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1. Instructional Strategies of Out-of-School Time Engineering Educators (NSF AISL)

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--60017  

   Swanson, Rebecca; Idiaghe, Nosakhare; Portsmore, Merredith; Miel, Karen (June 2026, ASEE Conferences)

   Out-of-school time educators have limited professional development opportunities, particularly around engineering, despite the discipline’s popularity in informal learning contexts (e.g., afterschool programs, library workshops, or camps) [1]-[3]. In this National Science Foundation Advancing Informal Science Learning (NSF AISL)-funded research study, we are investigating ways to support informal educators in leading high-quality engineering activities in out-of-school time (OST) contexts. This multi-year study focuses on understanding OST educators’ instructional strategies during participation in a Community of Practice-style professional development experience and subsequent teaching of OST engineering programs for rural elementary-aged youth. In Year 1, we engaged six OST educators in a collaborative virtual Community of Practice to design and teach a series of six engineering lessons to rural youth ages 8-12. In the Community of Practice meetings, researchers and OST educators discussed engineering pedagogical practices, considered goals of teaching engineering to youth, and co-developed the engineering curriculum. While the broader goal of this study is to specifically understand educators’ pedagogical talk moves - the verbal questions and statements educators say to youth working independently or in small groups during engineering activities - in this first year of the project, we did not explicitly introduce or emphasize talk moves as an instructional strategy. Talk moves are one tool that educators can use to elicit learners’ engineering reasoning and sensemaking, encourage explorative learning, and support productive participation in engineering design [4], [5]. In the first phase of this study, we focused on capturing and characterizing experienced STEM educators’ existing instructional strategies and talk moves in OST engineering through recordings of the bi-monthly Community of Practice meetings, pre-post individual educator interviews, teaching observations, and group reflections on engineering enactments. In this poster presentation and associated paper, we will present key findings from Year 1, including the instructional strategies suggested or noticed by OST Educators over the course of the first project year. We saw emergent themes around instructional strategies, including a focus on pre-instructional planning, framing, engineering norms, mid-design talk moves, and real-world contexts. Going forward in this study, we are working with an expanded group of OST educators, with whom we will deliberately engage in developing and utilizing engineering talk moves, among other instructional strategies, and we will also begin examining the possible effect of changes in instructional strategies on youth participation in engineering during these programs. 

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2. Characterizing Out-of-School Time Educators’ Teaching Talk Moves During Engineering Design Activities (Fundamental)

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--58862  

   Miel, Karen; Swanson, Rebecca; Portsmore, Merredith; Idiaghe, Nosakhare (June 2026, ASEE Conferences)

   Out-of-school time (OST) offers many opportunities for youth to learn engineering; youth in OST engineering programs engage in engineering practices, increase their disciplinary knowledge, strengthen their identities as engineering learners, and build interest in engineering careers. OST educators contribute to these positive outcomes for youth through a variety of teaching practices. One way that educators influence youths’ learning is through ambitious instruction that elicits and supports youths’ engineering reasoning and engineering identity. This study focuses on ambitious engineering instruction at the level of educators’ moment-to-moment dialogue with small groups of learners. While it is known that schoolteachers’ pedagogical talk moves influence learners, little is known about out-of-school time educators’ talk moves. This study examines the pedagogical talk moves of experienced out-of-school time educators during engineering design activities in OST programs for youth aged 8-12 years. The study identifies the talk moves of OST educators, adds to the understanding of pedagogical talk moves, and considers these talk moves within the framework of Ambitious Engineering Instruction. This study asks: What kinds of pedagogical talk moves do experienced OST educators use when interacting with youth during engineering design activities?     In this study, educators facilitated a series of engineering design challenges for a total of six to twelve hours in afterschool programs (one hour/week) or out-of-school workshops or mini-camps (two to four hours/day across two or three days). All educators taught at least five of six possible design challenges. We selectively sampled and analyzed the video- and audio-recordings of two educators teaching two of the same design challenges. We used the Ambitious Engineering Instruction Framework to classify the teaching talk moves that these educators used in interactions with individual youth and small groups of youth who were participating in these engineering design challenges. We identified ambitious, inclusive, and conservative talk moves across the four samples. We observed educators seeking to understand youths’ design ideas, eliciting youths’ engineering reasoning, and encouraging youths to persist despite frustration with a design failure. These teaching moves have the potential to guide students to engage in productive engineering design practices and to support youths’ identities as capable engineering learners and possible future engineers. This analysis of educators’ teaching talk moves contributes to our understanding of ambitious engineering instruction in out-of-school learning environments. 

