weeks of school time, or $1,500 per student. 

Jennifer Peck

It's not just academics that suffer when students miss out on summer learning, but their physical health may suffer as well. Low-income and rural communities often have fewer supermarkets and retail outlets offering healthy food; they may also lack safe places to play. For many children living in those neighborhoods, school’s summer closure means disrupted access to a consistent source of healthy food and fewer opportunities for physical activity. Without that access, children may become sedentary and eat junk food or skip meals. 

A UC Irvine study found that low-income children are more likely to fall into these unhealthy habits due to a lack of opportunity to participate in organized activities. Without access to summer learning activities, students may gain weight two to three times faster during the summer than during the school year. 

As part of a nationwide effort to prevent summer learning loss, a growing number of school districts are recognizing the need to make providing equal access to high-quality summer learning programs a priority because they offer an unparalleled opportunity for children to learn while having fun, with nutritious meals and health and wellness education blended into engaging projects and activities.

In addition to the summer learning activities taking place in schools, there are also community-based organizations across California that are partnering in new and innovative ways – and opening their doors to students and their families – to make sure summer matters. 

In Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego, for example, local libraries have joined the efforts to keep kids healthy by jointly launching Summer Lunch at the Library programs to combat summer learning loss and summer hunger – offering summer reading programs along with free, healthy lunches through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s summer nutrition programs.

Summertime is an untapped resource; when students are free from homework and other stresses associated with the school year, they are free to learn and participate in new ways. In addition, summer programs can help promote healthy eating and active living by incorporating physical activity and nutrition education. Introducing students to summer’s agricultural abundance through summer programs is a great way to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables (not to mention it helps California farmers too). 

Although the onset of the school year will soon leave summer as a distant memory, we must continue to advocate for a coordinated and year-round approach to student health and learning that includes summer—it’s an investment in our students’ future. Parents, government agencies, community organizations, businesses, and school districts all play a role in setting students up for success. They are, after all, our future leaders and workforce that will help sustain our communities. 

Young People and STEM: Did You Know That...

By Sam Piha

In 2012, a report entitled Where are the STEM Students? What are their Career Interests? Where are the STEM Jobs? was published. This report focused on high school aged youth and STEM careers. Below are some findings cited in that report.

• One out of four high school students indicates interest in pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics major or career. 

• High school seniors are about 10% less likely than high school freshmen  to indicate interest in STEM majors and careers. 

• Male students are over three times  more likely to be interested in STEM majors and careers, compared to female students.

• While the gender gap in STEM interest had remained relatively steady over the past two decades, it is now increasing  at a significant rate. 

• Mechanical Engineering is the most popular major/career choice among STEM students, followed by Biology. 

• Nearly one-third of students with STEM major or career interest will be the first in their families to attend college.  

• Female students are significantly more likely to be interested in the STEM majors/careers of Biology, Chemistry, Marine Biology and Science. 

• Hispanic students with STEM interest are significantly more likely to be first generation college-bound, compared to other ethnic groups. 

• STEM major/career interest among high school seniors has increased by over 20% since the graduating class of 2004. 

• Engineering and Technology interest are on the rise, while interest in Science and Mathematics has decreased over the past few years.

• American Indian students are the most likely to be interested in Engineering, compared to students of other ethnic groups. 

• One-quarter of students interested in STEM majors or careers are taking Advanced Placement courses in high school. 

• Since the graduating class of 2000, African American interest in STEM majors/careers has dropped by nearly 30%. 

• STEM students are more likely to prefer attending a small or medium-sized college that is close to home, compared to non-STEM students. 

• Interest in Electrical/Electronic Engineering is higher among underrepresented ethnic groups, compared to Asian and Caucasian students. 

• Students with STEM interest are nearly twice as likely to be interested in attending a vocational or technical college, compared to students without STEM interest. 

• Male students are significantly more likely to be interested in the STEM majors/ careers of Mechanical Engineering, Game Design/Development, and Computer Science. 

• Four years ago, high school seniors were 50% more likely to report being interested in Mathematics majors and careers than seniors today. 

• Female students are over twice as likely to be interested in Environmental Science, compared to male students. 

Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool (Part 2)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Recently, we learned that the Afterschool Alliance has a staff person dedicated to the STEM movement in afterschool programming. We also learned that she was a leader in a recent study, which worked with afterschool stakeholders to identify honest youth outcomes of STEM afterschool and summer programs. What we found most interesting about her study was her findings about which outcomes afterschool leaders were most/least confident they could demonstrate. Using this "weighted" approach to discussing the proposed youth outcomes was very useful in raising issues and questions worth exploring.

Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi

Below is the second part of our interview with Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance. In this interview, Dr. Krishnamurthi discusses her new study and the relevance of the Learning in Afterschool & Summer learning principles. 

Q: In a recent article in Education Week, you noted that afterschool leaders are pessimistic about being recognized for their STEM work. Can you say more? 

A: We have always known that current assessment measures don’t adequately capture the outcomes of informal science education programs.  Our study revealed that afterschool practitioners in particular believe there aren’t assessment tools to capture the impact of their programming as described by this set of outcomes and indicators. 

