ABSTRACT. This proposal outlines a systematic review aimed at exploring emerging perspectives on ethics in technological design and engineering education, with a focus on the need for a paradigm shift towards socially, politically, and environmentally conscious design practices. It underscores the inadequacy of educational frameworks that emphasize depoliticization and overlook the complex interrelations between technology, society, and the environment. By incorporating both qualitative and quantitative studies, the review seeks to identify key themes through thematic analysis. Preliminary findings suggest three main areas for future exploration: the integration of macro-ethics in engineering education to address broader societal and ecological impacts, the exploration of collective narratives and designers’ positions to foster critical and inclusive viewpoints, and the support of learners' systems view of design and engineering practices to enhance ethical and environmental awareness. This research aims to contribute to the development of a more critical and reflective approach to technological design and engineering education.

ABSTRACT. The study used the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic to understand how and what is privileged and for what reasons in a Ghanaian mathematics teacher preparation course that teaches about using instructional technology for teaching mathematics. A mathematics course plan and tasks, video observation and teacher-educator interview were triangulated and analysed using a reference model. The study results show that teaching with instructional technology in transformative ways was privileged. The didactical logos linking the praxis was TPACK. The privileged meta-didactical praxis was the representation of practice with some vague meta-didactical logos discussed. Although the didactical and meta-didactical logos were mentioned in the interview, they were not taken up with the prospective teachers. It is recommended that teacher educators engage prospective teachers in the reasons for what they teach and how they teach it.

ABSTRACT. Given the critical nature of the early years of students’ mathematical experiences and the relatively limited resources for teaching mathematics within a STEAM context, this study focuses on research-informed designed tasks that emphasise learning mathematics in an enriched STEAM context for students aged 5-8 years. We present an evidence base in support of a set of characteristics indicative of high-quality steaM tasks and provide examples of such tasks.

ABSTRACT. The “maker movement” refers to the growing community of individuals who engage in making, which typically involves a wide range of practices, from traditional craft techniques (e.g., sewing and woodworking) to technology-driven pursuits such as 3D printing, electronics, and computer programming (Martin, 2015). Proponents of the maker movement often highlight its potential to democratize tools and resources that were previously inaccessible to the general public (Dougherty, 2012; Hatch, 2014). However, these optimistic assumptions face criticism that sheds light on the underrepresentation of minoritized groups, including women, people of colour, and individuals from low-income communities, in the maker community (Calabrese Barton et al., 2017). In recent years, a small but growing body of literature has emerged to interrogate dominant forms of making. These studies challenge what is widely recognized as making, which is often limited to technology-driven activities (e.g., programming microcontroller boards) even though making has played an integral role in every culture throughout history (Blikstein, 2020). Consequently, this line of inquiry advocates for initiatives to broaden participation in making beyond increasing access to maker activities and resources, emphasizing the need to connect maker activities and pedagogies with everyday knowledge and practices of underrepresented groups in the maker community (Halverson & Peppler, 2018; Vossoughi et al., 2016). As the maker movement continues to rise in popularity and expand into educational domains, it is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the approaches used to engage individuals from minoritized groups in making. To this end, this literature review uses the five elements of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) to examine how maker activities and pedagogies are designed to foster the engagement of individuals from minoritized groups. These five elements include (1) developing a knowledge base about cultural diversity, (2) including ethnic and cultural diversity content in the curriculum, (3) demonstrating cultural caring and building a learning community, (4) communicating with ethnically diverse students, and (5) responding to ethnic diversity in the delivery of instruction (Gay, 2002). Implications of findings that offer practical guidelines for researchers and practitioners in designing inclusive maker programs, particularly those tailored to K-12 learners, are also discussed.

ABSTRACT. Implementing board games in classrooms offers tremendous opportunities for accumulating embodied experiences with gridified space. Grids are a means for organizing two-dimensional space and establishing relationships between and actions on objects. In mathematics, understanding of grids is essential for understanding area, graphing, functions and so much more. Frequently, grids are taught as an object of rules and procedures, which can lead to a lack of student understanding. Rather than considering grids as the explicit focus of instruction, we suggest that implicit experiences with grids might lead to deeper knowing. In this presentation, we highlight findings from our three-year design-based research study exploring how commercial board games can provide opportunities for students to engage spatially with an underlying grid structure, which we call gridified space.

