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As part of developing and researching a virtual reality (VR) game intended to increase access to and broaden participation in STEM learning, designers and researchers from EdGE at TERC and interns from Landmark College, a post-secondary institute for learners with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other learning differences, have been immersed in an intensive co-design process. Co-design embraces the ‘nothing about us without us’ movement by ensuring stakeholder voices, in this case neurodiverse learners, have a prominent role throughout the design process. We present our co-design process, key lessons learned, important game-design decisions, and the experiences and perspectives of individual co-design participants. And recommendations are provided to help guide others who are interested in implementing a co-design process of their own.

In this study, we explore parent and teacher perceptions of school readiness (SR) among 4-year-olds learning English as a second language (ESL) and native English-speaking 4-year-olds and compare these perceptions to child scores. Child assessments focused on letter and numeral knowledge. These data were collected from 387 children (52% boys), including 28% ESL children. Adult perspectives were collected from 141 parents (who rated one child each) and from 30 teachers (who rated 380 children). Findings indicated (a) children's letter and numeral knowledge did not significantly vary by ESL status; (b) teachers, but not parents, rated ESL children significantly lower on literacy knowledge compared to non-ESL children; (c) teacher and, to a lesser extent, parent perceptions of children's literacy and numeracy knowledge were positively associated with children's scores; and (d) teacher perception of numeracy was significantly more aligned with children's numeral knowledge compared to parent perception. Discussion of these findings is included.

With the range of conflicting ideas about issues such as climate change and global warming, it has never been more important to let our students outside--beyond the classroom door--to evaluate the validity of such claims by observing nature, collecting data, and providing evidence. The good news is that it has never been easier for students to gather and share data using the internet and programs such as Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE). This article presents one GLOBE scientist's investigation of cricket chirping and its relation to temperature--which demonstrates the importance of gathering data and interpreting evidence for ourselves. (Contains 4 figures and 2 online resources.)