This book is a contribution to the sociocultural approaches to Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. It offers a new interpreting theoretical framework coming from the Cultural Historical Psychology. The authors highlight some serious elements of the sociocultural context that mediates learning on STEM or with STEM adds. The book brings together the work of researchers interested in developmental psychology and childhood, with a special focus on using Activity theory and Cultural-historical research approach to unite these two opposing approaches to the study of children. The authors reconsider our relationship and experiencing with technology. It moves the attention from the pure instrumental aspect of technology to a deep human and societal approach. Moreover, the book focuses on the issue of teachers' continuing education in both formal and informal settings is being seen under a sequential system of expansive cycles and the key role of contradictions in transformative educational settings. Overall, this book encourages the academic society to open dialogue with other societies and enhance interdisciplinary research in times of crisis.

STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers, practitioners, and others to identify, discuss, and investigate specific integrated STEM initiatives within the K-12 education system of the United States. STEM Integration in K-12 Education makes recommendations for designers of integrated STEM experiences, assessment developers, and researchers to design and document effective integrated STEM education. This report will help to further their work and improve the chances that some forms of integrated STEM education will make a positive difference in student learning and interest and other valued outcomes.

This book examines the push and pull of factors contributing to and constraining conversion of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education programs into STEAM (science, technology, engineering, math and arts) education programs. The chapters in this book offer thought-provoking examples, theory, and suggestions about the advantages, methods and challenges involved in making STEM to STEAM conversions, at levels ranging from K12 through graduate university programs. A large driving force for STEM-to-STEAM conversions is the emerging awareness that the scientific workforce finds itself less than ideally prepared when engaging with so-called ‘wicked problems’ – the complex suite of emerging, multifaceted issues such as global climate change, social injustice, and pandemic diseases. Dealing with these issues requires cross-disciplinary expertise and the ability to insert technical and scientific understanding effectively into areas of public planning and policy. The different models and possibilities for STEAM, as the next phase of the STEM revolution, laid out in this book will promote research and further our understanding of STEAM as a forward-thinking approach to education. Gillian Roehrig, STEM Education, University of Minnesota, USA The ideal teacher sees opportunities for integrating ideas from multiple disciplines into every lesson. This book offers many worthwhile suggestions on how to do that deliberately and systematically George DeBoer, Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA For the last several years, calls for expanding STEM education have grown, but so too have concerns about technocratic approaches to STEM. This volume challenges the community to consider broader views on STEM by focusing on the place of arts education within this movement. The chapters offer much needed, new perspectives on the (re)integration of the arts and sciences Troy Sadler, School of Education, University of North Carolina, USA

This book addresses the point of intersection between cognition, metacognition, and culture in learning and teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). We explore theoretical background and cutting-edge research about how various forms of cognitive and metacognitive instruction may enhance learning and thinking in STEM classrooms from K-12 to university and in different cultures and countries. Over the past several years, STEM education research has witnessed rapid growth, attracting considerable interest among scholars and educators. The book provides an updated collection of studies about cognition, metacognition and culture in the four STEM domains. The field of research, cognition and metacognition in STEM education still suffers from ambiguity in meanings of key concepts that various researchers use. This book is organized according to a unique manner: Each chapter features one of the four STEM domains and one of the three themes—cognition, metacognition, and culture—and defines key concepts. This matrix-type organization opens a new path to knowledge in STEM education and facilitates its understanding. The discussion at the end of the book integrates these definitions for analyzing and mapping the STEM education research. Chapter 4 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely changed the mathematics, health and environmental education research landscape in profound and long-lasting ways. As such, more than ever, there is a need to creatively and critically think about how we design research and for what purposes. This necessitates a considered and robust discussion about educational research theory, method, and methodology to ensure that our research continues to impact practice in valuable ways. This book maps out some of these key challenges and opportunities as we collectively enter a post-COVID-19 world in which method and methodology need to be appreciated as much as research findings. Topics explored here range from big-picture issues in STEM Education research, through perspectives on design-based research, to questions of analysis, complexity, the Delphi method, and ethical dilemmas.

This book addresses the changing nature of the methodologies that underpin research in mathematics, science, health and environmental education. This is a constantly shifting landscape that educational researchers need to engage with in order for research to continue to impact educational practice. The novelty of this book in the context of the existing publishing landscape is that it has a singular focus on methodology and methods, not in service of research findings but as something worth considering in itself, bringing methodology to the forefront of educational research.

This book provides a platform for international scholars to share evidence for effective practices in integrated STEM education and contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge gained from the diversity of approaches. Many publications on STEM education focus on one or two of the separate STEM disciplines without considering the potential for delivering STEM curriculum as an integrated approach.This publication analyzes the efficacy of an integrated STEM curriculum and instruction, providing evidence to examine and support various integrations. The volume focuses on the problems seen by academics working in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and provides valuable, high quality research outcomes and a set of valued practices which have demonstrated their use and viability to improve the quality of integrated STEM education.