ABSTRACT. Building teacher capacity on pedagogical strategies for teaching sustainability issues through mathematics is a response to developing 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, ethics and social responsibility among high school students. Using the 17 SDGs as lenses for teaching, presents subject-matter content in a relevant context, helping students to apply what they are learning locally to global conditions and current events" (Williams, 2021 p.1). Furthermore, to foster interdisciplinary teaching, we see Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a starting point for incorporating contextualised mathematics activities that promote critical mathematics learning (Yaro, Amoah & Wagner 2020).

We position our work within critical mathematics education framework with the goal to empower students with knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to create democratic communities embracing social justice in and outside of school (Aslan, Bondy, & Adams, 2011). Employing critical perspectives to mathematics teaching serve as a tool for identifying and analysing critical features of our society, which may not only be global but local to students (Skovsmose & Nielsen,1996).

We see the emerging trend in data literacy and big data as an opportunity to support high school mathematics teachers and pre-service teachers in leveraging new digital and technological resources to provide rich real-life contexts for deeper mathematics learning. Big data constitute a “socio-technical phenomenon” that entails the “capacity to search, aggregate, and cross-reference large data sets” [..], to among others, search for patterns and create categories, profiles or scores often used for decision-making and predictive analyses” (Sander, 2020 p. 3). For this study, Big data may include various databases at local or global levels from government or not-for-profit organisations.

We report a study that was conducted with six high school (Grade 6-9) teachers in Moncton, and secondary pre-service teachers in Edmonton, Canada, who were engaged in Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) in creating and implementing mathematics tasks for sustainable development using Big data sources. For this conference, we will share preliminary results from the study that emanate from teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ experiences, collated through teacher reflective journals and individual/focus group interviews. Findings indicate that teachers and pre-service teachers’ initial conceptualisation of SDGs evolved as they engaged in the TPL (e.g. SDGs were perceived as more environmental and climate change related); teachers and pre-service teachers through engaging the creation and implementation of SDG-inspired mathematics tasks, saw (SDGs) as a context for (re)imagining interdisciplinary teaching and learning of STEME that foreground social justice. By harnessing the potential of mathematics and data analysis, we not only unlock the ability to visualize information but also equip future citizens with the tools to analyze global challenges critically and formulate responses that yield sustainable outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Amidst the burgeoning domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI), integrating effective AI education in primary and secondary schools remains a challenge, primarily due to a scarcity of specialized talent and practical learning opportunities. Addressing this, this study initiates the "Learning- Creation-Competition" University-Enterprise AI Education Program (UEAIEP), a 7-day intervention for 49 high school students aimed at enhancing AI comprehension and reshaping student perceptions of AI. The results indicated significant changes in the students' willingness to use AI for social good, their motivation to pursue AI careers, and a notable reduction in AI-related anxiety. Qualitative data analysis revealed students’ feedback on the educational content, teacher-student interactions, project practices, and future career choices within the program. Overall, the findings suggest that the University-Enterprise AI education program is an effective strategy for improving students' attitudes towards AI learning and inspiring them to pursue AI-related careers. These insights provide valuable guidance for AI education practices in primary and secondary schools and offer a new perspective for future research in the field of AI education.

