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Many changes in teaching practices (such as introduction of e-assessment) are initiated by school management, or by a lead teacher, but have direct impact on the learning designs of others. However, models of teachers as innovators, conducting evidence-based inquiry into their students' learning, view the teacher as initiator of change in their own practice (normally as individual). This paper addresses the question of whether such models can also be applied to change introduced by top-down processes. In this paper, we examine teacher inquiry in such a context. We discuss a case study in which we worked with the Head of Science (HoS) of a secondary school. The HoS designed a cross-curricular science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) project with 57 STEM teachers and introduced Google Forms as a tool for formative assessment. We supported the HoS to design and conduct an inquiry that involved all teachers. We examine the context and process of inquiry and how it was applied. Our findings provide insight into teachers' use of tools and representations when communicating about learning design, and the implications of this for the development of learning analytics tools. They also inform the development of a method for coordinating teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects and, more generally, in the context of top-down introduction of change.

Technology‐based, open‐ended learning environments (OELEs) can capture detailed information of students' interactions as they work through a task or solve a problem embedded in the environment. This information, in the form of log data, has the potential to provide important insights about the practices adopted by students for scientific inquiry and problem solving. How to parse and analyse the log data to reveal evidence of multifaceted constructs like inquiry and problem solving holds the key to making interactive learning environments useful for assessing students' higher‐order competencies. In this paper, we present a systematic review of studies that used log data generated in OELEs to describe, model and assess scientific inquiry and problem solving. We identify and analyse 70 conference proceedings and journal papers published between 2012 and 2021. Our results reveal large variations in OELE and task characteristics, approaches used to extract features from log data and interpretation models used to link features to target constructs. While the educational data mining and learning analytics communities have made progress in leveraging log data to model inquiry and problem solving, multiple barriers still exist to hamper the production of representative, reproducible and generalizable results. Based on the trends identified, we lay out a set of recommendations pertaining to key aspects of the workflow that we believe will help the field develop more systematic approaches to designing and using OELEs for studying how students engage in inquiry and problem‐solving practices. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Research has shown that technology‐based, open‐ended learning environments (OELEs) that collect users' interaction data are potentially useful tools for engaging students in practice‐based STEM learning.More work is needed to identify generalizable principles of how to design OELE tasks to support student learning and how to analyse the log data to assess student performance.What this paper adds We identified multiple barriers to the production of sufficiently generalizable and robust results to inform practice, with respect to: (1) the design characteristics of the OELE‐based tasks, (2) the target competencies measured, (3) the approaches and techniques used to extract features from log files and (4) the models used to link features to the competencies.Based on this analysis, we can provide a series of specific recommendations to inform future research and facilitate the generalizability and interpretability of results: Making the data available in open‐access repositories, similar to the PISA tasks, for easy access and sharing.Defining target practices more precisely to better align task design with target practices and to facilitate between‐study comparisons.More systematic evaluation of OELE and task designs to improve the psychometric properties of OELE‐based measurement tasks and analysis processes.Focusing more on internal and external validation of both feature generation processes and statistical models, for example with data from different samples or by systematically varying the analysis methods.Implications for practice and/or policy Using the framework of evidence‐centered assessment design, we have identified relevant criteria for organizing and evaluating the diverse body of empirical studies on the topic and that policy makers and practitioners can use for their own further examinations.This paper identifies promising research and development areas on the measurement and assessment of higher‐order constructs with process data from OELE‐based tasks that government agencies and foundations can support.Researchers, technologists and assessment designers might find useful the insights and recommendations for how OELEs can enhance science assessment through thoughtful integration of learning theories, task design and data mining techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most constructionist efforts have focused on supporting learners with tools for designing with digital and/or physical media. Recent developments in life sciences now allow K‐12 learners to design with living materials, or to biodesign. In this paper, we report on the development of a biodesign studio activity called biocakes wherein teams of high school youth genetically modified a yeast strain to bake a nutrient fortified food product. Using a qualitative deductive analysis of classroom observations, interviews and projects, we examined high school youth experiences and reflections of these activities to answer three research questions: (1) What kind of artefacts did youth make with living media? (2) How did youth engage in biodesign? and (3) What did youth have to say about their biodesign experiences? We discuss how our analyses of biodesign applications highlight the importance of assembly practices, social engagement and imaginative design for constructionist learning. These insights provide compelling examples for designing with living media in K‐12 education. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic? Constructionist perspectives shape important ideas about what we know about science learning, and notably in computer science fields.One widely taken up example includes making, where learners use crafts to make interactive computational objects.In life science, constructionism also provides insights about learning using digital media to model biological systems or interact with living materials.What this paper adds? This paper extends these perspectives by examining production and engagement when learners construct with living materials—an approach that has only recently been possible with the development of accessible wet lab tools.We frame learning activities as a studio model—that emphasised application design, iteration and critique—to better assess the roles assembly, construction and speculative design play in production that uses living materials.Our findings suggest that assembly is important for creating accessible points of entry to complex biological fabrication processes.We also find that speculative design provides an opportunity for learners to extend their existing abilities beyond what is otherwise available given their expertise or