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A 360-degree video offers a novel visual experience for education. This immersive experience not only amplifies students' engagement and curiosity but also assists them in delving into and comprehending intricate concepts from a multitude of viewpoints. Given its novelty, there is a relative shortage of studies on 360-degree video's overall effectiveness in education. This study conducted a meta-analysis of 49 peer-reviewed articles. Utilizing a random-effects model to compute effect sizes (ES), the results showed that 360-degree videos have a moderate impact on both learning (Hedges' g = 0.525) and non-cognitive outcomes (Hedges' g = 0.527), with notable heterogeneity observed across the studies. Furthermore, the studies were coded to examine the moderating effects of their characteristics, such as the level of education, the field of education, the display types, experimental design, the sample size and the control treatment. The findings suggest a medium effect of 360-degree videos on knowledge acquisition and a smaller effect on task performance. In terms of non-cognitive outcomes, the least impact was noted in the domain of social and emotional qualities, while the most significant impact was in attitudes and beliefs. Based on these findings, the study proposed future research directions focusing on enhancing teaching strategies and improving research designs concerning the use of 360-degree videos in educational contexts.

Increasing social pressure enhances the psychological burden on individuals, and the severity of depression can no longer be ignored. The characteristics of high immersion and interactivity enhance virtual reality (VR) application in psychological therapy. Many studies have verified the effectiveness of VR relaxation therapy, although a few have performed a quantitative study on relaxation state (R-state). To confirm the effectiveness of VR relaxation and quantitatively assess relaxation, this study confirmed the effectiveness of the VR sightseeing relaxation scenes using subjective emotion scale and objective electroencephalogram (EEG) data from college students. Moreover, some EEG features with significant consistent differences after they watched the VR scenes were detected including the energy ratio of the alpha wave, gamma wave, and differential asymmetry. An R-state regression model was then built using the model stacking method for optimization, of which random forest regression, AdaBoost, gradient boosting (GB), and light GB were adopted as the first level, while linear regression and support vector machine were applied at the second level. The leave-one-subject-out method for cross-validation was used to evaluate the results, where the mean accuracy of the framework achieved 81.46%. The significantly changed features and the R-state model with over 80% accuracy have laid a foundation for further research on relaxation interaction systems. Moreover, the VR relaxation therapy was applied to the clinical treatment of patients with depression and achieved preliminary good results, which might provide a possible method for non-drug treatment of patients with depression.

Following the continuous reform and innovation of classroom teaching methods and pedagogy in higher education, the support provided by traditional classrooms for new classes seems to be insufficient. Empirical exploration into the impact of learning spaces on student learning motivation, particularly in terms of how and to what extent, has been limited. This study focuses on student intrinsic learning motivation as the dependent variable and constructs an influence model incorporating factors such as learning space, pedagogy and classroom relationships. A comparative analysis is conducted to assess the differential influence between two learning space types: active learning spaces and traditional classrooms. Utilizing a convenience sampling method, students engaged in coursework at University A's 'Future Learning Experience Center' and traditional multimedia learning spaces over three academic terms were selected. Differential tests were performed on data collected from various learning environment types, and the impact of learning space, teaching methods and social relationships on students' intrinsic learning motivation was validated using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that scores in the dimensions of learning space, teacher-student relationships, student-student relationships and student intrinsic learning motivation were significantly higher in the active learning space compared to traditional classrooms. Surprisingly, learning space exhibited no significant direct effect on student intrinsic learning motivation but demonstrated a significant indirect effect. The influencing factors model presented in this study sheds light on the type of learning space's impact on student intrinsic learning motivation, offering theoretical guidance and practical data for future research endeavours.

STEM literacy is a desired principal outcome of STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. With the increasing popularity of Early STEM learning, it is believed that STEM literacy could be developed in the early years. However, relatively few studies have examined STEM literacy in young children. This study utilized the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to elicit the opinions of a panel of experts with diverse backgrounds and to construct a framework of STEM literacy for kindergarten children. The findings of the study illustrate what young children could achieve from high-quality early STEM experiences. This would help to promote curriculum development, performance assessment, and best practices in early STEM education.

