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1. SPEERLoom: An Open-Source Loom Kit for Interdisciplinary Engagement in Math, Engineering, and Textiles

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3586183.3606724  

   Speer, Samantha; Garcia-Alonzo, Ana P; Huang, Joey; Yankova, Nickolina; Rosé, Carolyn; Peppler, Kylie A; Mccann, James; Orta_Martinez, Melisa (October 2023, ACM)

   Weaving is a fabrication process that is grounded in mathematics and engineering: from the binary, matrix-like nature of the pattern drafts weavers have used for centuries, to the punch card programming of the first Jacquard looms. This intersection of disciplines provides an opportunity to ground abstract mathematical concepts in a concrete and embodied art, viewing this textile art through the lens of engineering. Currently, available looms are not optimized to take advantage of this opportunity to increase mathematics learning by providing hands-on interdisciplinary learning in collegiate classrooms. In this work, we present SPEERLoom: an open-source, robotic Jacquard loom kit designed to be a tool for interweaving cloth fabrication, mathematics, and engineering to support interdisciplinary learning in the classroom. We discuss the design requirements and subsequent design of SPEERLoom. We also present the results of a pilot study in a post-secondary class finding that SPEERLoom supports hands-on, interdisciplinary learning of math, engineering, and textiles. 

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2. The role of the partitioning and coset algorithm quotient group partial meanings in comprehending the First Isomorphism Theorem and its proof

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-023-10207-2  

   Melhuish, Kathleen; Guajardo, Lino; Dawkins, Paul C.; Zolt, Holly; Lew, Kristen (January 2023, Educational Studies in Mathematics)

   In many advanced mathematics courses, comprehending theorems and proofs is an essential activity for both students and mathematicians. Such activity requires readers to draw on relevant meanings for the concepts involved; however, the ways that concept meaning may shape comprehension activity is currently undertheorized. In this paper, we share a study of student activity as they work to comprehend the First Isomorphism Theorem and its proof. We analyze, using an onto-semiotic lens, the ways that students’ meanings for quotient group both support and constrain their comprehension activity. Furthermore, we suggest that the relationship between understanding concepts and proof comprehension can be reflexive: understanding of concepts not only influences comprehension activity, but engaging with theorems and proofs can serve to support students in generating more sophisticated understanding of the concepts involved. 

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3. Learning Interpretable Concepts: Unifying Causal Representation Learning and Foundation Models

   Rajendran, Goutham; Buchholz, Simon; Aragam, Bryon; Schölkopf, Bernhard; Ravikumar, Pradeep (December 2024, Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS))

   To build intelligent machine learning systems, there are two broad approaches. One approach is to build inherently interpretable models, as endeavored by the growing field of causal representation learning. The other approach is to build highly-performant foundation models and then invest efforts into understanding how they work. In this work, we relate these two approaches and study how to learn human-interpretable concepts from data. Weaving together ideas from both fields, we formally define a notion of concepts and show that they can be provably recovered from diverse data. Experiments on synthetic data and large language models show the utility of our unified approach. 

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4. Melodie: A Design Inquiry into Accessible Crafting through Audio-enhanced Weaving

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3444699  

   Borgos-Rodriguez, Katya; Das, Maitraye; Piper, Anne Marie (April 2021, ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing)

   null (Ed.)

   Despite the promise of the maker movement as empowering individuals and democratizing design, people with disabilities still face many barriers to participation. Recent work has highlighted the inaccessible nature of making and introduced more accessible maker technologies, practices, and workspaces. One less explored area of accessible making involves supporting more traditional forms of craftwork, such as weaving and fiber arts. The present study reports an analysis of existing practices at a weaving studio within a residential community for people with vision impairments and explores the creation of an audio-enhanced loom to support this practice. Our iterative design process began with 60 hours of field observations at the weaving studio, complemented by 15 interviews with residents and instructors at the community. These insights informed the design of Melodie, an interactive floor loom that senses and provides audio feedback during weaving. Our design exploration of Melodie revealed four scenarios of use among this community: promoting learning among novice weavers, raising awareness of system state, enhancing the aesthetics of weaving, and supporting artistic performance. We identify recommendations for designing audio-enhanced technologies that promote accessible crafting and reflect on the role of technology in predominantly manual craftwork. 

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5. Utility of creative exercises as an assessment tool for revealing student conceptions in organic chemistry

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D4RP00310A  

   Grieger, Krystal; Leontyev, Alexey (March 2025, Chemistry Education Research and Practice)

   Creative exercises (CEs) consist of open-ended prompts to which students provide a series of relevant, distinct, and accurate statements, thus requiring that students make connections between concepts. In this study, CEs were incorporated into a one-semesterSurvey of Organic Chemistrycourse to identify what connections between chemistry concepts students made and what incorrect conceptions or misconceptions about chemistry students held. Students (N= 79) enrolled in the course first completed a practice CE as an in-class group activity followed by individually responding to a CE bonus problem on each of their four course exams. The number of different concepts students addressed for each CE increased over the semester, indicating that students made increasing content connections about course material; however, misconceptions about early concepts, such as nomenclature and assigning configurations, remained consistent throughout the semester. Furthermore, the CEs were found to be instrumental in shedding light on misconceptions and knowledge structures of students across varying performance levels. Overall, students reported that they viewed the CEs favorably and would like to see CEs incorporated in future courses. 

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