Summer Program Research Articles

Five-Year Review of a Pediatric Pharmacy Internship Program.

Pharmacy internship programs improve job readiness for pharmacy learners. Pediatric-focused programs are not well described in the literature and represent only a small subset of pharmacy internships; furthermore, they offer unique experiences for learners with a strong interest in pediatrics. To better meet this need, a paid pediatric pharmacy internship was implemented in 2017 for rising second- and third-year professional pharmacy students. The program provides high-quality inpatient experience to pharmacy students with a strong interest in pediatrics via a 10-week, full-time summer program and ongoing weekend shifts throughout the academic year. Key focus areas of the internship include clinical shadowing and topic discussions, completing medication histories, research activities, and inpatient pharmacy triage. This program offers a multifaceted approach to providing interns with health-system experience and prepares learners for future careers in clinical and health-system pharmacy. To date, 100% of the 6 former interns who have graduated from pharmacy school have obtained residency positions. Furthermore, a permanent medication history technician role was created secondary to the positive response to interns providing this service.

An Alternative Project for the Euston Station Area in London

In July 2018 the University of Buckingham School of Architecture and the University of Notre Dame held a joint Architecture and Urban Design Summer Program in Central London: a four-week, full-time series of seminars, lectures, and field studies focusing on the Euston area between King’s Cross Station and Regent’s Park that will be impacted by the proposed HS2 high-speed railway terminus development. The program explored how a modern transport interchange can be accommodated within a historic city such as London in a manner that may enhance urban connectivity and serve the local community.

"If you're in a community together, then you're basically a family": Perceptions of community among a predominantly African-American/Black youth cohort in a semi-rural region in the Southeastern United States.

Geographic racism gives rise to health inequities that impact communities in detrimental ways. Southern ethnic minority groups, particularly African American/Black semi-rural communities, are subject to especially unjust outcomes in health, education, and wealth. Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a way of engaging with communities in participatory and positive ways that center community voices as expert. Youth can participate in ABCD, are sensitive to the ways in which their communities are structured, and have insights as to how to improve the places they live. We undertook a qualitative interview study which included a cognitive mapping exercise with 28 youth to understand how African American/Black youth who had participated in an ABCD-informed summer program conceptualized community and preferences about where they lived. Using a phenomenological approach to qualitative analysis, our study revealed that many youth defined community as a combination of people and place, enjoyed engaging with unique resources in their communities as well as seeking peace and quiet, experienced hardships as "something everybody knows" when observing constraints on their communities, and were committed to their communities and interested in seeing-and participating in-their flourishing. Our study provides a nuanced and contemporary understanding of the ways in which African American/Black semi-rural youth experience community which can contribute to cyclical asset-based development strategy aimed at empowering young people and improving health outcomes in resilient communities.

Experience of undergraduate medical students of Al-Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) about the international summer elective program (ISEP)

Background: An approach to a way of learning that is not considered as a necessary part of the medical curriculum credits is by having an additional medical course program referred to as ‘elective’, which is usually conducted in a period other than the yearly academic calendar. Electives are selected based on student interest, whether it be a research type or clinical rotations. Purpose: to understand the student’s perception about the experience of the International Summer Elective Program (ISEP) in year 2017 from 1st year to 4th year on the students selected and who traveled for this study. Methods: An online form questionnaire was sent to students during February 2019 from 1st year to 4th, with 21 items, to study their experience of the International Summer Elective Program (ISEP) Results: Twenty-one of the participants (47.7%) stated that their elective scientific research standards had met their expectations, while 9 out of the total participants (20.5%), stated the (ISEP) program was above their standards. Also, 18 students (40.9%) believe they had gained ‘good’ quality research skills throughout the International Summer Elective Program (ISEP). Conclusion: The International Summer Elective Program (ISEP) study on Al-Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University College of Medicine students provided a positive impact on multiple areas. We recommend Saudi medical colleges consider initiating international electives courses for their students for a broadly positive effect on multiple areas to maximize the full potential of their future physicians to serve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Elective summer program, medical students, extracurricular activities, Saudi Arabia

Exploring the self-efficacy of foster youth participating in a pre-college summer program

Although foster youth desire to attend college, many experience barriers to enrollment. Pre-college programs have been shown to improve college access for underrepresented students. Little is known about the impact of pre-college programs designed for foster youth. Researchers have found that youth who participate in experiential programs have an increased sense of self-efficacy. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to lift the voices of youth who participated in a six-week pre-college program called the National Social Work Enrichment Program (NSEP). Thematic analysis was employed to explore the experiences of youth. This manuscript focuses on a subset of data from the larger qualitative study.