ABSTRACT. In this six-month research project, we engaged teachers and students at a mid-sized urban Canadian junior high school in redesigning the cooperative board game Forbidden Island (Gamewright, 2010). The objective was to explore the impact of this culturally sustaining pedagogy on a diverse student population (Paris, 2012, 2019, 2021). Our data, including games, artifacts, and video recordings, revealed unexpected layers of narrative engagement in the redesign process. Narrative exploration uses narratives to gain insight into perspectives and experiences (Goodson, 2013; Goodson and Gill, 2011). Sharing narrative (1) allows us to make sense of temporally meaningful episodes (Park, 2005), (2) sensitizes us to the ethics of representation (Richardson & St. Pierre, 2018), (3) brings order to disordered events (Tedlock, 2018), and (4) connects us with the project of becoming (Deleuze & Guattari, 1980; Tedlock, 2018). Though we did not anticipate the importance of narrative, our data shows participants engaged in layers of narratives which allowed them to make sense of their relations with one another, assignment instructions, and the project goal of incorporating curriculum into their redesigned games. By analyzing existing narratives in the design of Forbidden Island, students gained an understanding of narrative purposes. As participants engaged in design and testing sessions, they shared stories about themselves, their experiences, and their identities, building community while exploring temporally meaningful episodes in their lives. Groups also wrote their own curriculum-related narrative backstories for their redesigned games. Even the procedural writing, or the ‘rules’ of the games they designed, became part of the game’s narrative. Narrative sharing, storying, and co-creation of game narratives shaped the learning processes. For example, during a game design discussion for a group of students (Grace, Saabira, and Shaza), Grace defended a complex proposed game mechanic that required players to traverse multiple countries to return home after collecting hidden treasures. Shaza found this mechanic unnecessary, favoring boats or planes for the journey. To emphasize the significance of walking, Grace shared a poignant story from a Cameroonian friend. Her friend’s father and uncle, as migrants, walked through the desert for days to reach a ship and escape to Italy. Tragically, the uncle died and was buried at sea. Grace passionately conveyed this narrative of walking, also shedding light on a social studies curricular theme by pointing out lingering effects of colonization on warfare, migration, and diaspora. As games researchers, we have noticed that although the importance of narrative for serious games is understood (Michael & Chen, 2006), many widely used education games do not reflect the primacy of narrative (i.e., narrative and content/rule of the game do not align). These educational games tend to be shells retrofitted to courses and are not embedded in rich narrative context like Forbidden Island, a game with a clear backstory that serves as the catalyst for the game itself and fosters the development of inter-player relationships. Especially regarding culturally sustaining pedagogies, games researchers should consider the role of narrative capital (Goodson, 2013) in game redesign projects.

ABSTRACT. This paper explores personal meaning-making and creativity beyond the conventional productivity-focused approach in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Considering how human capability can and should go beyond productivity in the context of STEM education (Takeuchi & Dadkhahfard, 2019), we argue for the confluence of immersive learning (virtual) and place-making (physical) in engaging learners in meaningful and creative experience. Immersive learning is mediated through artificial experiences that learners perceive as a first-hand experience (Dengel, 2022). One such artificial experience occurs at the intersection of place-making and immersive learning, which is playce-making, that constitutes playful and engaging experiences linked to a place. Such experience provides learners with opportunities not only to immerse themselves in storytelling but also to integrate their own knowledge and lived experiences (Authors, 2023; 2022). We discuss the conceptualisation and practice of playce-making and illustrate the confluence of immersive learning and place-making in our study.

ABSTRACT. There is growing consensus that scholarship in STEM education, including computing education, is entrenched in Western and hegemonic epistemologies (Bang et al., 2013; T. M. Philip et al., 2018; Sengupta, 2021). While calls for centering relationality in our technoscientific epistemologies have been called for by feminist post-structuralists and new materialists (Barad, 2007; Harding, 1987), this research is oriented in the need for an axiological turn that seeks to de-settle Western knowledge systems as the ways of truth-seeking in STEM disciplines (Bang, 2020). We look to transform the field of computing education in ways that explicitly makes visible the hidden epistemologies and silenced voices (Takeuchi & Dadkhahfard, 2019), the incessant experiences of systemic racisms and oppressive labor practices (T. Philip & Sengupta, 2021), and the erasure of Indigenous language and ways of knowing from settled traditions in technoscientific disciplines (Bang et al., 2013).

In the backdrop of a politically neutral computing education, we are motivated to make visible the often racialized assumptions that feed into software-based algorithms (Heilweil, 2020; Smith, 2019), as well as the oppressive immigration regimes that enable professional work in computing (Banerjee, 2022). But how can we work within disciplinary spaces to accomplish this? This question is poignant considering a conundrum noted by Takeuchi and colleagues (2020): the very notion of discipline, as we typically experience in the context of STEM (and computing education), rests on the production of “subjected and practiced bodies, ‘docile’ bodies (Foucault, 1977, p. 138)”. Following Sengupta et al. (2022), this research is framed within both the White Gaze (Harrington et al., 2019; Paris, 2019; Yancy, 2013), an epistemological stance that produces conformity in computing education, while embedded in the framework of White Innocence (Gotanda, 2004; Gutiérrez, 2005), an ideological framework of defending and maintaining the innocence of White people “that preserves racial subordination and the differential benefits for the innocent who retains their own dominant position” (Gutiérrez, 2005, p. 226) – the White Gaze works to control the body while White Innocence backstops the discipline wherein the gaze occurs.

To explore how computing education can explicitly make visible the hidden epistemologies and silenced voices, we spoke with twelve university students through facilitated conversations using computational models of ethnocentrism in Net Logo (Wilensky, 2003) and data visualizations of racial segregation in Canadian cities (McPhee, 2022). These conversations were held with a diverse group of students, many of whom had immigrant backgrounds, and through our analysis, two key insights emerged.