Students spend a lot of time in the classroom, and the physical environment in the classroom plays an important role in the development of students. It is necessary to scientifically investigate students' views and opinions on the physical factors in the classroom. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study used the Q method online and allowed 40 junior high school students to rank 32 physical factors in the classrooms according to their own perspectives. The results can provide a reference for the reconstruction and construction of classrooms in middle schools and contribute to the design of learner-oriented humanized classrooms.

Robotics competitions boosts the development of STEM education, but gender disparity in this field remains rarely addressed by researchers. This study focused on the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) and tried to explore the gender differences through investigation method. The research questions are as follows: RQ1, what is the tendency of girls' participation in WRO from 2015 to 2019 in terms of the four competition categories and three age groups? RQ2, what advantages and challenges do the all-girl teams have from the perspectives of parents, coaches and students? The results showed that among the 5956 participants in the 2015-2019 WRO finals, girls accounted for only 17.3%. The Open Category that emphasized creativity attracted relatively more girl participants. As age group moved up, the number of girl participants decreased. The qualitative results showed that the focuses of coaches, parents and students was not exactly the same. All-girl team have the advantages in their communication, presentation and collaboration skills but less good at robot building. The results indicated the importance of promoting girl's participation in robot competitions and STEM fields. Coaches, mentors and parents need to provide girls with more support and encouragement in learning STEM subjects, especially at the junior high school level. Organizers of related competitions should give girls more exposure and opportunities by adjusting the mechanism.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing concern over health care, part of which involves the role of nutrition. In this study, a nutrition educational board game, featuring quantitative computation, was designed to help students acquire nutrition knowledge and improve dietary behaviors. A group of 22 students in grade 7 of a middle school in Beijing were selected as the participants. A single-group pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design was adopted. Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) questionnaires and interviews were used to investigate students' changes in dietary knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The influence of gender and body mass index (BMI) on the teaching effectiveness was also explored. The results showed that some dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and behavior significantly increased in the students. Their changes in behavior were mainly related to some aspects that were easier to adjust. In addition, the study also found that females and students with abnormal BMI were more likely to be influenced by the educational game to make positive changes in attitude and behavior.

Due to the complex background, small and dense targets, and large scale continuous changes in remote sensing images, universal object detectors are difficult to adapt well, resulting in poor detection performance. To address the above issues, a multi-branch feature mapping based remote sensing image object detection algorithm is proposed based on the YOLOv5s model. Firstly, a RepVGG module combined with gated channel transformation is designed using structural reparameterization technology. Its series structure is used to replace the C3 module of the original backbone network, aggregating global contextual information and enhancing feature expression and extraction capabilities. Secondly, the adaptive exponential weighted pooling method and the sampling method of inverse process reconstruction feature fusion network are used to maximize the retention of feature information and improve the detection performance of smaller targets. Finally, the combination of EIoU and Focal Loss is introduced as the loss function of the model to optimize the regression rate of the prediction box and the loss weight distribution of difficult and easy samples, further improving the positioning accuracy. The experimental results on the DIOR and NWPU VHR-10 datasets show that the average accuracy of the proposed algorithm reaches 92.2% and 92.5%, respectively, which is 3.5 percentage points and 5.6 percentage points higher than YOLOv5s, achieving better detection performance. At the same time, the real-time performance also meets the requirements of remote sensing image object detection in actual scenes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) camp program on rural students' self-efficacy and computational thinking skills. One hundred fifty-three third- and fourth-grade elementary school students from three different rural schools in China were recruited to participate. All participants took part in the camp program for three consecutive days. A single group pre- and post-test design was used, and the study employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine elementary school students' self-efficacy and computational thinking skills in the context of STEM activities. The findings revealed that the robotics STEM camp program significantly affected the self-efficacy and computational thinking of students in rural elementary schools. In addition, students' experience with engineering-based activities had a statistically significant impact on computational thinking skills, and programming experience affected self-efficacy with regard to participation in STEM activities. There were gender differences in student satisfaction with the subject of the robotics STEM camp program. Finally, this study makes relevant suggestions for the future development of STEM camp activities and course design.