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3. Development and application of the Scripted Animation Survey (SAS) for out-of-school time professional learning

   https://doi.org/10.1080/25783858.2024.2424218  

   Cian, Heidi; Chung, Philip; Kastelein, Kate (November 2024, PRACTICE: Contemporary Issues in Practitioner Education)

   Despite the wealth of learning youth experience outside formal classrooms, relatively little research has been invested in under- standing out-of-school-time (OST) educators’ professional learning (PL). We explore this need in the context of a STEM facilitation PL program (i.e. Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM, or ACRES) through their foundational PL module, Asking Purposeful Questions, by describing the development and use of the scripted animation survey (SAS) using the framework of educator noticing. First, we detail how we developed and validated an analysis approach to the SAS. Through iterative development with feedback from PL providers, we identified a delivery format; response pro- cess; and codebook that aligned with the program objectives and paralleled the feedback exchange structure familiar to participating educators. Second, we apply the educator noticing framework to illustrate a possible use of the SAS. In comparing pre- and post- administration of the SAS using the noticing framework, we identified a shift in respondents’ noticing to be more aware of youth activity relative to educator activity. We suggest that the SAS may be a useful tool to diagnose and respond to educator attention within a PL program, particularly when logistical and financial con- straints restrict access to longitudinal videos of practice and interviews. 

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4. How Can Educators Exchange High-Quality Feedback with Various Forms of Evidence of Practice?: An Analysis of Afterschool Educator Professional Growth Through Noticing

   https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2025.2466289  

   Cian, Heidi; Kastelein, Kate (February 2025, Journal of Science Teacher Education)

   While youth derive much of their science learning and appreciation outside of the formal science classroom, educators in afterschool and other out-of-school time (OST) settings have received relatively little investment in their professional learning. One exception is ACRES, a program that provides professional learning modules for OST educators in STEM facilitation skills, including Asking Purposeful Questions. Educators who participate in these facilitation modules exchange feedback with one another in response to the evidence of practice they bring to the professional learning setting. Due to the diverse nature of OST settings and the unique demands OST educators experience in their work, the type of evidence of practice participants bring to these sessions varies. Using a framework of teacher noticing, we explore how peer feedback in Asking Purposeful Questions modules differentiates across these diverse forms of evidence, as well as how differential feedback aligns with outcomes the coaches of Asking Purposeful Questions modules hope to see realized. We explore common forms of evidence educators experience in these cohorts, including video of contrived practice; authentic video with youth; professionally produced videos the coaches provide; and lesson descriptions. We find that, while all forms of evidence elicit noticing and associated feedback exchange supporting the module’s desired outcomes, each may be expected to exhibit specific strengths and limitations. We suggest that coaches may build upon these features to direct educators’ noticing to aspects of the evidence that may be particularly fruitful for learning. 

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5. Investing in the Lynchpin: Design Principles for Professional Development to Support Youth-Led STEM Programming

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040569  

   Sickler, Jessica; Parrott, Andria; Jones, Breanna; Kloos, Robert (April 2026, Education Sciences)

   Simpson, Amber (Ed.)

   Youth-led STEM programming depends on skilled adult facilitators who can support authentic teen leadership, yet professional learning for developing these specialized skills remains understudied. Through three cycles of design-based research, we iteratively developed and studied a professional development model that trained informal educators from museums, libraries, afterschool programs, and schools to launch Teen Science Café programs—a youth-led model where teens organize STEM events. Analysis of data from trainer reflections, trainee interviews, trainee surveys, and implementation tracking across three iterative design cycles revealed six interconnected principles essential for effective professional development: focusing on a committed adult leader; personalized training characterized by mutual respect; learning by doing; establishing accountability that builds momentum; enabling learning from peers and near-peers; and recognizing success to nurture professional pride. Implementing these principles to prepare educators to center youth voice requires substantial, coordinated investment across stakeholders—commensurate with the complexity of developing youth agency and STEM identity in informal settings. From our findings, we contrast this approach with the “efficiency trap,” in which scaled training without sustained support wastes resources when many educators are trained but youth-centered programs fail to materialize. 

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