For my final project at CIID, I focused on making STEM concepts in middle school education more engaging. Middle schoolers often struggle with abstract math and science topics. What if we could make these concepts more fun and tangible? This approach might boost students' confidence, deepen their understanding, and enhance their reasoning skills.
Abstract STEM Concepts: Middle school students often find abstract math and science topics challenging to grasp. These subjects can seem dull and intimidating, resulting in a lack of confidence and engagement.
Engagement and Motivation: Traditional educational methods may fail to capture students' interest and provide the necessary interaction to foster deep understanding and reasoning skills.
The Smart Learning Lamp: This innovative tool creates a mixed-reality environment combining physical and virtual elements to enhance the learning experience for science and math. Camera-synchronized interaction allows students to benefit from embodied cognition by observing and manipulating physical cut-outs, making concepts more tangible and understandable.
Initial research
Interviewed middle school students in Copenhagen. Created a character sketch based on students' daily activities, motivations,
and demotivations.
Focused interviews
I conducted research interviews with various middle school education stakeholders. This included Skype interviews, questionnaires, and in-person meetings with teachers, students, and parents. To facilitate deeper discussions, I presented a few preliminary concepts and gathered their thoughts on home learning activities, using technology in education, and classroom activities.
Giving the kids the freedom to explore and develop their own conclusions.
Intangible concepts are difficult to imagine in real life.
Collaboration is key for learning. Learning together builds confidence and gives perspective.
Facilitating metacognitive growth enables inter-contextual application of concepts.
Exploring and tagging basic STEM concepts in the real world, e.g. Pythagoras theorem, area of a quadrilateral, etc.
Using paper cards to solve equations on a velcro wall. Students see cause & effect projected on the white board using the classroom projector.
A board game with a tablet using paper cards to solve a goal. Students put their cards under the tablet to find out the correct combination and reasons why.
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● The game-like nature of the card game excited the students the most.
● An increase in experimentation was observed.
● It encouraged collaboration and improvisation, leading to more exploration.
● Students wanted more control over what they could do with the cards.
● The card game was intuitive for the students and required the least amount of onboarding time.
The paper card game was the clear winner. Students enjoyed using physical cards to create different combinations and wanted to hack the rules and exchange cards. However, they desired more control over the cards and simulation. I wondered if using the classroom projector instead of a tablet could enhance this cause-and-effect learning and boost collaboration.
I quickly prototyped this idea and tested it with students. While some students were less motivated to participate, this led me to consult with their teacher and a developmental psychologist.
Prototyped the idea using the classroom projector instead of a tablet to enhance cause-and-effect learning and boost collaboration. Consulted with a teacher and a developmental psychologist for further insights.
Briggit Fredrikson, Developmental Psychologist: “Before collaboration comes individual confidence. Early teens are really sensitive about being judged by others; if they feel insecure, they will take the safe option or have less participation.”
After speaking to the developmental psychologist and the teacher. It almost felt like I was not really addressing the root of the issue. I had to build the foundation which would lead to more confidence. Therefore the context of the project shifted from collaborative learning in school to home learning. Because home is one safe space where children don’t feel like they are being judged or they are are not scared of making mistakes.
● The students found the interaction super engaging with full control over the simulation.
● There was an immediate understanding of STEM subject matter.
● Using something lowFI as paper cutouts made them feel that the experience was magical.
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