Reproducing or Reducing Inequality? The Case of Summer Learning Programs

Can summer programs, as remedial supplements to regular schooling, extend learning opportunities and other benefits to disadvantaged students? To frame this question, we compare logics from “social reproduction” and “partial compensation” perspectives, and then apply them to a large mixed method study of four kinds of summer programs in Ontario. Drawing on quantitative data on over 10,000 students and qualitative data from interviews with over 200 teachers and parents, we examined patterns of student recruitment and participation, social valuations, and academic outcomes. We found that all summer programs successfully recruited disadvantaged students without stigmatizing them, and raised their average achievement without widening pre-existing gaps. We interpret these findings as being consistent with the “partial compensation” perspective, and discuss related policy implications that include COVID-19 learning recovery strategies.

Summer Programming Camps – Exploring Project-Based Informal CS Education in a Rural Community

This paper makes several considerations for organizing short project-based programming camps to support programming knowledge and motivation. The paper addresses how current research has not explored how summer programming camps helped students not only increase interest to pursue computing career, but also increase their programming knowledge. Informal CS education through summer programming camps provides K-12 students the opportunity to learn how to code through fun and interactive activities outside of their typical classroom experiences. For rural communities with limited computing education resources, summer programming camps may be one of few opportunities to learn about computing. A one-week easy-to-implement programming camp curriculum may help students not only have fun with code but also learn fundamental programming and computational thinking skills through game development. Our annual week-long programming camp at a rural community utilized a project-based learning approach through game development in Python. Findings showed that students were able to achieve basic abstraction and algorithmic thinking but not code analysis and debugging skills. On their motivation to pursue computing careers, results did not show any difference before and after the camp due to their prior existing interest in attending the camp.

A Pilot Program: Remote Summer Program to Improve Opportunity and Mentorship Among Underrepresented Students Pursuing Orthopaedic Surgery.

We received 115 applications, and a total of 17 students participated in the program (14.8%). Nine faculty mentors were matched with 1 or 2 students each. The program delivered a curriculum from June-August 2021 consisting of (1) weekly instructional courses on research-related topics led by a content expert; (2) weekly faculty lectures discussing topics including orthopaedic topics, diversity in medicine, leadership, and work-life balance; and (3) a research experience paired with a faculty mentor and peer mentor. We surveyed students to measure skill progression, satisfaction, and overall program evaluation. Preprogram/postprogram evaluation, midprogram check-in, and student feedback surveys were collected. Program participants represented a range of race and ethnic backgrounds, research experience levels, and various geographic locations across the United States. The cohort included a high rate of female (42%) and Black (35%) participants. On average, postprogram survey scores indicated that participants believed that the summer program improved their research skills (9.6 of 10), improved their orthopaedic interest (8.9 of 10), and improved mentorship and networking (9.1 of 10). For feedback surveys, 14 respondents of 15 total responses (93%) felt they were adequately matched to their faculty mentor. Twelve (80%) felt they had realistic deliverables for research projects within the 8-week program. Thirteen (87%) indicated they contributed to an abstract or manuscript as a coauthor. Our findings indicate that students improved their research skills, interest, and confidence to pursue orthopaedic residency and mentorship/networks in the field. The long-term goal is to improve the accessibility and quality of mentorship for underrepresented students in order to foster an equitable pathway into the field of orthopaedic surgery.

Cyber-Cosmos: A new citizen science concept in a dark sky destination

Astrotourism and related citizen science activities are becoming a major trend of a sustainable, high-quality tourism segment, core elements to the protection of Dark skies in many countries. In the Summer of 2020, in the middle of COVID pandemics, we started an initiative to train young students – Cyber-Cosmos – using an Unistellar eVscope, a smart, compact and user-friendly digital telescope that offers unprecedented opportunities for deep-sky observation and citizen science campaigns. Sponsored by the Ciência Viva Summer program, this was probably the first continuous application of this equipment in a pedagogical and citizen-science context, and in a pandemic context. Pampilhosa da Serra, home to a certified Dark Sky destination (Aldeias do Xisto) in central Portugal, was the chosen location for this project, where we expect astrotourism and citizen science to flourish and contribute to space sciences education.

Retrospective study of medical student scholarship and career trajectory following a mentored preclinical cardiovascular summer research fellowship

ObjectivesDeveloping a preclinical training infrastructure for cardiovascular clinician-scientists is an academic workforce priority. The Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont developed a cardiovascular summer research fellowship (SRF), wherein medical student awardees...

Improving the Blank Page: Cultivating Authentic Writing in Virtual Spaces

Supported by a college-access grant, a group of educators in Louisiana created a virtual summer program to help students enhance their creative and critical writing.

