Experiencing STEM at the Lab School: Situated Histories and Enacted Pedagogies

The current study aims to analyze trends in studies related to challenges of STEM-based learning, analyzing the challenges of STEM education, describing solution approaches to overcome challenges in STEM education, and describing effective STEM pedagogy. To achieve the goals of this study, a literature review related to STEM education and learning was conducted, specifically by performing a bibliometric analysis. The bibliometric analysis is related to a coherent literature review with the theme of "Challenges of STEM-based Learning," analyzed from SCOPUS databases. The results of the study show that to date the existing study trends have addressed a number of challenges related to STEM education, especially those related to STEM pedagogy. The current study proposes a number of approaches to address challenges in STEM education, the focus is on how effective STEM education can be implemented in learning routines. Finally, it was concluded that some effective pedagogical aspects in STEM education and learning include: creating an innovative learning environment that encourages inquiry, experimentation, and critical thinking; utilizing various authentic learning methods and relevant learning resources; facilitating a collaborative learning environment; creating an inclusive learning environment; and reflecting and improving teaching practices.

The modern educational system has recognized the significance of STEM as a vital component of students' preparation for a promising future. Consequently, there is a need for comprehensive research in STEM education, encompassing an understanding of its context, challenges, and strategies to overcome these obstacles. Ongoing research continues to focus on developing coherent studies in this area, particularly emphasizing effective STEM pedagogy, which has proven to positively impact students' learning outcomes. However, despite its potential, STEM education faces several challenges that could impede its progress. In the scope of this study, a thorough examination revealed at least six key challenges confronting, these challenges encompass: pedagogical challenges, curriculum-related issues, structural complexities, student apprehensions, assessment concerns, and the critical need for teacher support. These challenges, along with proposed solutions, are discussed in-depth in this article. It is worth noting that pedagogical challenges hold paramount importance, as teachers play a pivotal role in implementing successful STEM education in schools. As such, this article delves into various effective pedagogical aspects that can facilitate the advancement of STEM education and foster enhanced learning experiences for students. Several key aspects contribute to effective pedagogy in STEM education and learning, including: (a) cultivating an innovative learning environment that nurtures inquiry, experimentation, and critical thinking; (b) utilizing a diverse range of authentic learning methods and relevant educational resources; (c) facilitating a collaborative learning environment that encourages teamwork and knowledge sharing; (d) creating an inclusive learning environment that accommodates the diverse needs of students; and (e) encouraging continuous reflection on and improvement of teaching practices to optimize learning outcomes.

STEM education plays a critical role in developing students’ problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The 5E instructional model has been widely implemented in science education but requires further empirical validation regarding its effectiveness in enhancing problem-solving abilities in secondary STEM education. This study examined the impact of the 5E instructional model on middle school students' problem-solving skills through an experiential STEM project, designing and constructing a life-saving buoy from recycled materials. A quasi-experimental design was applied to 240 ninth-grade students from two middle schools. The experimental group engaged in a 5E-based STEM activity, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. Pre- and post-tests, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Pearson’s correlation were used to assess skill development. This study proposes a model 5E in STEM education to help students develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Empirical analysis confirmed the relevance of the model, emphasizing the role of iterations in STEM learning in optimizing solutions. The findings highlight the close connection between the different stages of Model 5E, reinforcing the importance of exploring learning in STEM education. Integrating the 5E instructional model into STEM education fosters critical thinking, creativity, and hands-on problem-solving. This study emphasizes the need for structured interventions to bridge the gaps between problem identification, prototype design, and evaluation, ensuring holistic STEM competency development.

This article provides a bibliometric overview of publications on eLearning trends in STE(A)M teaching and learning to give readers a better understanding of the current state of research in the field. The main objective of this study is to provide bibliometric data on publications on online teaching and learning trends for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM) teaching and learning purposes printed in journals included in the Scopus database in the years 2011-2023. For the bibliometric analysis, STEM learning, STEM teaching, online education, bibliometric review keywords were used, and 136 documents from the Scopus database were chosen. The collected data of the publications scanned and published in the parameters of the study were subjected to a bibliometric analysis based on seven categories: number of articles and citations per year, most influential countries, most prolific author, most prominent affiliations, funding institutions, publication source, and subject areas. Network diagrams and bibliometric analyses were created using the Scopus database analysis. Most of the articles were published between 2016 and 2022. The United States of America, the United Kingdom, and China were among the top-three most productive countries, and the United States of America produced the most publications. The number of citations to publications indexed in the Scopus database is growing steadily and reached its peak in 2022 (178 citations). The most prolific author on this subject is Minichiello, A., with four publications. In addition, Stanford University and Utah State University have maximum publishing partners. By funding 16 publications for online STEM teaching and learning, the National Science Foundation has shown leadership. The topic areas of the publications’ distribution were looked at. The articles’ respective fields of study were social sciences and computer science. This study offers a vision for future research as well as a worldwide view of online learning for STEM teaching and learning.

