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1. The future of work and wellbeing: A preliminary report from a series of conversations

   Kun, Andrew L. (August 2020, New Future of Work Microsoft Research)

   What is the future of work and wellbeing? How did the COVID-19 crisis affect this future? What can, and what should, researchers and practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction do, as they develop interfaces for work and wellbeing? These are the questions that we explore in a weekly online series of conversations with HCI experts. In this paper we share some of the insights from our first nine conversations of the series. 

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2. Eliciting and refining conceptions of STEM education: A series of activities for professional development

   Dare, E. A. (May 2021, Innovations in Science Teacher Education)

   Integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is becoming increasingly common in K–12 classrooms. However, various definitions of STEM education exist that make it challenging for teachers to know what to implement and how to do so in their classrooms. In this article, we describe a series of activities used in a week- long professional development workshop designed to elicit K–12 teachers’ conceptions of STEM and the roles that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics play in STEM education. These activities not only engage teachers in conversations with peers and colleagues in a professional development setting but also enable teachers to reflect on their learning related to STEM education in the context of creating lesson plans and considering future teaching. In addition to describing these activities, we share suggestions related to how these activities may be used in venues outside of professional development. 

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3. Equitable Math Instruction: visualizing a Vision of High-Quality, Equitable Mathematics Instruction

   Baker, K; Schwartz, C; Whitehead, A; Adefope, O (January 2025, NCSM journal of mathematics education leadership)

   In this article, we overview a professional learn- ing task that involves drawing one’s vision for high-quality, equitable mathematics instruction (HQEMI). The task is part of the ongoing work of a statewide research practice partnership that supports a shared vision of mathematics across the state K–12 system. Our work of HQEMI is rooted in the development of Munter’s (2014) four dimensions for visions of high-quality mathematics instruction (VHQMI): the role of the teacher, classroom discourse, mathematical tasks, and student engagement. The first three dimensions are particularly useful in the work of the drawing task. In this article, we share an overview of the drawing task, its implementa- tion with educators, and sample drawings, de- tailing how personal drawings were made visible across participants and the conversations result- ing from viewing and reflecting on one another’s drawings. These conversations helped surface disparities in notions of ideal mathematics in- struction and provided space for negotiation of shared meaning. We provide themes and over- arching considerations from these conversations to highlight discussions that might be elicited through this task in future iterations. Finally, we provide recommendations for implementing the task and consider how the task might be adapt- ed for others’ contexts to support professional learning about and development of a shared vision for mathematics. 

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4. What are the traits of a social-ecological system: towards a framework in support of urban sustainability

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-020-00008-4  

   Andersson, Erik; Haase, Dagmar; Anderson, Pippin; Cortinovis, Chiara; Goodness, Julie; Kendal, Dave; Lausch, Angela; McPhearson, Timon; Sikorska, Daria; Wellmann, Thilo (December 2021, npj Urban Sustainability)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract To ensure that cities and urban ecosystems support human wellbeing and overall quality of life we need conceptual frameworks that can connect different scientific disciplines as well as research and practice. In this perspective, we explore the potential of a traits framework for understanding social-ecological patterns, dynamics, interactions, and tipping points in complex urban systems. To do so, we discuss what kind of framing, and what research, that would allow traits to (1) link the sensitivity of a given environmental entity to different globally relevant pressures, such as land conversion or climate change to its social-ecological consequences; (2) connect to human appraisal and diverse bio-cultural sense-making through the different cues and characteristics people use to detect change or articulate value narratives, and (3) examine how and under what conditions this new approach may trigger, inform, and support decision making in land/resources management at different scales. 

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5. Entertaining and opinionated but too controlling: a large-scale user study of an open domain Alexa prize system

   Bowden, Kevin K.; Wu, Jiaqi; Cui, Wen; Juraska, Juraj; Harrison, Vrindavan; Schwarzmann, Brian; Santer, Nicholas; Whittaker, Steve; Walker, Marilyn (August 2019, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces)

   Conversational systems typically focus on functional tasks such as scheduling appointments or creating todo lists. Instead we design and evaluate SlugBot (SB), one of 8 semifinalists in the 2018 AlexaPrize, whose goal is to support casual open-domain social inter-action. This novel application requires both broad topic coverage and engaging interactive skills. We developed a new technical approach to meet this demanding situation by crowd-sourcing novel content and introducing playful conversational strategies based on storytelling and games. We collected over 10,000 conversations during August 2018 as part of the Alexa Prize competition. We also conducted an in-lab follow-up qualitative evaluation. Over-all users found SB moderately engaging; conversations averaged 3.6 minutes and involved 26 user turns. However, users reacted very differently to different conversation subtypes. Storytelling and games were evaluated positively; these were seen as entertaining with predictable interactive structure. They also led users to impute personality and intelligence to SB. In contrast, search and general Chit-Chat induced coverage problems; here users found it hard to infer what topics SB could understand, with these conversations seen as being too system-driven. Theoretical and design implications suggest a move away from conversational systems that simply provide factual information. Future systems should be designed to have their own opinions with personal stories to share, and SB provides an example of how we might achieve this. 

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