Educational robots have been widely used in STEM education because they are operable and programmable. Robotics competitions for primary- and secondary-school students are becoming increasingly popular. The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an international robotics competition; each group of participants builds a robot with LEGO based on a challenge proposed by the WRO. In this study, the researchers interviewed 47 participants (19 parents, 17 students, and 11 coaches), and analysed interview data using NVivo 11.0 to explore the effect of the WRO from three perspectives. Overall, the experience of the WRO had a positive impact on students' capability enhancement, emotional engagement, and school learning, such as through improving their communication, teamwork, thinking, and problem-solving skills, as well as their self-confidence and robot knowledge. However, the three groups had different priorities based on their participation. The students paid more attention to their own development in the competition and cooperation with the team. Parents focused more on the comprehensive development of students and impact of the competition on their school learning and future. The coaches attached greater importance to communication among team members, which is mainly focused on emotional engagement and capability enhancement. These findings have numerous implications for robotics education.

Physics is a subject requiring strong logical thinking, and writing a problem-solving path according to logical thinking can enhance students' knowledge and problem-solving ability. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of problem presentation of different scaffolds (MAPS or dynamic figures) on students' physical problem solving. MAPS scaffold is a modeling applied to problem-solving pedagogy. The study adopts a quasi-experimental design, as participants were divided into four groups tested under different scaffolds. These groups are Traditional group (problems with static figures), MAPS group (MAPS combined with static figures), Dynamic Figure group (problems with dynamic figures), and MAPS + Dynamic Figure group (MAPS combined with dynamic figures). The results indicated that the students assisted by MAPS could more effectively describe and interpret key concepts and knowledge in questions, and they selected formulas appropriately according to the physics conditions. However, the findings did not reveal any significant difference between the dynamic figure. Thus, we will explore dynamic figures in different types of physics questions in future research, so that dynamic figures can be more effectively used by students for physics problem-solving.

Although computer-assisted vocabulary acquisition tools have been widely applied to English as a foreign language learning, the kinesthetic and tactile potential of such tools has not been fully utilized. Embodied cognition suggested that the change of practice modality (from handwriting to keyboarding), involves different sensory-motor experiences and arguably influences language learning result. The present study is a quasi-experiment investigating the effect of using keyboard-based computer application on English vocabulary acquisition in a naturalistic vocational school setting. Over the course of an academic year, the experimental group (N = 35) used the application to practice English words, whereas the control group (N = 34) practiced words through traditional approaches (listening, reading and writing). The results indicated that the participants using keyboarding application achieved significantly higher vocabulary learning performance than the control group. The attitude questionnaires and interview data also exhibited enhanced interest, motivation, and engagement for the experimental group participants.

Active learning classrooms (ALCs) have been demonstrated to have significant and positive impacts on student learning experiences, student learning outcomes, and instructor and student behavior compared to traditional classrooms. The social context of a classroom -- levels of student-student and student-instructor interaction -- has been demonstrated to partially explain the effects ALCs have on students and instructors. This research is the first attempt to extend social context research beyond the US higher education classroom by comparing levels of social context of Chinese and US students taking courses in ALCs. We find that formal student-instructor relations in the US and China are not the same, that general student-student relations, informal student-instructor relations, and students as instructors are quite similar for Chinese and US students, but that these relationships express themselves at different levels. We believe that some of the variation observed can be attributed to cultural differences but are hopeful that the similarities observed lend themselves to expanding learning space research on social context to other countries and advancing cross-cultural research on learning spaces.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has played an increasingly crucial role in the educational system. Academic dishonesty (AD) in online learning is a challenging problem that represents a complex psychological and social phenomenon for learners. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews of AD in online learning environments. Objectives: This study presents a systematic study of AD in online learning environments to delineate its trends and uncover potential areas for further research. Methods: We conducted this review based on various sources of evidence-based research and followed the guidelines of the PRISMA statement and procedure for selection. After the exclusion criteria were employed, 59 eligible articles were selected and then analysed in a descriptive overview. Two frameworks were identified in the structured content analysis to analyse these articles. One was the framework of Gilbert's Behaviour Engineering Model (BEM), and the other was the types of interventions for online AD, where 36 articles were analysed. Results and Conclusions: The descriptive results showed that most studies used quantitative methods and focused on students. The analysis results of influencing factors under the BEM framework showed that the category of environment support and tools accounts for the largest proportion. And the types of interventions for online AD we classified include individual AD & high technological complexity, individual AD & low technological complexity, collective AD & high technological complexity, and collective AD & low technological complexity. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding and guidance of AD in the online environment for relevant managers, designers and developers.