The December 2025 issue of the Journal of Research in STEM Education brings together four complementary studies that collectively reflect the evolving priorities of contemporary STEM education research. While situated in diverse contexts and employing varied methodological approaches, the contributions in this issue converge around a shared concern: how STEM education can be designed to be more inclusive, expressive, and transformative for learners and teachers alike. Taken together, these studies extend current discussions on creativity, communication, teacher professional learning, and equity, offering timely insights for both researchers and practitioners. The issue opens with Zhou’s conceptual contribution, ‘Ah!-HaHa!-Aha!’: A Tool of Creativity Development in STEM Education, which foregrounds the often-underexamined role of emotion in STEM learning and teaching. Moving beyond cognitive-only accounts of creativity, Zhou introduces a pedagogical tool that integrates curiosity (“Ah!”), joy and playfulness (“HaHa!”), and insight (“Aha!”) into a coherent framework for fostering creative climates in STEM classrooms. By synthesizing inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, playful learning, and teaching for deeper learning, the proposed model positions everyday experiences as fertile ground for creativity development. This work is particularly significant in its insistence that creativity is not an exceptional trait reserved for a few, but a situated, emotion-mediated process accessible across educational levels. As such, it sets a conceptual foundation for rethinking STEM education as a deeply human and affective enterprise. Building on this emphasis on expression and meaning-making, Wang, Jacobsen, and Jackson offer an empirical investigation into science communication through their study A Text Analytical Study of STEM Inquiries in Grad Slam Competition. Employing text analytics and natural language processing, the authors examine transcripts of graduate students’ three-minute research presentations to uncover patterns in STEM inquiry and communication. Their findings highlight how structured communication training, such as Grad Slam workshops, can strengthen both disciplinary understanding and confidence in public science communication—particularly within a Hispanic Serving Institution context. Methodologically, this study demonstrates the growing potential of computational approaches for analyzing rich qualitative data at scale. Substantively, it underscores communication as a core competency in STEM education, aligning with broader calls to prepare scientists and engineers who can effectively engage diverse audiences. The third contribution, STEM Research Experiences for Teachers: A Feasibility Study of the Sustainable Energy for Empowering Rural Communities Program, by Simpson and colleagues, shifts the focus to teacher professional development and capacity building. Through a mixed-methods evaluation of a research experience program for rural teachers in the United States, the study documents how authentic engagement with sustainable energy research can enhance teachers’ confidence, disciplinary knowledge, and classroom practice. Importantly, the authors situate their work within the specific challenges and strengths of rural educational contexts, emphasizing the value of place-based and context-sensitive professional learning models. The findings reinforce the argument that effective STEM reform depends not only on curricular innovation, but also on sustained investment in teachers as learners, researchers, and agents of change. The issue concludes with Goreth and Lutz’s large-scale quantitative study, Gender and Diversity Awareness among STEM-Teachers: Mono Makes the Difference, which directly addresses questions of equity and inclusion in STEM education. Drawing on survey data from over 500 teachers, the authors examine how gender, subject affiliation, and experience in mono-educational settings relate to teachers’ attitudes and knowledge regarding gender and diversity. The findings reveal nuanced differences that have important implications for teacher education and professional development, particularly in relation to gender-sensitive pedagogical practices. By foregrounding teachers’ beliefs and experiences, this study contributes critical empirical evidence to ongoing debates about how STEM education can challenge—rather than reproduce—structural inequalities. Collectively, the four articles in this issue illustrate the multidimensional nature of STEM education research today. Creativity is framed not merely as cognitive problem solving, but as an emotional and social process; communication is positioned as a central outcome of STEM learning; teacher education is examined as a key lever for sustainable change; and equity is treated as an integral, rather than peripheral, concern. The methodological diversity represented—from conceptual modeling and text analytics to mixed-methods program evaluation and large-scale survey research—further reflects the field’s increasing sophistication and openness to interdisciplinary approaches. As STEM education continues to respond to global challenges such as sustainability, technological transformation, and social inequity, the studies presented in this issue offer both theoretical guidance and empirical grounding. We hope that readers will find in these contributions not only rigorous scholarship, but also inspiration for designing STEM learning environments that are inclusive, expressive, and transformative.