access to resources, and thus expansively explore related ideas.Implications for practice and/or policy Assembly and speculative design have important places in constructionist‐driven production with living materials and could, therefore, be leveraged in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of 3D printing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning is a promising way for integrated STEM education. This study examined the influence of 3D printing infused STEM integration on students' interest in STEM careers, which is essential for students to participate in STEM disciplines and future STEM careers. The participants included 26 teachers across six states in the United States and their 1455 students in primary and secondary classrooms. Teachers' lesson plans were analysed to examine the level of 3D printing and STEM integration. Students' interest in STEM careers was measured using a previously validated career interest scale. Cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis indicated that girls were more interested in empathetic STEM careers, whereas boys were more interested in analytic STEM careers. While 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, teachers' STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in both analytic and empathetic STEM careers. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicStudent career interest in primary and secondary school predicts college degree and career choice.3D printing has the potential to improve students' interest in STEM careers.STEM career interest is associated with student gender.What this paper addsThis study examined the role of 3D printing and STEM integration level and student gender in students' STEM career interest.Teachers' 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, but STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in STEM careers.This study confirmed that boys were more interested in Analytic STEM careers, whereas girls were more interested in Empathetic STEM careers.Implications for practice and/or policyStudent STEM career interest improves when teachers integrate STEM in their instruction.STEM instruction can be made relevant by focusing on empathetic aspects of STEM for girls, but caution should be exercised to minimise stereotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a decolonial perspective on material agency in the context of STEM education and application. Using the framework of generative STEM, we engaged in case studies with African, African American, South American, and Native American educational communities. This research shows that understanding material agency based on Indigenous knowledge systems can open a rich source of research and education content. Using a suite of simulations, Culturally Situated Design Tools, we apply this body of research to the classroom. One important theoretical conclusion is the contrast to a "content agnostic" position. A generative framework instead offers a robust blend of user agency and instructional guidance. The outcomes indicate statistically significant and notable improvement for STEM skills and interests. We conclude with a contrast to the quantum epistemology approach to posthumanism. We show that the Indigenous material agency framework in generative STEM is a better fit to decolonial aspirations, and that it offers a more transformative vision for the potential role of STEM in transitioning from an extractive to a generative economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many changes in teaching practices (such as introduction of e-assessment) are initiated by school management, or by a lead teacher, but have direct impact on the learning designs of others. However, models of teachers as innovators, conducting evidence-based inquiry into their students' learning, view the teacher as initiator of change in their own practice (normally as individual). This paper addresses the question of whether such models can also be applied to change introduced by top-down processes. In this paper, we examine teacher inquiry in such a context. We discuss a case study in which we worked with the Head of Science ( HoS) of a secondary school. The HoS designed a cross-curricular science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( STEM) project with 57 STEM teachers and introduced Google Forms as a tool for formative assessment. We supported the HoS to design and conduct an inquiry that involved all teachers. We examine the context and process of inquiry and how it was applied. Our findings provide insight into teachers' use of tools and representations when communicating about learning design, and the implications of this for the development of learning analytics tools. They also inform the development of a method for coordinating teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects and, more generally, in the context of top-down introduction of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become an international priority. STEM education provides students with interdisciplinary knowledge and promotes the cultivation of high‐level skills. However, STEM training opportunities for teachers are rare, which results in fewer opportunities for primary and secondary students to receive high‐quality engineering education. Novel Engineering is an innovative strategy to integrate engineering and literacy in STEM education. To this end, the researchers developed, implemented and evaluated a novel engineering STEM software program based on the story of Robinson Crusoe. A quasi‐experimental single‐group pre‐ and posttest research method was adopted. A total of 72 students in two seventh grade classes at a junior middle school in Shanghai participated in the study. Data were collected and analysed through STEM learning interest scales, flow status scales, interviews and students' STEM work scores. The research findings demonstrated that students gave a high evaluation of the novel engineering STEM software program. Furthermore, this STEM software program contributed to students' significant improvements in the attitudes of mathematics and 21st century skill and provided students with a lasting and better flow experience. Finally, suggestions were proposed for STEM software design, implementation and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) is being used for educational virtual field trips (VFTs) involving scenarios that may be too difficult, dangerous or expensive to experience in real life. We implemented an immersive VFT within the investigation phase of an inquiry‐based learning (IBL) climate change intervention. Students investigated the consequences of climate change by virtually traveling to Greenland and exploring albedo and greenhouse effects first hand. A total of 102 seventh and eighth grade students were randomly assigned to one of two instructional conditions: (1) narrated pretraining followed by IVR exploration or (2) the same narrated training material integrated within the IVR exploration. Students in both conditions showed significant increases in declarative knowledge, self‐efficacy, interest, STEM intentions, outcome expectations and intentions to change behavior from the pre‐ to post‐assessment. However, there was a significant difference between conditions favoring the pretraining group on a transfer test consisting of an oral presentation to a fictitious UN panel. The findings suggest that educators can choose to present important prerequisite learning content before or during a VFT. However, adding pretraining may lead to better transfer test performance, presumably because it helps reduce cognitive load while learning in IVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]