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Given the persistent issues of equity in technology-rich fields, this study argues that our choice of tools and materials significantly impacts both what is possible to be learned as well as who participates. This study examined students’ learning of basic circuitry concepts through the use of paper circuitry toolkits in art-based activities. The data was collected in a 4-day workshop for middle school students (N=17). Findings showed that arts integration promoted the creation of paper circuits that leads to artistic exploration into STEM engagement. Pre- and post-tests results showed improvement for students by gender. Although the boys outperformed the girls on paper circuits, the girls outperformed the boys on e-textiles which is considered more “feminine” than others. The findings imply the nuances between material property and gendered practice to understand how we can better design tools and materials to rupture stagnant norms around educational practices.
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Tools and materials as non-neutral actors in STEAM education
This study builds on posthumanist and new materialist orientations to examine the role of material properties and the gendered identity texts of educational tools as active agents in STEM learning. Over 200 youth, ages 5–15, were randomly assigned to 90-minute introductions to one of five commercial circuitry toolkits. Youth took a pre- and post-assessment; we analyzed results using quantitative tests of significance. We used an established sorting task to gather youth perspectives of the tools as identity texts through design markers of gendered identities within the toolkits. We examined the relationship between learning outcomes and the gendered design components of the toolkits. Toolkits that privilege feminine or artistic elements significantly impacted learning more than traditional toolkits used in schools, which showed little to no significant learning gains. We relate this to the inextricability of materiality and the gendered identities of these tools and materials. This study shows how arts-based or feminine-coded tools can be more effective for teaching and learning, serving as a counter to common resistance to adopting such tools and materials for STEM learning. We outline design implications for toolkits and educational experiences to disrupt stagnant social, cultural, and historical norms in STEM education. We would like to thank the participants for their generous participation in this work, as well as our partner schools and organizations who helped make this possible. We would also like to thank members of the Creativity Labs—past and present—who helped to serve as thought partners and sounding boards at various points in the process.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2100401
- PAR ID:
- 10544768
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Journal of the Learning Sciences
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of the Learning Sciences
- ISSN:
- 1050-8406
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 38
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2024.2380694