Dignity affirming micro-interactions deepen computing experiences: Acknowledging participants’ affect and positioning socio-political dimensions of lived experiences of learners of color as central to the critique and refinement of the model can deepen learners’ understanding of the code and the model. Resonant choice of model and form of computing: Through the careful selection of the model, the phenomenon, and the form of computing, we can craft a deeply personal experience for learners of color.

ABSTRACT. We present illustrative cases of 4 newcomer youth of color, i.e. two groups of siblings who are young women from South Asia, as they engage in co-designing computational simulations based on their experiences around migration. We show how centering the affective, embodied, and relational dimensions of intersectional care between the two groups of newcomer siblings of color can offer fundamental re-orientations to technocentric theories and design of technoscientific learning spaces that are typically exclusionary to endarkened bodies.

ABSTRACT. The attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (“Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”) as stated in Sustainable Development Agenda by the year 2030 is hinged on an inclusion education with regards to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), the bedrock of qualitative education especially at early years. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which includes the right to education; (Articles 29) without discrimination based on disability among others, makes it mandatory for children of all categories to be exposed to basic concepts of STEM, especially with respect to vulnerable children. These are children who because of their circumstances are at a disadvantage and higher risk of their rights being violated and/or denied, hence adoption of innovative strategies to break barriers and obstacles hindering their free access to teaching and learning. This paper presents some steps taken in imparting fundamental principles of STEM to this group of children with special needs, highlighting the role of a Non-Governmental Organization in presenting STEM as fun. The methodology involves the use of an informal, non-formal, community-linked and integrated approaches to vulnerable children within the age range of 11 months to 5 years housed at Child Care Home (Mosadoluwa), located at a rural-urban setting at Ado-Ekit, Ekiti state, Nigeria. Some of the activities include Science songs, poems, plays and interactive sessions with the children and their handlers. The results showed that the children responded positively to certain concepts of STEM such as motion, counting, communication, team spirit, inquisitiveness etc. It is hoped that utilization of non- conventional and innovative methods such as out-of-school activities in disseminating knowledge will go a long way in fostering the frontiers of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education especially among the children of different categories at early years.

ABSTRACT. Culture-specific tools are integral to how learners organize and think about mathematical concepts and procedures (Vygotsky, 1978). Gebeta, an ancient African board game, also known as Mancala in many other places, played both in rural areas and in the towns, is the focus of this study. It can be played on the ground by making 12 or 18 holes, collecting small stones (seeds), or using wooden boards (Tesfamicael and Farsani, 2024). Our study investigated how such a readily available and accessible tool can be utilized as a pedagogic resource to foster early numeracy learning and algorithmic thinking among early graders. In particular, this work investigates the following research question: Which aspects of early numeracy and algorithmic thinking are embedded in the Gebeta game?

The study is a qualitative ethnographic investigation of the culturally available Gebeta game in Ethiopia, guided by the funds of knowledge framework (FoK) (Moll et al., 1992; Bose and Subramaniam, 2011), which helps locate and explain rich cultural resources and insights that different communities possess. To this end, data is collected through fieldwork, primary interviews, observations, questionnaires, documents, and video recordings to find answers to the research questions posed.

There exist several versions of the game, some demand complex algorithmic thinking and even played as a competitive cultural sport in the country, while others are simple versions which can be played by kids from age 4 or 5. The simplest version of the game is played by many young children in Ethiopia, and they learn to play it even before joining formal school (Tesfamicael and Farsani, 2024). While playing the Gebeta game in two kindergartens in Norway, Thiel and colleagues showed that children are exposed to different aspects of early numeracy central ideas, namely, counting, one-to-one correspondence, subitizing, cardinality, and ordinality, which are embedded in the game (Thiel et al. 2024).

Another aspect of the Gebeta game is that it can foster Algorithmic thinking (AT) (Tesfamicael and Farsani, 2024). AT involves solving problems by breaking them down into a sequence of steps or algorithms, which is recognized as a crucial skill in mathematics education (Temerbekova, 2021). The Gebeta game fits this pattern. While playing the Gebeta game, one decides where to start, thinking about which places to land, going for many rounds, anticipating the possible next rounds of one's own and the opponents, and so on. Furthermore, the game can be programmed using block and text programming (Tesfamicael and Farsani, 2024).

