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This extended abstract describes early-stage research on the research, design, and development of two culturally situated STEM curriculum units for Navajo Nation (Diné) middle school students, on the topics of energy and water, blending immersive and hands-on experiences. The first unit addresses the significant issue of energy access on Navajo Nation, where 32% of homes lack electricity. Culturally relevant, virtual experiences provide engaging and motiving narrative-based contexts for learning, aiming to inspire the next generation of Diné engineers and scientists to use their cultural and STEM knowledge to support their communities. We present the design of a prototype exploring options for solar energy on Navajo Nation, using immersive, place- based virtual representations, and feedback from teachers and students who engaged with the prototype. We describe the design of the full energy unit, and upcoming plans for classroom testing during spring, 2025. Initial findings from this classroom testing will be shared in the poster presentation of this extended abstract at the ILRN conference in June 2025. 

In this work-in-progress poster, we will present how a team including game designers, learning scientists,and assessment scientists collaborated on an online adventure game, Aqualab, with the goal of creating a comprehensive long-format game that can be used across multiple classroom sessions to support development science inquiry practices as well as assess different learning pathways within the game. In this work-in-progress poster, we discuss how the team approached design and development of the game to ensure validity of the game, and how we are planning to further investigate validity evidence of the gameas a whole. 

In this work-in-progress poster, we will present how a team including game designers, learning scientists, and assessment scientists collaborated on an online adventure game, Aqualab, with the goal of creating a comprehensive long-format game that can be used across multiple classroom sessions to support development science inquiry practices as well as assess different learning pathways within the game. In this work-in-progress poster, we discuss how the team approached design and development of the game to ensure validity of the game, and how we are planning to further investigate validity evidence of the game as a whole. 

EcoMOD uses a design-based research approach to develop and study an elementary curriculum that combines an immersive virtual environment with interactive computer programming interface to support computational modeling, ecosystem science understanding, and causal reasoning. Here we report on changes in students’ perspectives on modeling before and after use of the fifteen day interactive, technology-based curriculum in a 3rd and 4th grade classroom. Pre-post interviews were conducted with ten students, and preliminary results suggest that students demonstrated an increased awareness that models are designed for a purpose, and the purposes students described aligned more closely with scientifically relevant activities like prediction, investigation and explanation. Students also increased in their level of sophistication related to ecosystem science understanding and causal reasoning. 

There is broad belief that preparing all students in preK-12 for a future in STEM involves integrating computing and computational thinking (CT) tools and practices. Through creating and examining rich “STEM+CT” learning environments that integrate STEM and CT, researchers are defining what CT means in STEM disciplinary settings. This interactive session brings together a diverse spectrum of leading STEM researchers to share how they operationalize CT, what integrated CT and STEM learning looks like in their curriculum, and how this learning is measured. It will serve as a rich opportunity for discussion to help advance the state of the field of STEM and CT integration. 

There is broad belief that preparing all students in preK-12 for a future in STEM involves integrating computing and computational thinking (CT) tools and practices. Through creating and examining rich “STEM+CT” learning environments that integrate STEM and CT, researchers are defining what CT means in STEM disciplinary settings. This interactive session brings together a diverse spectrum of leading STEM researchers to share how they operationalize CT, what integrated CT and STEM learning looks like in their curriculum, and how this learning is measured. It will serve as a rich opportunity for discussion to help advance the state of the field of STEM and CT integration.