PEAR—Program in Education, Afterschool & Resiliency

PEAR’s mission is to create and foster school and afterschool settings in which all young people can be successful. PEAR takes a developmental approach to the study of new models of effective afterschool programming, and has lead the formation of the Dimensions of Success observation tool (DoS) and the Common Instrument Suite. DoS defines twelve indicators of STEM program quality in out-of-school time and allows researchers, practitioners, funders, and other stakeholders to track the quality of STEM learning opportunities while pinpointing strengths and weaknesses. Separately, the Common Instrument Suite is a simple, easy to administer survey for youth 10 years or older that includes 10 self-report items to assess child and adolescent interest, engagement, persistence and skill development in STEM programs.