This abstract illustrates the potential of this game to foster mathematical thinking, specifically algebraic thinking and AT, among the learners. We claim it can become a pedagogic tool if suitably integrated into the school curriculum and instructional design. Non-school activities such as playing the Gebeta game by drawing early graders’ FoK can foster meaningful numeracy learning and algorithmic thinking through robust problem-solving (Bishop, 1988; Bose, 2011; Thiel, 2024; Tesfamicael, 2024).

ABSTRACT. This qualitative study leverages Fullan’s Theory of Educational Change (Fullan, 2006, 2007) to critically examine the transformative potential of a research-based asynchronous online graduate program in STEM education (https://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/med_science/), specifically focusing on science education and innovative pedagogies in STEM classrooms (Ben-David Kolikant et al., 2020). With the development of novel technologies (e.g., Zoom, etc.) online asynchronous graduate programs have become more popular lately, however, the impact of these program on STEM teachers is yet to be fully examined. Thus, this research aims to uncover and examine practising STEM educators' perspectives on how their engagement and participation in this 2.5-year long online asynchronous science education cohort-based graduate program impacted their ongoing pedagogy, thinking about teaching and learning, attitudes towards educational research, as well as helped them persevere in graduate studies. The participation in this online program is especially important for educators in remote locations who have few STEM educational colleagues with whom they can collaborate or discuss their teaching practices. On the other hand, the asynchronous nature of the program allows for flexibility and removes the barrier of multiple time zones (the difference in time zones in our cohorts is often 4-4.5 hours, as we have participants from all across Canada). Three major themes emerged from the data collected through repeated focus groups, as well as ongoing observations of program facilitators. These themes revealed how the participants (n=25) described the program's impact and how they interpreted the means through which this impact had been achieved. These themes include: (1) Deeper engagement with science education research through gaining valuable insights about teaching and learning in ways that (2) Shifted pedagogical paradigms, inspiring confidence, resilience, and self-reflection. In turn, these paradigm shifts were instrumental in (3) Empowering pedagogical transformation both within and across their educational contexts. Thus, we have evidence that this online graduate program not only helped remove the barriers for practicing teachers in accessing education research, but also empowered them to deliberately implement the results of this research into practice even when they had minimal support at their own schools. For example, STEM educators were not only exposed to novel educational technologies, but also were encouraged to consider how they could implement them into their own classrooms (Milner-Bolotin, 2020). This research offers additional and complementary findings to other studies that focus on how to increase access to graduate education among practising teachers and consequently how to foster pedagogical transformation through online graduate programs for teachers. These findings may assist teacher educators and educational researchers engaged in developing online graduate programs by highlighting the significant effects of asynchronous online programs on educators’ pedagogical understandings and attitudes. Ultimately, this research underscores the critical role of asynchronous online graduate programs in shaping the pedagogical approaches and attitudes of science educators, contributing significantly to the field of online educational development and implementing the results of STEM education research into practice. 

ABSTRACT. This research is a result of an investigation into the difficulties students have in learning the derivative concept and working on unveiling several origins that hinder the process of conceptualization. We identified the constraints that prevent them from understanding the concept definition of a derivative at a point and from having adequate concept images of this complex notion. These difficulties have several origins, they are of epistemological origin, they originate from the mathematical objects themselves and from the ways of presenting them in textbooks. In this article, we provide a glimpse into how this concept is introduced in textbook and how students articulate their knowledge of mathematics and physical sciences when confronted with it. The most prominent claim around which our study revolves is concerned with the fact that: the interpretation of the derivative as an instantaneous rate of change to the students plays an essential role in strengthening their concept images. In the Tunisian context, the concept of derivative is introduced as an instantaneous speed for the first time in the third year of secondary school (17-18 years). This concept is introduced by the instantaneous speed which is already known by students in courses of physics. Indeed, there is no doubt that this approach is closely related to the subject being taught (i.e. derivative concept) but is there really nothing that prevents students from understanding it through this approach? From this perspective, we wonder whether this approach is sufficient to make a strong conception for the students or not? Do they really properly understand the meaning of the instantaneous speed? Are they really aware of the relationship between the rate of change and the derivative at a point? Do they know that derivative is an instantaneous rate of change? Thought on the epistemological aspects of the derivative concept and the various notions associated with it raises a number of inquiries that must be addressed, including the ways of presenting this concept in textbooks as well as the students' conceptualizations of the derivative and the notions related to it. Indeed, we wanted to analyse institution choices in introducing derivative at a point and their relationship to students' understanding of derivatives. Therefore, we relied on Praxeology(Chevallard, 1999) and images frame (Tall &Vinner, 1981) to model derivative institutional organisation into several mathematical activities and analyse concept images that students have in regards to the derivative and some other related terms. By using these frames, we know the different difficulties learners have and the origins of these difficulties occurring when learning this concept. 

