The Impact of Summer Learning in STEM and the Arts
June 27, 2019
This week marks National Summer Learning Week, so we're highlighting some papers from our Afterschool Matters journal that showcase the importance of summer learning.
- In "Process Over Product: How Creative Youth Development Can Lead to Peace," Adam Jacobs explains how Kids Creative, the non-profit he founded as a summer camp (and that now offers both summer and afterschool programs), uses a creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, art, videos, dances, and more. At the same time, he explains, this process offers time for individual growth and community development and is "a way of building peace."
- In "Cosmic Chemistry: A Proactive Approach to Summer Science for High School Students," Danette Parsley and John Ristvey show how a two-week summer learning program engaged ninth and tenth graders to prepare them to take chemistry in school the following year. They assert, "This proactive approach to summer learning provides rigorous, relevant science experiences to help the students who need it most before they fall behind."
- In "Learning Across Space Instead of Over Time: Redesigning a School-Based STEM Curriculum for OST," Phyllis Leary Newbill, Tiffany A. Drape, Christine Schnittka, Liesl Baum, and Michael A. Evans share how they were able to translate an existing teacher-led STEM curriculum to fit the learner-led, voluntary learning environment of a summer day camp.