Additionally, the attitudinal and affective outcomes of STEM programming are often not valued as much as pure content knowledge. Informal science education programs, including afterschool, often have tremendous impact on these issues, but a large part of their contributions are not valued as being as essential as content knowledge. People are consequently a little discouraged, but that doesn’t mean we stop doing this very important work. It just means that we continue to make the case for a more holistic approach to STEM education reform and ensure that new assessment tools can measure all that we know is important. 

It is worth keeping in mind that there has been tremendous progress over just the past few years – the afterschool field has embraced STEM programming and there are amazing and innovative afterschool STEM programs running all over the country now. Afterschool programs are increasingly recognized as key partners in STEM education and we are now discussing details of assessment.  We’ve come a long way!

Q: How do you see STEM work in afterschool and summer programs aligning with the new Common Core State Standards? 

A: The Common Core Standards emphasize higher-order thinking skills and also offer the opportunity to adopt more of an inter-disciplinary approach. STEM fields are by nature extremely inter-disciplinary even though they may be taught as very separate topics. Math is the language of science, and scientists and engineers also need to communicate about their work with each other and with other interested parties including the lay public. The Common Core Standards offer an opportunity for schools and afterschool/summer programs to partner even more deeply to structure hands-on team-based opportunities and projects.

The release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) later this spring could also provide a great opportunity for afterschool and summer programs.  NGSS emphasizes the cross-cutting practices of STEM fields in addition to the content. It will be difficult for schools to implement the NGSS by themselves.   Afterschool and summer programs can partner with schools to ensure that young people have experiences that complement school-day learning so that we achieve that ecosystem for learning.


Q: The Learning in Afterschool & Summer project names five key learning principles that should characterize our out-of-school programs - learning that is active, collaborative, meaningful, supports mastery, and expands horizons. Can you say a few words about each of these principles and how they relate to good STEM learning and teaching? 


A: These principles are exactly what learning in general should be about, not just out-of-school-time learning! You will notice that the youth outcomes and indicators we found in our study are completely in line with the five principles of LIAS. 

Our study participants expressed support and confidence that the field can support young people to actively participate in STEM programs by encouraging curiosity and developing problem-solving skills, to work in teams to conduct STEM investigations, to develop real skills and capacities relevant to STEM fields, and to develop an understanding of the variety of STEM careers available and the relevance of STEM to everyday life, including their personal lives.  




Q: Do you have any advice and/or resources for afterschool and summer programs that want to increase their support for STEM learning?  

A: The first thing I would say is that children start off as natural scientists—they are curious, they explore the world around them fearlessly and they ask a lot of questions. So all we really need to do is not stifle their natural inclinations and support them as best we can.  

But while it is good to engage with this effort in any way that you can, it is important to keep the five LIAS principles in mind so that programs can get beyond “random acts of STEM.”  We know from research and looking at program models that show positive impact on participants, being very intentional and deliberate about programming and offering STEM programs regularly and not as one-off events are critical. Setting aside time and resources for professional development of staff is also essential. Finally, partnering with STEM professionals or STEM-rich businesses or organizations may make it easier for programs to deliver STEM content and a richer experience for the young people.  

Finally, I would add that we have to change our definition of what being literate means in the modern world. STEM literacy and proficiency are as essential now as being able to read, write and do basic arithmetic. There are a lot of free resources available for afterschool and summer programs that want to offer STEM learning opportunities. The list below provides many resources to get you started and will take you to other websites with even more resources.

• Afterschool Alliance 
• Coalition for Science After School 
• National Girls Collaborative Project 
• The Power of Discovery – STEM2 (from the California State Afterschool network) 

_________________________

Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi is the Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance. She leads efforts to advance policies, research and partnerships so children and youth can have rich STEM education experiences in their afterschool programs. An astronomer by training, Anita received her PhD from The Ohio State University, conducting her postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Over the past decade, she has been deeply involved in science education and outreach through a range of roles at the National Academy of Sciences, NASA and the American Astronomical Society.  Anita strongly believes that afterschool programs play a critical role in STEM education reform and must be treated as strategic partners.

Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool (Part 1)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Recently, we learned that the Afterschool Alliance has a staff person dedicated to the STEM movement in afterschool programming. We also learned that she was a leader in a recent study, which worked with afterschool stakeholders to identify honest youth outcomes of STEM afterschool and summer programs. What we found most interesting about her study was her findings about which outcomes afterschool leaders were most/least confident they could demonstrate. Using this "weighted" approach to discussing the proposed youth outcomes was very useful in raising issues and questions worth exploring.

Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi

Below is an interview with Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance. In this interview, Dr. Krishnamurthi discusses her new study and the relevance of the Learning in Afterschool & Summer learning principles. 

Q: How do you view the role of afterschool and summer programs in promoting STEM learning?

A: Afterschool and summer programs that offer STEM learning opportunities are critical for young people, especially those who may not have the opportunities to enroll in enrichment activities that their more affluent peers might.  We know that children from populations that are traditionally under-represented in STEM fields participate in afterschool programs in large numbers.  Afterschool programs provide an opportunity to engage the very children we need to reach out to the most, offering hands-on learning experiences that can get them excited about STEM topics and careers.  Afterschool and summer programs also provide a flexible and personalized learning environment, allowing all children to engage in STEM fields on their own terms and see how they can make it “fit” for themselves.


