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1. "A VOICE TO TALK ABOUT IT": COSMETOLOGISTS AS STEM EXPERTS IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

   Lachney, Michael; Babbitt, William; Bennett, Audrey; Eglash, Ron (July 2019, EURODL)

   In the U.S. there are steady efforts by governmental and philanthropic organizations to increase the representation of students of colour in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). After years of mixed results, researchers and educators have started to question one size fits all notions of broadening participation. An increasing number of projects are challenging universalist assumptions by enrolling the expertise of culturally situated communities of practice in STEM lessons and the educational technologies that support them. While this research shows promising results for improving young people’s interest and performance in STEM, there has been little research on how these lessons and technologies might also benefit the communities whose expertise were originally enrolled. This paper details the design of educational technologies that bridge STEM and African American cosmetology. We report on a mixed-methods research project, conducted with a group of predominantly African American cosmetologists. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to study their attitudes toward STEM before and after working with the technologies. Our results suggest positive changes in the cosmetologists’ attitudes. We end with a critical discussion about respecting the knowledge systems of underrepresented communities of practice in educational technology research and development. 

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2. Two Concepts of Enoughness As Organizing Design Principles For Generative STEM Education and Culturally Situated Design Tools

   Babbitt, William; Lachney, Michael (June 2021, New design ideas)

   Bennett, Audrey; Eglash, Ron (Ed.)

   The concept of enoughness holds importance for both African American and Indigenous communities. In Indigenous contexts, ideas of enoughness can be about moving from extractive to sustainable economies where balance, interdependence, cooperation, and decentralization are prioritized in the production and sharing of resources. In African American contexts enoughness is about challenging deficit views of Black children as maladjusted and incomplete with an insistence that people, especially educators, see their existing brilliance and celebrate the fact that they are already enough. We explore how these concepts shaped efforts to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education more equitable, justice-oriented, and generative, thus re-thinking the shape of STEM itself as a platform for generative justice. We detail how this was accomplished through designing and researching educational technologies called Culturally Situated Design Tools. 

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3. Utilization of Remote Access Electron Microscopes to Enhance Technology Education and Foster STEM Interest in Preteen Students

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09964-4  

   Wolf, Vanessa; Hsiao, Valerie; Rodriguez, Brandon; Min, Ashley; Mayorga, Jill; Ashcroft, Jared (November 2020, Research in Science Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Remote access technology in STEM education fills dual roles as an educational tool to deliver science education (Educational Technology) and as a means to teach about technology itself (Technology Education). A five-lesson sequence was introduced to 11 and 12-year-old students at an urban school. The lesson sequences were inquiry-based, hands-on, and utilized active learning pedagogies, which have been implemented in STEM classrooms worldwide. Each lesson employed a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) accessed remotely. Students were assessed using multiple-choice questions to ascertain (1) technology education learning gains: did students gain an understanding of how electron microscopes work? and (2) educational technology learning gains: did students gain a better understanding of lesson content through use of the electron microscope? Likert-item surveys were developed, distributed, and analyzed to established how remote access technology affected student attitudes toward science, college, and technology. Participating students had a positive increase in attitudes toward scientific technology by engaging in the lesson sequences, reported positive attitudes toward remote access experiences, and exhibited learning gains in the science behind the SEM technology they accessed remotely. These findings suggest that remote experiences are a strong form of technology education, but also that future research could explore ways to strengthen remote access as an educational technology (a tool to deliver lesson content), such as one-on-one engagement. This study promotes future research into inquiry-based, hands-on, integrated lessons approach that utilize educational technology learning through remote instruments as a pedagogy to increase students’ engagement with and learning of the T in STEM. 

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4. STEM Outside of School: a Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Informal Science Education on Students' Interests and Attitudes for STEM

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10504-z  

   Xia, Xin; Bentley, Lillian_R; Fan, Xitao; Tai, Robert_H (September 2024, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education)

   Abstract This meta-analysis explores the impact of informal science education experiences (such as after-school programs, enrichment activities, etc.) on students' attitudes towards, and interest in, STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The research addresses two primary questions: (1) What is the overall effect size of informal science learning experiences on students' attitudes towards and interest in STEM? (2) How do various moderating factors (e.g., types of informal learning experience, student grade level, academic subjects, etc.) impact student attitudes and interests in STEM? The studies included in this analysis were conducted within the United States in K-12 educational settings, over a span of thirty years (1992–2022). The findings indicate a positive association between informal science education programs and student interest in STEM. Moreover, the variability in these effects is contingent upon several moderating factors, including the nature of the informal science program, student grade level, STEM subjects, publication type, and publication year. Summarized effects of informal science education on STEM interest are delineated, and the implications for research, pedagogy, and practice are discussed. 

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5. Technology-rich Engineering Experiences in Indigenous and Rural Schools

   https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.4129  

   Boz, Tugba; Hammack, Rebekah; Lux, Nicholas; Gannon, Paul (August 2024, International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology)

   Indigenous populations, constituting 6.2% of the global population, face challenges in STEM education due to systemic barriers and limited exposure to science and engineering. Our research, part of a federally funded project, aimed to address these challenges by implementing Community-Based Engineering (CBE) education in an elementary school located on a Native American Reservation in the United States. In this paper, we used CBE as our theoretical framework situating engineering within the context of students' communities and cultures. Our participants included 15 students and two Native American teachers with varying teaching experience. We employed mixed methods and combined quantitative tools such as the Engineering Identity Development Scale and the Engineering Technology subscale of the S-STEM survey, with qualitative data from teacher and student interviews. Our analysis revealed significant changes in students' perceptions of engineering for their communities and their personal engineering identities after they engaged with CBE lessons. We also found that the cultural connections to community were evident in student interviews. Furthermore, teachers appreciated CBE and emphasized that these engineering lessons enrich their rich traditions and practices. This study highlights the effectiveness of CBE and demonstrates how engineering education can be more inclusive and resonant with Indigenous students. 

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