ABSTRACT. The results of earlier studies point to consistent fluctuation in the National Examination performance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. Thus, despite being thought of as popular in the development of talent for solutions considered highly important worldwide in all spheres impacting livelihood, the majority of students consistently post mixed low grades over the years due to their difficulties in learning biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, mathematics, and technology subjects. Although curriculum reviews and adjustments have been made in light of these findings, the problems have persisted because of ineffective and unsuitable instructional technique with irrelevant examples. This study therefore, revisits the use of information technology (IT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoTs) and robotics as a wave of new technologies that will solve this problem. This research gathered information by use of questionnaires from 210 students and 30 STEM teachers from three selected public secondary schools. In addition, examination reports were interrogated. The quasi-experimental research design was used involving the pretest-post test control group, with a 2x2x2 factorial matrix employed by grouping the 210 students from 3 county schools; pure boys, pure girls and co-educational gender into 2 sub-groups of 70 each per school and 10 teachers per school, with the ratio of boys to girls in the co-educational secondary school as 1:1, to reduce the confounding influence of the intended objective. The experimental group was taught by information technology approaches while the control group was taught using the conventional lecture method. After four weeks of teaching, all the groups were tested on the mean achievement in STEM topical content. The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance by SPSS software version 9.3 and mean comparison done by the Linear Significance Difference (LSD) at P < 0.05 confidence level. The experimental group obtained a mean of 84.60 % higher than the control group with 49.20%. This findings imply that incorporation of new technologies of IT, AI, ML, IoTs and robotics helps learners achieve higher grades commensurate to the career demands. Based on these findings, the study recommends the use of integrating new technologies in the teaching-learning process of abstract concepts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects for better performance, clear emphasis on all the processes and stages involved, and building a strong knowledge base in career readiness, research and achieving vision 2030 and 2063.

ABSTRACT. STEM curriculum integrates the four disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math to promote authentic learning for learners and enhance teachers' interdisciplinary understanding. However, the rapid development of STEM education has led to a utilitarian tendency in STEM curriculum design, making it difficult to improve teachers' interdisciplinary understanding. It is found that the design of STEM curriculum around STEM ideas can effectively organize scientific inquiry, technological literacy, engineering design and mathematical thinking, and the whole process includes the identification of STEM ideas and the design of STEM curriculum teaching. This study proposes a twin-tower model for STEM curriculum construction, which provides new perspectives and methods for STEM curriculum research.

ABSTRACT. With the advancement of the new curriculum reform, especially the introduction of the Ministry of Education's "Compulsory Education Curriculum Plan and Standards (2022 Edition)", "core literacy" and "interdisciplinary" have become hot and difficult topics of research. Since 2015, the research team has been focusing on the needs of education development in Chaoyang District, with STEM education as the research theme and 40 schools in Chaoyang District as research bases, to deeply promote research on STEM education and teaching methods reform at the regional level. Through 8 years of exploration, the concept and characteristics of localization in interdisciplinary teaching have been clarified, and the entire process of action research has been divided into three stages: preliminary exploration, comprehensive implementation, and systematic construction. At each stage, a five dimensional advanced model for promoting STEM education in the region was constructed, focusing on five aspects of conceptual advancement, research advancement, curriculum advancement, teacher advancement, and evaluation advancement.The model provides reference and inspiration for promoting interdisciplinary teaching and STEM education in other regions, and has created the STEM education brand in Chaoyang District.