As a result of COVID-19, various forms of education and teaching are moving online. However, the notion of an online STEM camp is still in its beginnings, and there is little relevant research and experience in this context. At the beginning of April 2021, the research team launched an online STEM charity camp with the theme of "Shen Nong Tastes Herbs." Participants included 113 third- and fourth-grade primary school students ranging from 8 to 12 years of age from four schools in Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with weak educational capabilities. The camp lasted for 3 days and included 7 activities, while remote teaching was accomplished through "Dingtalk." Pre- and post-test questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the impact of this camp on students. We found that online STEM camps could improve students' self-efficacy, computational thinking, and task value, and there is a significant improvement in the self-efficacy (p = 0.000) and task value (p = 0.001) dimensions. In addition, students with high self-efficacy had higher scores in the other two dimensions. Finally, we summarized the experiences and gains of students and teachers and proposed suggestions for developing online camps based on this experience.

The study aimed to investigate the effect of an interdisciplinary STEM course on children's attitudes of learning and engineering design skills. A total of 449 elementary school children in China were recruited from three different grade levels (i.e., second, fourth and sixth grade) to participate in this study. All participants attended a weekly interdisciplinary STEM course for two consecutive semesters. In order to understand how an integrative STEM curriculum interplayed with participants' attitudes of learning and engineering design skills, we conducted two measures to assess the results: the attitude measure (i.e., the attitude of learning questionnaire) and the outcome measure (i.e., the STEM knowledge assessment and the scenario design assessment). Meanwhile, pre-and-posttests were implemented for each measure when comparing the differences in learning. Our findings revealed that an interdisciplinary STEM course led to positive changes in children's attitudes of learning, yet its effect on different grade levels could vary depending on children's cognitive development. In addition, interdisciplinary learning experiences significantly improved second and fourth graders' engineering design skills, particularly in the scenario design assessment. Lastly, we summarized the relationship between one's attitudes of learning and engineering design skills along with its educational implications.

Recent years, dramatic changes in the mode of writing have occurred. Computers and other digital devices are increasingly replacing writing by hand. The sensory-motor experiences of typing (e.g. visual, haptic, motor) are different from those used in handwriting. Therefore, the influence and effect of keyboarding on linguistic performance, compared to handwriting or letter tiles, has seen much inquiry. The results of these studies have been mixed. In this study, researchers used grounded theory to explore the experiences and perceptions of keyboard-based English word acquisition learners. The participants came from various ages and backgrounds (30 English training institute kids, 46 elementary school students, 7 college students, 14 in-service teachers), as well as 10 parents of lower age learners (N = 107). Audio of the interviews was recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim and imported into NVivo 11.0 for coding and analysis. Overall, the participants confirmed the effect of keyboarding on English word learning, and a majority expressed positive attitudes towards keyboarding. Participants also listed which aspects of keyboarding interested them, such as improved learning efficiency, engaging learning activities or other incidental benefits.

The electronic schoolbag (eSchoolbag) is an enhanced one-to-one computing environment compatible with various digital devices. The eSchoolbag provides instructors with an intelligent teaching management system. It also offers students a highly interactive learning environment. However, findings of students' performance in the eSchoolbag environment are mixed due to the great variety of digital devices. Moreover, the research on the temporal change in students' motivation in the eSchoolbag environment is still in its infancy. This study addressed these gaps by examining the longitudinal changes in students' performance and motivation in two types of eSchoolbag environments: a computer class and a tablet class. A total of 102 students participated in this study for one year. Findings from this research suggested that the tablet class performed better than the computer class, and students' utility value and cognitive cost towards the eSchoolbag changed over time. These findings inform the successful implementation of eSchoolbag programmes.

Previous studies on the topic of "Problem solving" indicate it's one of the skills of students in the 21st century that educational robots can effectively support. Additionally, there are gender differences in the problem-solving process. Understanding the problem-solving process and using knowledge to solve problems is key to improving one's problem-solving ability. We therefore conducted a study with 69 fifth graders aimed at exploring whether educational robots can help students improve their understanding of problem-solving process in the context of life sciences. The Intervention was carried out as five learning modules on "Human systems," and each module corresponded to different stages of engineering design practice. Our data analysis investigated the changes of problem-solving process with two independent variables: different genders and robot learning basis. The results showed educational robots can help students more effectively comprehend life science knowledge and understand the problem-solving process. By contrast, there are differences in the problem-solving process between females and males, and the robot learning basis can help students better articulate the problem-solving process. Although this study provided empirical evidence that educational robots can enhance the learning and problem solving skills for primary school children, future studies need to further explore the differences in problem-solving process from multiple perspectives to improve teaching and curriculum design practices.