How online learning can engage students and extend the reach of talented teachers: evidence from a pandemic-era national virtual summer program

Despite interest in online learning for meeting student needs at scale, existing research finds relatively low levels of engagement in most forms of virtual learning, especially among economically disadvantaged students. This is concerning as the Covid-19 pandemic forced a dramatic increase in remote learning among students and educators who did not specifically opt into the model. We study an early innovative effort to virtually serve such K-12 students and teachers and to capitalize on the unique advantages of distance learning to promote educational equity amid the pandemic. This five-week, largely synchronous, summer program served nearly 12,000 rising 4th–9th graders, mostly low-income students of color. To expand access to excellent educators, “mentor teachers,” selected based on merit, provided PD and videos of themselves teaching daily lessons to “partner teachers” across the country. We interviewed a representative sample of teachers and analyzed educator, parent, and student surveys. Our study adds to the existing online learning literature by illustrating that it is possible to virtually engage a more generalizable set of students and teachers than have previously been studied and to use technology to extend the reach of talented teachers. Strategies for online engagement that scholars have identified when studying more specialized groups pre-pandemic appear relevant with a more generalizable population, such as the inclusion of meaningful content and a synchronous delivery format. Consistent with prior research, teachers appreciate receiving adaptable curricular materials and differentiated PD. Findings have implications for future uses of online learning, during periods of disruption and more typical times.

Virtual Surgical Skills Training in a High School Summer Program

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted components of traditional education with shifts toward virtual platforms. This report describes the virtual approach to basic surgical skills training during a high school program in the summers of 2020 and 2021. MethodsTwo 2-week sessions were held by Zoom (Zoom Video Communications) with 99 students in 2020 and 198 students in 2021. Each student was sent surgical supplies and instruments. Interactive lectures were held each morning, and basic surgical skills instruction was provided each afternoon. After the session, survey links were distributed to students to complete an anonymous 37-item questionnaire regarding surgical skills confidence, simulation kit satisfaction, and technical difficulties. ResultsOf the 297 students, 270 (90.9%) completed the questionnaire, including 91 (91.9%) in 2020 and 179 (90.4%) in 2021. On a scale of 1 (fair) to 5 (excellent), students in 2020 and 2021 reported similar confidence in instrument handling (4-5: 90.0% vs 86.3%; P = .38), suturing skin (4-5: 88.9% vs 82.8%; P = .19), and thoracic aorta suturing (4-5: 73.3% vs 73.6%; P = .97). Students reported greater confidence in 2020 in knot tying (4-5: 98.9% vs 87.9%; P = .002), coronary vessel suturing (4-5: 82.2% vs 65.5%; P < .001), and valve model suturing (4-5: 68.5% vs 50.3%; P = .005) than students in 2021. Students had similar satisfaction rates with the program (extremely or somewhat satisfied: 92.3% vs 86.0%; p = .51) between 2020 and 2021. ConclusionsVirtual education carries the potential for basic surgical skills training for a more widespread audience with less access to direct surgical education. Further research is needed to optimize teaching finer surgical skills.

NASA'S NEURODIVERSITY NETWORK (N3)

NASA's Neurodiversity Network (N3) is a five-year program that has been funded as part of NASA's Science Activation Network. N3's main goal is to provide a pathway to NASA participation and STEM employment for neurodiverse learners, with a focus on those on the autism spectrum. Through the N3 program, we are enabling STEM education for a segment of the population that is significantly underserved through a process in which existing NASA education resources are redesigned with significant input from autistic learners and their instructors. The co-design process occurs primarily in informal environments, including high school summer programs, and camps and activity sessions for middle school students sponsored by the New York Hall of Science. N3 also offers a mentored summer internship program for at least ten neurodiverse high school students each year. Mentoring is provided by NASA Subject Matter Experts, individuals who collectively possess expertise that spans NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

The Impact of Summer Programs on Student Mathematics Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

We present results from a meta-analysis of 37 contemporary experimental and quasi-experimental studies of summer programs in mathematics for children in grades pre-K–12, examining what resources and characteristics predict stronger student achievement. Children who participated in summer programs that included mathematics activities experienced significantly better mathematics achievement outcomes compared to their control group counterparts. We find an average weighted impact estimate of +0.10 standard deviations on mathematics achievement outcomes. We find similar effects for programs conducted in higher- and lower-poverty settings. We undertook a secondary analysis exploring the effect of summer programs on noncognitive outcomes and found positive mean impacts. The results indicate that summer programs are a promising tool to strengthen children’s mathematical proficiency outside of school time.