ABSTRACT. In this sympoisium, drawing upon a two-year, community centered, design-based research study (Bang, 2020; Guttierez & Jurow, 2016), we offer contrapuntal (Philip & Sengupta, 2021) dis/orientations for maker education rooted in voices of refguee and migrant learners of color who are newcomers to Canada. Contrapuntality (Said, 1991) serves as a reminder that the sufferings of endarkened peoples are often silenced and invisiblized in technoscientific disciplines, including in educational contexts (Philip & Sengupta, 2021). While the extant literature has primarily focused on engaging refugee learners in STEM, computing, and literacy education, here we ask the following question: What can maker education look like when refugee and migrant voices are centred through co-designing counter-narratives of migration and refugeehood, using practices such as computational modeling, animation filmmaking, murals, etc.? Paper 1 reports how newcomer Mulsim women youth siblings designed computational counter-models of migration and landing through centring carework. Paper 2 reports a study of how two Black youth subverted an animated model of climate change through designing speculative insects to represent colonial violence due to ivory trade on elephants in Ivory Coast. Paper 3 reports how Muslim youth women of color represented moral and affective dimensions of forced migration using cinematic animations. Paper 4 reports how Black and Muslim youth women of color represented gender-based harassment and marginalization using embodied art as part of a collective mural exhibition. Collectively, these papers offer a necessary dis/orientation to technocentrism (Sengupta et al., 2021) in maker education by illustrating how moral, intersectional and political dimensions of experiences of refugeehood and migration can be centered in makerspaces.

ABSTRACT. This research aims to examine the factors impacting women's retention in STEM in Nigeria and Georgia. In a bid to come up with strategies to enhance women’s participation in STEM, this study identifies and juxtaposes the factors impacting the retention of women in STEM and how they vary between the two countries (Nigeria and Georgia) were discussed. This study adopted the literature review method to perform the critical analysis. A total of 76 papers were retrieved from the Scopus database and were published between 2018 and 2023. Only 12 papers met the criteria for inclusion in the analysis. The findings reveal that the factors impacting women’s retention in STEM include funding (NGOs and government agencies), scholarship, specialized recruitment, Mentoring, the establishment of women-only higher institutions, creating a balanced work and family environment, combating stereotypes, and enabling policies and laws. The paper highlights some key recommendations to help improve the retention of women in STEM in Africa, and Nigeria in particular.

ABSTRACT. The rapidly changing knowledge and information society of the 21st century is forcing a shift from STEM to STEAM education, and society expects a deeper integration of the arts to balance the many drawbacks of an education centered solely around science and technology. However, STEAM education is currently facing the great challenge of how the arts interface with and are integrated into STEM education. To solve the disadvantages of STEM education and the challenges of STEAM education, it is necessary to analyze the role of art itself, and the "A" in STEAM education includes five kinds of contents such as exquisite art, conveys six-dimensional concepts such as big art perspective, and plays a four-degree function such as enhancing creativity, etc. The STEAM education movement will be a hot issue in education field in the future for a long period of time. The STEAM education movement will be a hot issue in the field of education for a long period of time in the future, and there are three suggestions to promote the in-depth development of STEAM education: one is to pay attention to interdisciplinary concepts, the second is to emphasize art-based practice, and the third is to explore appropriate educational resources.

ABSTRACT. Objective. To refine the STEM Play Cycle (Tunnicliffe, 2021) and enhance its applicability and reliability for research with children up to 3 years old. 

Introduction. Our research examines how very young children begin to acquire STEM knowledge and behaviours. We know that purposeful and play-based approaches are required to engage young children in meaningful STEM learning experiences (Gonzalez et al., 2023; Tunnicliffe, 2022); however, less is known about how those learning experiences might occur. One recently proposed theory is the STEM Play Cycle (Tunnicliffe, 2022), which drew from Krapp et al. (1992) and Krapp (1999) and was based on informal observations of children younger than 4 years old during free play. 

According to Tunnicliffe (2022), the first phase of the cycle occurs when children’s interest is caught, and they notice and observe an object in their environment. The cycle continues with the second phase when children begin to actively explore what the object can do. In the third phase, children continue their explorations, attempting to understand what the object can do. The fourth phase is a decision point, when the child continues exploring or loses interest. The fifth and final phase of the cycle is when the child remembers or communicates things of interest about the object. 

Process. As researchers, we have used the STEM Play Cycle as an analytical lens for data previously collected during repeated observations with toddlers (children aged 1½ to 2½ years) engaged in learning experiences where we could identify at least two of the 

STEM disciplines (Tunnicliffe et al., 2023). We took fieldnotes and photos and turned the fieldnotes into narratives describing the toddlers’ and educators’ actions. We attempted to verify the cycle and found that we could identify each of its phases in our dataset, which consisted of short term and long term learning experiences. Toddler’s STEM explorations broadly followed the STEM Play Cycle; however, we did not consistently observe all phases in each learning experience. We found that educators played a key role in initiating the STEM Play Cycle through purposeful setup of the environment and support of the toddler’s actions, suggesting that the role of educators might be added the STEM Play Cycle. 