Machine learning-based modeling technology has recently become a powerful technique and tool for developing models for explaining, predicting, and describing system/human behaviors. In developing intelligent education systems or technologies, some research has focused on applying unique machine learning algorithms to build the ad-hoc student models for specific educational systems. However, systematically developing the data-driven student models from the educational data collected over prior educational experiences remains a challenge. We proposed a systematic and comprehensive machine learning-based modeling methodology to develop high-performance predictive student models from the historical educational data to address this issue. This methodology addresses the fundamental modeling issues, from data processing, to modeling, to model deployment. The said methodology can help developing student models for intelligent educational systems. After a detailed description of the proposed machine learning-based methodology, we introduce its application to an intelligent navigation tutoring system. Using the historical data collected in intelligent navigation tutoring systems, we conduct large-scale experiments to build the student models for training systems. The preliminary results proved that the proposed methodology is useful and feasible in developing the high-performance models for various intelligent education systems.

As more countries emphasize the development of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education, the training of professional pre-service teachers has received considerable attention. To explore Chinese and UK preservice teachers' understanding of STEAM education, their willingness to engage in STEAM-related occupations, and their attitudes toward various STEAM disciplines, this study designed a questionnaire to investigate the perceptions of 109 and 379 preservice teachers from the United Kingdom and China, respectively. A quantitative analysis revealed the following: (1) Preservice teachers lacked the understanding of STEAM education in general. (2) Chinese and UK preservice teachers had different overall understandings of STEAM education. (3) Both Chinese and UK preservice teachers had different opinions about the role of art in STEAM. (4) The scores of Chinese preservice teachers in the semantic questionnaire in each discipline were significantly higher than those of the UK teachers, and significant differences in gender and profession were observed. (5) No significant differences were observed between the total scores of the UK and Chinese participants on the career interest questionnaire. Finally, we combined the experiences of the Chinese and UK preservice teachers to provide recommendations for teacher training.

The classroom is crucial for students, and seating position within the classroom can affect students' performance. This study conducted a survey to investigate the relationship between seating zones and academic performance among 174 university students in Beijing. The results revealed differences in student performance in terms of seating position in small- and medium-sized traditional classrooms. However, the results did not indicate a similar hierarchy of student performance in terms of seating zones in larger traditional classrooms, horseshoe classrooms, collaboration classrooms, and computer classrooms. Additionally, the results revealed that most students considered the layout of a classroom to affect their performance.

The flipped classroom is an innovative and increasingly popular pedagogical approach in higher education. It emphasises student learning responsibility, deeper learning, differentiated instruction and more efficient use of class time. However, despite its increasing popularity across disciplines, few studies have elaborated on strategies for implementing a flipped classroom beyond its essential elements. The present study thus proposed a three-stage collaborative instructional model (3-CI), an extension of the classic flipped classroom model. A case study approach was adopted to investigate 3-CI's effectiveness through students' perceptions in Research Methods in Educational Technology, with 29 graduate students. Results show that 3-CI increases participants' satisfaction, engagement and collaboration. Furthermore, 3-CI design strategies, which emphasise collaboration and student-centredness, can help college educators to incorporate the flipped approach into their teaching practice.