A Snapshot of Summer STEM Experiences for High School Students in Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania

AbstractAuthentic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences allow students to think and act in a manner similar to STEM professionals. However, opportunities to engage fully with STEM may be limited at the high school level, prompting motivated students to seek offerings at colleges and universities during the summer. The purpose of this study is to identify potential barriers that limit access to collegiate STEM summer programs. We searched programs’ websites to categorize program offerings as either exploratory, inquiry, or authentic. Fully authentic programs are limited in number and field of study. Students also face geographic, temporal, and financial constraints. These findings have implications for high school teachers and counselors who wish to guide students to a summer experience as well as for collegiate faculty who develop high school STEM opportunities. Addressing the barriers can increase access to summer STEM programs and help to recruit and retain students in the STEM pipeline.

Examining factors affecting youth value of mindful living in a short-term non-formal educational mindfulness program

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affect youth value of mindful living, namely, selected demographic variables, awareness of mental events, awareness of physical sensations, and non-judgment of emotional experience. This quantitative study utilized a paper and pencil survey method to address the study objective. Study participants were youth who attended the two-hour non-formal educational Mindfulness Moments: Today and 4-Life program in Summer 2019 at 4-H camps. Most of the youth agreed or strongly agreed they valued mindful living. The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient test showed a very strong significant association between youth value of mindful living and awareness of mental events and awareness of physical sensations. A moderate significant association was identified between youth value of mindful living and nonjudgement of emotional experience. The results of chi-squared analysis showed a significant relationship between youth value of mindful living and gender. There were not significant relationships found between youth value of mindful living and religiosity and prior experience with mindfulness. Youth who are more aware and mindful during mindfulness programming are more likely to value mindful living. Practitioners of youth mindfulness programs in 4-H camp and other Extension education settings may want to focus on helping youth develop mindfulness skills before emphasizing the value of mindful living, as more mindful youth had higher values of mindful living in this study. Extension professionals may want to give more attention to boys in introductory mindfulness programming. Future studies should study factors that influence youth value of mindful living in other non-formal programming settings, especially 4-H camp and other Extension education settings. Future studies should pilot study surveys and utilize random sample methodology.

Strategy for Internationalization Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: The Success Story of Virtual Summer Program at Universitas Padjadjaran

International Summer Programs have become one of the major activities to promote students’ mobility and internationalization of many higher education institutions (HEI) in Indonesia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many HEI canceled their summer program in 2020 as the government’s lockdowns closed the border for international students. Many organizers then innovated to change their summer programs into virtual ones with a series of academic webinars. Although the virtual summer programs warrant some benefits, the Zoom fatigue and lack of physical interaction limit students’ experience in terms of the traditional program benefits. Moreover, virtual summer programs require a different strategy for assimilating cultural experiences similar to the traditional pre-COVID model. This paper showcases the success story of an international virtual summer program organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia in August 2021. Attracting 900 applicants from several countries, the virtual summer program was run successfully for eight days with 375 select participants. The program involved speakers from 8 countries and participants from 10 countries. Some success strategies learned from the case include targeted marketing strategy, innovative programs, small group interactions, and digital cultural experience. This study, therefore, contributes to the literature on internationalization of HEI by providing strategies for internationalization effort of HEI amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.&#x0D; Keywords: summer program, virtual, internationalization, COVID-19

Impact of Mawhiba’s first award-winning gifted summer program in Saudi Arabia on students’ achievement, skills, and satisfaction

This study assessed the impact of Mawhiba-IAU (an innovative gifted summer program in Saudi Arabia to prepare gifted students to thrive in an innovation-based economy) on students’ achievement, soft skills, and satisfaction. The convenience sample consisted of three datasets of gifted students for the various research questions. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-assessments with no control group and a cross-sectional design was used to assess the impact of Mawhiba-IAU on students’ holistic development. Achievement tests, scales, and surveys were used for the assessment. In the series of t-tests, the difference between the pre- and post-assessments showed significant effects on students’ achievement, soft skills development, and satisfaction. Although there were several limitations, including the lack of a control group, the results showed that Mawhiba-IAU was highly effective for students’ holistic development. In 2018, Mawhiba-IAU became the only program to win Mawhiba’s first award.

Measuring STEM Learning in After-School Summer Programs: Review of the Literature

After-school and summer programs provide important opportunities for youth to learn STEM practices and form STEM-related identities. However, there has been limited coordination across these programs to measure effectiveness toward learning outcomes. To better understand the constructs that are used to evaluate these programs, we searched key terms related to out-of-school time STEM learning on several education research databases. Our search uncovered 36 different tools. Across these tools, we discovered 76 measures, which were then grouped into 10 constructs based on similar themes. Constructs included: attitude toward science, career awareness and career interest, curiosity, engagement, home/school environment, interest, motivation, nature of science, self-efficacy, and STEM practices. Each construct is defined and clarified with examples from the tools. The review also considers tensions between attempts to standardize measures for evaluating program success and the need to account for equitable STEM learning pathways and adaptability across diverse communities.