Precision education employs technology to diagnose learning processes and provide adaptive feedback tailored to individual needs. This study explores the impact of generative AI as a learning aid to enhance self-directed learning (SDL) in STEM education. In a four-week randomized controlled trial with 72 university students, a GPT-based learning aid was compared to a traditional FAQ tool. The GPT-based aid, powered by large language models (LLMs), offered personalized feedback, while the FAQ tool provided static responses. Results showed the experimental group outperformed the control group in learning performance and SDL abilities. Multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) revealed richer self-assessment, reflective thinking, and interactive behaviors among GPT-aid users, highlighting the transformative potential of generative AI in advancing personalized learning and SDL in STEM.

Robotics to promote elementary education pre-service teachers' STEM engagement, learning, and teaching

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is concerned with human endeavours that shape the world around us. The characteristic disciplines and thinking processes associated with STEM, especially when considered together, help children appreciate the ways in which curiosity, inventiveness and adaptability can be applied in everyday life. This chapter draws on current research into education and the applicability of STEM for early childhood education. Digital learning technologies in the context of STEM education are also discussed. OBJECTIVES At the end of this chapter you will be able to: ■ explain what STEM education is and recognise the value of incorporating it into early years education ■ identify ways in which STEM elements are incorporated in young children's play ■ appreciate how STEM-related play can enhance young children's understanding of the world ■ identify a range of situations that have potential for STEM learning experiences for young children ■ describe how digital technologies can be used to enhance and document young children's STEM learning experiences. Definition and importance of STEM education There are various terms being used in relation to STEM, such as STEM education and STEM curriculum. These different terms can make it confusing to grasp the full meaning of STEM. Literally, STEM is an acronym for science, technology , mathematics and engineering. Practically, the term has been variously interpreted with the science and mathematics components often taking precedence. However, STEM education should actively include technology and engineering. What the ‘T’ for technology pertains to is also contentious. Technology is more than information and communication technology (ICT) or screen technology, a narrow but common focus. While computers, phones and iPads are useful technological tools, there are a myriad of non-digital technologies that are also useful; for example, wheels, gates, backpacks, pencils, lunch boxes and sticky tape (Lindeman & McKendry Anderson, 2015). The ‘technology’ component in STEM also relates to the design process and aligns closely with the recognised engineering process. While engineering, with its roots in problem solving and innovation, is not a formalised part of school curriculum in Australia, including engineering in school and pre-school education is advocated because it incorporates problem solving and is linked to innovation (Bybee, 2010). Engaging children in integrated rather than subject-specific units is said to develop general ‘capabilities that include critical thinking, creativity, communication and self-direction’ (Rosicka, 2016, p. 8).

This research aims to analyze the attitudes and perceptions of prospective science teacher students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning. This research uses a survey method and is analyzed descriptively to get a true picture. The sample in this study was 62 students consisting of physics education, chemistry education and science education study programs from 4 universities in the West Kalimantan region. Data analysis was carried out qualitatively based on the results of distributing a questionnaire on attitudes and perceptions of prospective science teacher students. Based on the results of data analysis obtained, prospective science teacher students have good attitudes and perceptions towards STEM learning. As for every aspect of students' attitudes and perceptions towards the STEM learning carried out, students have attitudes and perceptions in the category of sufficient understanding that prospective teacher students recognize an interest in STEM learning, have sufficient competence and performance in learning in the STEM field and have an interest and sense of ownership. it is good. The average attitude and perception of students shows 2.81, which means it is quite good.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) outreach still continues to be a viable method to grow young minds interest in these key disciplines. STEM outreach can be found in a verity of forms and duration. One method to engage young minds in STEM is through challenging them to solve problems. An effective method for this is through the use of presenting students with engineering problems to solve. These can be short exercises or long term projects that are tackled over months. This paper utilizes an established engineering challenge based STEM outreach workshop to understand the utilization of different venues for conducting outreach. These challenges present students with a defined problem that needs to be completed within a forty-five to sixty minute window. Typically the students are given a clear set of requirements and supplies that can be utilized to develop a solution to the task. These engineering challenges are presented in detail. Discussion of the different venues utilized is also provided. These include in classroom, summer camp and library venues. Each of these venues allow for reaching different demographics of students. Survey findings are presented to illustrate similarities and differences between venue types. These surveys measured STEM interest levels of students before and after participating in the workshop event. Overall these finding hope to aid other STEM outreach providers in developing outreach programs that can be effective throughout numerus location and venue types.

