More Like this

1. Examining teenagers' spontaneous play in a STEM-based out-of-school time experience for refugee-background youth.

   Braden, S; Bamidele, B; Marx, S; Dotterer, A; Suganda, L; Goldrup, R; Nyawelo, T; Gonzalez, R; Gerton, J; Matthews, J (November 2023, ICLS/ISLS Repository (https://repository.isls.org//handle/1/9878))

   NA (Ed.)

   This linguistic anthropological case study examines one episode of play involving refugee-background teenagers participating in an informal STEM learning experience. This empirical case shows how the disciplinary practices of cosmic ray detector building were productively interwoven with spontaneous play directed by participating youth. The analysis reveals the need for a greater focus on play, which designers and researchers may initially dismiss as “off-task,” but may in fact be an important component of disciplinary practice. Furthermore, we call for attention to play as a potentially important feature of designing and researching culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSPs) with and for diverse learners in informal STEM learning contexts. 

   more » « less
2. Conducting Risky Research with Teens: Co-designing for the Ethical Treatment and Protection of Adolescents

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3432930  

   Badillo-Urquiola, Karla; Shea, Zachary; Agha, Zainab; Lediaeva, Irina; Wisniewski, Pamela (January 2021, Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction)

   null (Ed.)

   The methods in which we study the online experiences of adolescents should be evidence-based and informed by youth. This is especially true when studying sensitive topics, such as the online risk behaviors of minors. We directly engaged 20 adolescents (ages 12-18) in the co-design of two different research methodologies (i.e., diary studies and analyzing social media trace data) for conducting adolescent online safety research. We also interviewed 13 of their parents to understand their perspectives. Overall, teens wanted to share their personal experiences and benefit society, while parents wanted researchers to tackle a topic that they felt was a prevalent problem for teens. Yet, they both had significant concerns regarding data privacy of the sensitive disclosures made by teens during such studies. Teens' feared getting in trouble. Participants emphasized the importance of developing a trusting relationship with the researcher to overcome these concerns. Participants also saw the potential for using the research study as a tool for risk-reporting and mitigation, where researchers could act as liaisons between the teens and other parties (e.g., counselors, law enforcement, parents) to share pertinent risk details and facilitate resources or even help teens directly by giving them strategies for mitigating online risks they encountered during the study. Our research delves into important ethical considerations for conducting risk-focused research with adolescents and uncovers the critical need for designing risk-based research for youth protection. We provide researchers with heuristic guidelines for conducting ethical research with vulnerable populations (i.e., adolescents) and keeping participants safe while doing so. 

   more » « less
3. Board 162: Engineering for Accessibility: Impacts of a High School Engineering Internship Model Across Different Settings (Work in Progress, DEI)

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--46724  

   Forsyth, Stacey; Ogino, Tim; Ong, Angelina; Sickler, Jessica (June 2024, ASEE Conferences)

   This paper describes a collaborative effort to develop, implement and research an empathy-driven, accessibility-focused engineering internship program for teens underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program builds on a foundation developed by the Build a Better Book (BBB) project over several years and addresses a significant need to motivate, prepare and support a more diverse engineering workforce. Centered around principles of universal design, designing for accessibility, and engineering with empathy, this NSF-funded project examines how high school interns’ perceptions of engineering and self-identities as engineers are formed, nurtured, and cultivated as they design and create more accessible products for authentic community clients who are blind or visually impaired. Across sites, the project emphasizes building an inclusive and diverse community of interns, including many who may not initially view themselves as engineers. Underpinning this work is the People Part of Engineering framework, which emphasizes that engineering with people, as people and for people influences teens’ motivation and persistence of interest in engineering. To assess the effectiveness of the BBB teen internship model, the project team implemented and researched different formats of the program in two educational settings: an intensive 4-week summer program at a public university and an out-of-school-time, semester-long program at a public library makerspace. Combined, these programs engaged 59 youth in an iterative engineering design process focused on the design and fabrication of accessible products (e.g., games, toys and STEM learning models) for children and youth who are blind or have low vision. (An additional year-long, in-school program is currently in process.) Each program incorporates several key internship design principles, including authentic, client-based projects; a student-directed, collaborative work environment; and individual and team mentorship. The current project aims to impact teens’ perceptions of engineering, their engineering identity, and their confidence and competence in engineering and 21st century workplace skills. These outcomes were measured through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including pre-/post- surveys and audio reflections by students, interviews with site leaders, and culminating focus group discussions. Early findings suggest positive changes in the intended outcomes, across sites, including broader perceptions about engineering and a growing overlap in identity between participants and engineers, increased confidence and competency in engineering and technical skills, and gains related to interpersonal skills and other 21st century skills such as communication, critical-thinking and collaboration. The project’s ongoing and future work will test the internship model at additional sites, including a school and science center, and continue to assess the effects of variation in program format, projects, work environment, and support and training on interns’ engineering identities, their persistence of interest in engineering and how they engage as young engineers with, as, and for people. 

   more » « less
4. Youth Identity Enactments through Storytelling during Co-design of an Educational Virtual Game World

   https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2024.703626  

   Radke, Sarah C; Hardy, Lisa; Kahn, Jennifer B (June 2024, Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2024)

   Lindgren, R; Asino, T I; Kyza, E A; Looi, C K; Keifert, D T; Suárez, E (Ed.)

   This paper examines youth storytelling during co-design of an identity-expressive educational game for learning data science. Using interaction analysis of co-design interviews with middle school students, we explore how storytelling allows participants to (a) use existing game elements to position themselves and (b) express their interests and identities through imagined game futures. We argue that analyzing youth's interactive storytelling and identity enactments during co-design can inform the development of game narratives that represent diverse youth. Our findings contribute to the design of inclusive virtual worlds for STEM learning that celebrate youth identities and experiences. We discuss implications for engaging youth voices in the co-design process and creating educational games that resonate with diverse learners. 

   more » « less
5. Teens, Privacy, and Algorithms: Navigating and Co-Designing Solutions for Interpersonal Boundary Management on Social Media

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3728840  

   Park, Jinkyung Katie; Ma, Renkai; Ali, Naima Samreen; Baptiste, Naulsberry Jean; Agha, Zainab; Wisniewski, Pamela J (June 2025, ACM)

   On social media, teens must manage their interpersonal boundaries not only with other people, but also with the algorithms embedded in these platforms. In this context, we engaged seven teens in an Asynchronous Remote Community (ARC) as part of a multi-year Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to discuss how they navigate, cope, and co-design for improved boundary management. Teens had preconceived notions of different platforms and navigated boundaries based on specific goals; yet, they struggled when platforms lacked the granular controls needed to meet their needs. Teens enjoyed the personalization afforded by algorithms, but they felt violated when algorithms pushed unwanted content. Teens designed features for enhanced control over their discoverability and for real-time risk detection to avoid boundary turbulence. We provide design guidelines for improved social media boundary management for youth and pinpoint educational opportunities to enhance teens’ understanding and use of social media privacy settings and algorithms. 

   more » « less