Additionally, we had to make multiple decisions about what the specific phases might entail, suggesting that both labels and descriptors would benefit from further examination. Currently, it would be difficult to compare and compile observational results made using the STEM Play Cycle, particularly across researchers and research projects. Therefore, we are in the process of examining each phase of the STEM Play Cycle, ensuring labels are consistent, developing descriptors that might include questions the child could be thinking, clarifying flow, and adding the role of the educators. 

Results. The goal is a revised STEM Play Cycle that will have better applicability and reliability during play-based learning experiences as well as in free play contexts in future research. The revised STEM Play Cycle will have implications for research, theory, and practice because it will be a theoretical framework, grounded in evidence, that can be used to analyze very young children’s learning about STEM. In our presentation, we will describe the revised STEM Play Cycle, showing descriptors and exemplars for each phase. 

ABSTRACT. STEM field uses a variety of technologies to solve problems. Mixed reality(MR), which combines elements of virtual reality and the real world, provides students with immersive learning experiences. MR has been recognized as having the potential to help educator and students in STEM education to better instruction. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of mixed reality in STEM education by conducting a meta-analysis to collect and screen journal articles on mixed reality applications in STEM education. The study found that the random effects model showed a combined effect value of 0.662, p < 0.001, which reached a statistically significant level. This indicates that mixed reality has a moderately high facilitating effect on STEM education. This study also identified a series of key moderator variables, including country and region, educational level, course types, MR equipment, male/female ratio, sample size, experimental duration, measurement method, and outcome. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that there were significant differences across country and region, educational level, course, MR equipment, male/female ratio, and experimental duration; the differences in sample size, measurement method, and outcome were not significant. However, this study also identified some potential limitations and challenges, such as the cost and difficulty of technology development, and the resistance of teachers and students to MR. Future research needs to address these issues by designing mixed reality technologies that are developmentally appropriate for students.

ABSTRACT. Design in education has typically involved a narrow focus on backwards design and communicating disciplinary content and practices. This narrow focus in school jurisdictions and teacher education programs may partially explain why education as practiced in K12 classrooms has changed so little in North America over the last century (Cuban, 1988, 2020; Payne, 2008; Tyack & Cuban, 1997). Guided by contemporary theory and research from design fields and education, we propose a framework for conceptualizing K-12 teachers’ stances toward designerly thinking in STEM subjects and beyond. We developed the framework following Crismond and Adams’ (2012) scholarship of integration approach combined with an inductive content analysis of 43 pre-service teachers’ conceptualizations of design across two versions of a design course. The resulting framework focuses on six dimensions including: (a) problem solving versus problem framing, (b) problem complexity and structure, (c) inquiry and stakeholder engagement, (d) idea fluency and scope, (e) conceptualization of the design process, and (f) attitude toward ambiguity. We elaborate each dimension, proposing anchor points and examples based on the literature and an inductive content analysis of the data. A final deductive content analysis of the data using the framework explores the prevalence of different levels of understanding and the potential feasibility of the goals suggested by the framework, reinforcing the idea that learning progressions are not developmentally determined but are instead influenced by curriculum. While this study highlights possibilities, it also has limitations. First, it is important to reiterate that teachers are not the only ones responsible for bringing change. Administration, government, universities, the public, and other stakeholders are all implicated in the need for change. That said, all teachers have opportunities to design for some degree of change in their classroom practices. Teachers should be supported in developing this potential. Second, the current study focuses on pre-service teachers’ written reflections and design project artifacts, but these data sources raise other questions in terms of what data would be of most value in assessing teachers’ understanding of design. Future research should also explore process data from group work to triangulate with other sources of data in understanding how pre-service teachers are conceptualizing and enacting design. In addition to the directions outlined above, future research needs to elaborate our understanding of the pathways and intermediate points through which K12 teachers move as they develop in design sophistication. The current study provides a foundation, upper and lower anchors, and an initial set of intermediate points, but there are clearly many paths and perspectives through which design sophistication might evolve. Helping K12 teachers move toward more designerly stances will support them in becoming more comfortable exploring and addressing the complex challenges and needs of their students. The proposed framework could thus further support the development of K12 teachers as informed designers who might better serve the full range of students in our classrooms.