More Like this

1. Learning science while caring for pets: Findings from a virtual workshop for teens

   Parekh, P. ; Polman, J. ; Kane, S. ; Shapiro, R.B. ( June 2022 , Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2022)

   Chinn, C. ; Tan, E. ; Chan, C. & (Ed.)

   Pets are beloved family members in many cultures. Companionship with pets motivates and positions humans as inquirers as they find out their pets' experiences with them. With the need to advance science education from dualist notions of the world and the learner as separate entities, our research team conducted a two-week online summer camp to engage teens and their pets in investigations around pets' senses. Following a qualitative analysis of participants' talk and projects at the workshop, we found that teens engaged in science learning practices while investigating aspects of their pets' lives and designing experiences for them. Additionally, participants adopted an ecological and relational approach to science learning that positioned themselves and their pets as subjects. We discuss implications for future work with pets, and for the design of other STEM learning environments that engage perspective-taking, empathy, and care. 

   more » « less
2. Reconfiguring science education through caring human inquiry and design with pets

   https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2023.2228990  

   Parekh, Priyanka ; Polman, Joseph L. ; Kane, Shaun ; Shapiro, R. Benjamin ( August 2023 , Journal of the Learning Sciences)

   BACKGROUND: Natureculture (Haraway, 2003; Fuentes, 2010) constructs offer a powerful framework for science education to explore learners’ interactions with and understanding of the natural world. Technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) designed to reveal pets’ sensory worlds and companionship with pets can facilitate learners’ harmonious relationships with significant others in naturecultures. METHODS: At a two-week virtual summer camp, we engaged teens in inquiring into dogs’ and cats’ senses using selective color filters, investigations, experience design projects, and understanding how the umwelt (von Uexküll, 2001) of pets impacts their lives with humans. We qualitatively analyzed participants’ talk, extensive notes, and projects completed at the workshop. FINDINGS: We found that teens engaged in the science and engineering practices of planning and carrying out investigations, constructing explanations and designing solutions, and questioning while investigating specific aspects of their pets’ lives. Further, we found that teens checking and taking pets’ perspectives while caring for them shaped their productive engagement in these practices. The relationship between pets and humans facilitated an ecological and relational approach to science learning. CONTRIBUTION: Our findings suggest that relational practices of caring and perspective-taking coexist with scientific practices and enrich scientific inquiry. 

   more » « less
3. Teens and pets as participatory design partners

   Parekh, P. ; Kane, S. K. ; Polman, J. L. ; Shapiro, R. B. ( June 2022 , Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning - CSCL 2022)

   Weinberger, A. ; Chen, W. ; Hernández-Leo, D. ; Chen, B. (Ed.)

   Participatory Design (PD) aims to minimize the unintended consequences of designs and innovations by inviting users to engage in the process (Muller & Druin, 2012). Designing with some users—for example, pets—is challenging because pets communicate in unique ways. But it holds promise because pets and humans are companions. Expecting teens' relationships with pets to motivate them to be co-designers, we organized a virtual summer workshop engaging teens in activities to understand their canine and feline pets better and design an experience to improve their pets’ lives. We analyzed video recordings of teens' engagement at the camp and their descriptions of their experience design projects using qualitative thematic analysis. We found that caring and loving relationships with pets are also contexts for engaging in a systematic design process. 

   more » « less
4. Making Apps: An Approach to Recruiting Youth to Computer Science

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3425710  

   Clarke-Midura, Jody ; Sun, Chongning ; Pantic, Katarina ( November 2020 , ACM Transactions on Computing Education)

   null (Ed.)

   In response to the need to broaden participation in computer science, we designed a summer camp to teach middle-school-aged youth to code apps with MIT App Inventor. For the past four summers, we have observed significant gains in youth's interest and self-efficacy in computer science, after attending our camps. The majority of these youth, however, were youth from our local community. To provide equal access across the state and secure more diversity, we were interested in examining the effect of the camp on a broader population of youth. Thus, we partnered with an outreach program to reach and test our camps on youth from low-income high-poverty areas in the Intermountain West. During the summer of 2019, we conducted two sets of camps: locally advertised app camps that attracted youth from our local community and a second set of camps as part of a larger outreach program for youth from low-income high-poverty areas. The camps for both populations followed the same design of personnel, camp activities, structure, and curriculum. However, the background of the participants was slightly different. Using survey data, we found that the local sample experienced significant gains in both self-efficacy and interest, while the outreach group only reported significant gains in self-efficacy after attending the camp. However, the qualitative data collected from the outreach participants indicated that they had a positive experience both with the camp and their mentors. In this article, we discuss the camp design and findings in relation to strategies for broadening participation in Computer Science education. 

   more » « less
5. Creating online supports for at home making and STEM projects during COVID-19 (Work in Progress)

   Maltese, Adam V. ; Paul, Kelli ; Simpson, Amber ; Zych, Ariel ( July 2022 , Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education)

   Our NSF-funded project, CoBuild19, sought to address the large-scale shift to at-home learning based on nationwide school closures that occurred during COVID-19 through creating making/STEM activities for families with children in grades K-6. Representing multiple organizations, our CoBuild19 project team developed approximately 60 STEM activities that make use of items readily available in most households. From March through June 2020, we produced and shared videos and activity guides, averaging 3+ new activities per week. Initially, the activities consisted of whatever team members could pull together, but we soon created weekly themes with associated activities, including Design and Prototype Week, Textiles Week, Social and Emotional Learning Week, and one week which highlighted kids sharing cooking and baking recipes for other kids. All activities were delivered fully online. To do so, our team started a Facebook group on March 13, 2020. Membership grew to 3490 followers by April 1st, to 4245 by May 1st, and leveled off at approximately 5100 members since June 2020. To date, 22 of our videos have over 1000 views, with the highest garnering 23K views. However, we had very little participation in the form of submitted videos, images, or text from families sharing what they were creating, limiting our possible analyses. While we had some initial participation by members, as the FB group grew, substantive evidence of participation faded. To better understand this drop, we polled FB group members about their use of the activities. Responses (n = 101) were dominated by the option, "We are glad to know the ideas are available, but we are not using much" (49%), followed by, "We occasionally do activities" (35%). At this point, we had no data about home participation, so we decided to experiment with different approaches. Our next efforts focused on conducting virtual maker/STEM camps. Leveraging the content produced in the first months of CoBuild19, we hosted two rounds of Camp CoBuild by the end of July, serving close to 100 campers. The camps generated richer data in the form of recorded Zoom camp sessions where campers made synchronously with educators and youth-created Flipgrid videos where campers shared their process and products for each activity. We also collected post-camp surveys and some caregiver interviews. Preliminary analyses have focused on the range of participant engagement and which malleable factors may be associated with deeper engagement. Initial feedback from caregivers indicated that their children gained confidence to experiment with simple materials through engaging in these activities. This project sought to fill what we perceived as a developing need in the community at a large scale (e.g., across the US). Although we have not achieved the level of success we expected, the project achieved quick growth that took us in a different direction than we originally intended. Overall, we created content that educators and families can use to engage kids with minimal materials. Additionally, we have a few models of extended engagement (e.g., Camp CoBuild) that we can develop further into future offerings. 

   more » « less