Q: Do these informal youth programs have unique advantages over in-school STEM learning? If so, what would you point to? 


A: We need to shift our mindset about education away from treating school and out-of-school learning as completely separate things and instead move to one where we are thinking about providing an ecosystem for learning.  In such a system, school and out-of-school learning are partners with the end goal of supporting children who are engaged and excited about learning and gaining the holistic set of skills and proficiencies they need to become successful adults.  It is very difficult for schools to do this all by themselves and it is also not fair to expect schools to do this alone when there are many willing and capable partners.  

Informal youth programs, such as afterschool programs, have some unique traits that are really well-suited for STEM learning—the informal nature of such programs allows children to play around with STEM topics without a fear of failure and to explore topics in a manner that helps to bring the school-day learning to life.  This is a really important piece that doesn’t often get talked about—proficiency is not the only thing that will persuade young people to pursue these fields.  

What is more important is that they associate STEM fields with having fun while doing intellectually interesting and challenging things, and see careers in these fields as personally fulfilling as well as contributing meaningfully to their communities and the larger world.  Interest, engagement, and proficiency are part of a cycle—they feed off of each other and we need all of these components to get to the end goal of a young person who makes a decision to engage and stick with STEM fields.


Q: In your work at the Afterschool Alliance, you recently led a study of afterschool and STEM. Why did you conduct this? 


A: We found that a lot of people are very supportive of afterschool as a concept and were very willing to consider that it could be a good partner in STEM education.  But they wanted more clarity about exactly what afterschool programs can contribute to this national priority of reforming and improving STEM education.  

The afterschool field has generally always said that it can get children excited about STEM, however, we found that this was seen as a necessary but completely insufficient deliverable by the wider STEM education community. We knew that getting children excited about STEM was a foundational contribution of afterschool programs but that children were also learning many valuable skills and proficiencies in afterschool STEM programs. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in defining assessments for informal science education in a variety of settings including afterschool programs.  

We wanted to make sure that the afterschool field had a say in this discussion and could define appropriate and feasible youth outcomes for STEM learning in afterschool.  Without input from the afterschool field, we would be saddled with measures that didn’t quite fit the setting.  We know that test scores don’t necessarily capture all the impacts of afterschool STEM programs, but we need to get specific about what else afterschool programs are able to deliver.  It is not sufficient to reject test scores as a measure of the afterschool field’s impact on STEM learning without offering other measureable outcomes that are more reflective of our impact in this area.  

We know that afterschool STEM programs have some amazing results, so our study was an attempt to define and articulate those outcomes.  We hoped this would provide the field with a set of achievable goals and also provide some common language around how to describe them.


Q: In your study, you settle on a few STEM outcomes that afterschool programs should claim. What are those? 

A: There are three major developmental outcomes for children in afterschool STEM programs that the participants in our study agreed on.  
Through afterschool STEM programs, children and youth:

• Develop interest in pursuing STEM learning activities. (“I like to do this.”)
• Develop capacities to productively engage in STEM learning activities. (“I can do this.”)
• Develop expanded value for and commitment to pursuing STEM learning activities and pathways. (“This is important to me.”)

In addition, the participants in our study identified and ranked a set of six indicators of learning, which are concrete ways that young people demonstrate progress toward the intended program outcomes with respect to STEM learning.  These start to get more specific and include items like “Active participation in STEM learning opportunities,” “Ability to productively engage in STEM processes of investigation,” and “Ability to exercise STEM-relevant life and career skills.” 

We then got even more specific and asked them about “sub-indicators,” which represent specific, measureable dimensions of the indicators. The study results indicate that afterschool providers and supporters have a high level of confidence that afterschool programs are well positioned to support and expand those sub-indicators that stress the doing of science and developing “21st century skills” such as forming questions, problem solving and working in teams. They expressed a medium level of confidence in sub-indicators that addressed larger systems level issues that they may not have control over (such as pursuing other school-based or out-of-school STEM learning opportunities) or delved into specific issues such as understanding how to pursue STEM careers.  

But we think that this set of outcomes, indicators, and sub-indicators provides a good framework for how afterschool providers can think of their youth outcomes for STEM learning. It captures what is happening but provides specific language that the larger STEM education community will recognize and value.  I also want to stress that the outcomes framework we present is not intended to represent a set of mandatory goals for all afterschool STEM programs.  We know the afterschool STEM field is very diverse and the impacts are entirely dependent on the particular circumstances of each program (such as age of participants, resources, goals, community context, etc.). You can download the study report to learn more!



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Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi is the Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance. She leads efforts to advance policies, research and partnerships so children and youth can have rich STEM education experiences in their afterschool programs. An astronomer by training, Anita received her PhD from The Ohio State University, conducting her postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Over the past decade, she has been deeply involved in science education and outreach through a range of roles at the National Academy of Sciences, NASA and the American Astronomical Society.  Anita strongly believes that afterschool programs play a critical role in STEM education reform and must be treated as strategic partners.