A 360‐degree video offers a novel visual experience for education. This immersive experience not only amplifies students' engagement and curiosity but also assists them in delving into and comprehending intricate concepts from a multitude of viewpoints. Given its novelty, there is a relative shortage of studies on 360‐degree video's overall effectiveness in education. This study conducted a meta‐analysis of 49 peer‐reviewed articles. Utilizing a random‐effects model to compute effect sizes (ES), the results showed that 360‐degree videos have a moderate impact on both learning (Hedges' g = 0.525) and non‐cognitive outcomes (Hedges' g = 0.527), with notable heterogeneity observed across the studies. Furthermore, the studies were coded to examine the moderating effects of their characteristics, such as the level of education, the field of education, the display types, experimental design, the sample size and the control treatment. The findings suggest a medium effect of 360‐degree videos on knowledge acquisition and a smaller effect on task performance. In terms of non‐cognitive outcomes, the least impact was noted in the domain of social and emotional qualities, while the most significant impact was in attitudes and beliefs. Based on these findings, the study proposed future research directions focusing on enhancing teaching strategies and improving research designs concerning the use of 360‐degree videos in educational contexts.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic360‐degree videos in education are notable for their authenticity, flexibility and accessibility.They enhance learners' sense of presence, deepen understanding of subject matter and improve non‐cognitive skills.360‐degree videos have produced mixed results on learning and non‐cognitive outcomes.What this paper adds360‐degree videos have a medium effect on students' learning outcomes (g = 0.0.525) and non‐cognitive outcomes (g = 0.0.527).Significant heterogeneity is observed in the effects of 360‐degree videos on both learning outcomes and non‐cognitive outcomes.In terms of non‐cognitive outcomes, 360‐degree videos have the smallest effect size in the social and emotional qualities domain.Identifying key moderators that influence the effectiveness of 360‐degree videos, including participants' education levels, field of application, sample sizes, display types, experimental designs and control treatment.Implications for practice and/or policyEnhance social and emotional learning with 360‐degree video, and aid in understanding and managing emotional experiences.Develop learning strategies that align with the unique characteristics of different subjects.Teacher‐assisted approaches are encouraged to support learning and teaching in formal educational settings with structured courses.Multimodal data can be collected for analysis in future research to explore the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become an international priority. STEM education provides students with interdisciplinary knowledge and promotes the cultivation of high-level skills. However, STEM training opportunities for teachers are rare, which results in fewer opportunities for primary and secondary students to receive high-quality engineering education. Novel Engineering is an innovative strategy to integrate engineering and literacy in STEM education. To this end, the researchers developed, implemented and evaluated a novel engineering STEM software program based on the story of Robinson Crusoe. A quasi-experimental single-group pre- and posttest research method was adopted. A total of 72 students in two seventh grade classes at a junior middle school in Shanghai participated in the study. Data were collected and analysed through STEM learning interest scales, flow status scales, interviews and students' STEM work scores. The research findings demonstrated that students gave a high evaluation of the novel engineering STEM software program. Furthermore, this STEM software program contributed to students' significant improvements in the attitudes of mathematics and 21st century skill and provided students with a lasting and better flow experience. Finally, suggestions were proposed for STEM software design, implementation and evaluation.

This study aimed to investigate students' perceptions of engineers and how they vary by grade level and gender. This study proposes an approach to understanding the Chinese students' perceptions of engineers and the interest preference of middle school students in the way of graphic analysis and questionnaire. This descriptive study incorporated a cross-age design; qualitative data were collected from 390 students in a junior high school in Beijing. Data were analyzed using content analysis, and statistical tests were performed on eight factors. Although students have a basic common perception of engineers, gender differences exist, and there are gender stereotypes and one-sided perceptions of engineers. Most students tend to perceive engineers as males whose work area is limited to a single building. The drawings of students of higher grades are associated with mental activity in the engineering artifacts and processes factors, whereas students' drawings with the presence of physical activity gradually decline. Students consider engineering to be mental work involving advanced psychological processes such as designing and inventing. Overall, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of students' perceptions in senior grades is better than that in lower grades. Serious gender stereotypes and the phenomenon of cognitive simplification are present in middle school students' perceptions of engineers.

Background: Understanding cultural diversity in STEM education is important for inclusivity and teaching STEM literacy for all. We explore diversity at a micro-cultural classroom level involving students' emotional experiences and interactional practices as they engage with learning, which has received limited attention in naturalistic studies of STEM education, especially in East Asian cultures. In this study, we explore emotional experiences of students during a guided inquiry lesson in a Chinese primary school using an interpretive methodology informed by concepts of emotional energy, uniformity, and harmony. Emotional energy is an individual and collective experience of togetherness and solidarity emerging from successful social interaction. Uniformity and harmony are emotion-related concepts experienced in Confucian heritage cultures. The aims of this study are to explore Chinese students' emotional experiences during a STEM inquiry lesson and to refine the conceptualization of emotional energy from Confucian cultural perspectives. Results: In a STEM inquiry, context knowledge about micro-cultural diversity and the interplay between Chinese emotional experiences and engagement with ideas are explored. Notions of uniformity and harmony are described through cultural practices as they relate to emotional energy. The study contributes to understanding the diversity of emotional energy as a student experience and social form of engagement, during a STEM inquiry activity in a Confucian heritage context. Conclusions: This study contributes to understandings of student experiences of uniformity, harmony, and variations to intensity of emotional energy during learning via STEM inquiry. Modifications to the conceptualization of emotional energy in STEM education are indicated. Our findings inform an understanding of student emotive experiences of STEM education in East Asian and multi-cultural education systems internationally.