STEM education is relatively new in the Australasian education landscape but is beginning to forge a place in school curricula. Driving the attention to STEM education are calls for the implementation of learning experiences that prepare students for a future that relies on them being innovative problem solvers. This has posed many challenges for teachers who wrestle with the most appropriate way to engage students in STEM learning while still attending to student development of mathematics discipline knowledge. The research reported in this chapter situates STEM education within current education policies and curricula, explores the various ways in which integrated STEM education is conceptualised and implemented, illustrates the role teacher education plays in preparing teachers to implement STEM learning, and showcases the student learning possible when an integrated approach to learning is adopted. This review draws attention to the diverse nature of the research undertaken in STEM education in the last four years and suggests that future research is needed to explore curriculum reforms that ensure mathematics learning is developmental, to investigate the way in which mathematical understanding supports development of understanding of other STEM disciplines, and to examine professional learning programs that assist teachers and pre-service teachers to develop pedagogies that make STEM learning effective and sustainable.

STEM education in indonesia has become a commitment for all of stakeholders in the field of science education in the last several years. All education participants agree to increase the popularity of STEM education in various parties, especially teachers and students. The research has been conducted to see to what extent science teachers in the secondary school interpret and understand STEM education and how Students pertain toward STEM learning. The research was conducted with a descriptive method using a survey approach. A set of questionnaire which comprises open-ended and closed-ended questions about teachers’ and students’ perceptions and understanding regarding STEM education were developed and applied. Responses from science teachers as well as students were then analysed through interpretative methods in which the participants’ own meanings and points of view were sought. The result indicated that STEM education is quite well understood by science teachers. Most of teachers show the same level of understanding toward STEM Education. Unfortunately, not many teachers have applied the STEM approach for science learning in the classroom. This is led to the weak understanding of STEM learning in students’side. Most of students did not familiar with “STEM learning” term. Based on the research, it is reccomended that the science teachers’ training and development should be reorientated and implemented through lesson analysis with various best practices on STEM learning systematically and continually.

Background In the 21st century, characterized by continuous innovation in educational models and curriculum content, the development of students’ inquiry skills through STEM education has increasingly gained attention, becoming a hot topic among educators. However, research on the prediction of students’ inquiry skills is limited, especially using students’ self-efficacy, motivation and learning attitude to predict students’ inquiry skills. Methods This study used scales developed in our previous studies to measure students’ self-efficacy, motivation, learning attitude and inquiry skills. Atotal of 646 HongKong and Mainland China high school students participated in this study. The study firstly investigated gender difference and regional difference in these four items by independent sample t-tests. Then, linear regression analysis and structural equation models were used to predict students’ inquiry skills. Results The results of the analysis showed that there existed significant or weakly significant gender differences in STEM self-efficacy, motivation, learning attitude and inquiry skills among high school students. Moreover, asignificant regional difference in STEM self-efficacy was found. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis justified the feasibility of using self-efficacy, motivation and learning attitude to predict high school students’ inquiry skills. Conclusions This study showed that students’ self-efficacy, motivation, and learning attitudes are key factors in predicting their STEM inquiry skills. This finding not only emphasizes the importance of focusing on students’ non-cognitive factors in STEM education, but also provides a practical model for educators to assess students’ inquiry skills. Furthermore, by exploring gender and regional differences in students, new evidence is provided for the development of STEM education in different educational contexts.

This study aims to determine teachers' knowledge level about AI-driven learning platforms in STEM education, to determine the extent to which language teachers apply AI-driven learning platforms in STEM education, and to see whether the level of knowledge, attitudes and readiness of teachers is balanced with its application. This study uses a quantitative and qualitative design or mixed method and applies a correlation approach. The participants of this study involved 33 English teachers in Indonesia. The results of this study conclude that the level of knowledge of language teachers on AI-driven platforms in STEM learning is still classified as intermediate. The application of AI-driven platforms in STEM learning for English teachers is also in the intermediate category. Language teachers have not yet entered the high level of application of AI-driven platforms in STEM learning, although a small number of teachers can reach this level. The correlation between teacher knowledge of AI-driven platforms in STEM learning is directly proportional to their application in learning practices. However, the data shows no correlation between teacher attitudes and readiness towards AI-driven platforms in STEM learning and the application of AI-driven platforms in STEM learning.

This article explains a case study undertaken for the purposes of answering the research questions: What does STEM education look like in a Year 7/8 New Zealand classroom? How do Year 7/8 students engage in the interdisciplinary approach of STEM education? Do/how do students value STEM learning in contrast to individual subject learning? This case study focused on a STEM unit of work with data collected through pre- and post-unit surveys, observations and student journals. Findings illustrate that students find STEM learning an engaging and interesting avenue for developing a deeper understanding when their learning is situated within a context they can connect with. The case study discussed in this article provides a rich example of STEM teaching and learning that will, hopefully, be informative for other teachers and researchers interested in exploring the integration of STEM education in the New Zealand setting.