The integration of robotics education with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has a great potential in future education. In recent years, numerous countries have hosted robotic competitions. This study uses a mixed research method to explore the coaches' views on student participation in the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) by incorporating the questionnaire surveys and interviews conducted at the 2019 WRO finals in Hungary. By quantitative and qualitative analyses, coaches generally agreed that participation in the WRO improved students' STEM learning skills and cultivated their patience and resilience in handling challenging tasks.

Previous studies on the topic of “Problem solving” indicate it’s one of the skills of students in the 21st century that educational robots can effectively support. Additionally, there are gender differences in the problem-solving process. Understanding the problem-solving process and using knowledge to solve problems is key to improving one’s problem-solving ability. We therefore conducted a study with 69 fifth graders aimed at exploring whether educational robots can help students improve their understanding of problem-solving process in the context of life sciences. The Intervention was carried out as five learning modules on “Human systems,” and each module corresponded to different stages of engineering design practice. Our data analysis investigated the changes of problem-solving process with two independent variables: different genders and robot learning basis. The results showed educational robots can help students more effectively comprehend life science knowledge and understand the problem-solving process. By contrast, there are differences in the problem-solving process between females and males, and the robot learning basis can help students better articulate the problem-solving process. Although this study provided empirical evidence that educational robots can enhance the learning and problem solving skills for primary school children, future studies need to further explore the differences in problem-solving process from multiple perspectives to improve teaching and curriculum design practices.

STEM (science, technology, engineer, mathematics) education and engineering education are receiving an increasing amount of interest worldwide, but related research on the influence of STEM courses on students' engineering problem solving in China is scarce. Considering the rapid prototyping function of laser-cutting tools, this study was conducted to develop a STEM course based on laser cutting and to explore how the course affected high school students' engineering problem-solving abilities. A 9-week curriculum was implemented in a science, technology, and fabricating club of a high school in Zhejiang, China. The data were collected by pretest and posttest questionnaires and presentations of group assignments. The results were as follows. First, when presented with an engineering problem, the students demonstrated problem-solving abilities because they followed principles of engineering design, such as sketching, modeling and modifying. Second, while completing the assignment, the students proposed solutions with comprehensive factors in many aspects. They showed high-level thinking, such as consideration of the background, limiting conditions, and multidisciplinary knowledge, and they used technological tools to complete the task. However, some students ignored the assessment and redesign of their solutions. Further research could use a larger sample from different grades and explore how a STEM course combined with technology tools could influence students' high-level thinking skills.

Following the continuous reform and innovation of classroom teaching methods and pedagogy in higher education, the support provided by traditional classrooms for new classes seems to be insufficient. Empirical exploration into the impact of learning spaces on student learning motivation, particularly in terms of how and to what extent, has been limited. This study focuses on student intrinsic learning motivation as the dependent variable and constructs an influence model incorporating factors such as learning space, pedagogy and classroom relationships. A comparative analysis is conducted to assess the differential influence between two learning space types: active learning spaces and traditional classrooms. Utilizing a convenience sampling method, students engaged in coursework at University A's 'Future Learning Experience Center' and traditional multimedia learning spaces over three academic terms were selected. Differential tests were performed on data collected from various learning environment types, and the impact of learning space, teaching methods and social relationships on students' intrinsic learning motivation was validated using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that scores in the dimensions of learning space, teacher–student relationships, student–student relationships and student intrinsic learning motivation were significantly higher in the active learning space compared to traditional classrooms. Surprisingly, learning space exhibited no significant direct effect on student intrinsic learning motivation but demonstrated a significant indirect effect. The influencing factors model presented in this study sheds light on the type of learning space's impact on student intrinsic learning motivation, offering theoretical guidance and practical data for future research endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]