Background and Context: Sports and technology are often pitted as being at odds with one another. While there are several educational activities that make reference to sports we seldom see sports used as an authentic context for learning computing. Objective: We describe the design of Data in Motion, a curriculum that considers the bi-directional…

Factors that influence the underrepresentation of females in STEM careers begin early in childhood when gender biases and stereotypes emerge. Stereotypes have a psychosocial effect on females that can lead to low self-efficacy and less interest in learning and pursuing STEM careers. This study investigated the effect of a STEM summer camp on K-12…

Purpose: This study aims to investigate how transformative learning has been conceptualised and operationalised in education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability learning and to collect evidence on how to support transformative learning in formal and non-formal environments. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a…

Tabling events and pop-up museums are common informal education experiences where institutions set up temporary displays in association with a specific theme. These events typically aim to engage large audiences in a short period of time. Within these informal education settings, participation is voluntary, which implies that visitors are at least…

This article describes the development and deployment of Physics Toolbox Play, a gamified component of the "Android Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite" app, that can introduce young children through adults to fundamental physics principles. The app was used successfully in a variety of contexts, including STEM fairs with primary and secondary…

Makerspaces are increasingly popular in K-12 schools, particularly when associated with STEM learning. Many schools are successfully entering the makerspace arena. Others face significant barriers in ideating their design, often resorting to tinkering, or the purchase of commercial kits as resources. At the heart of a makerspace is its intent, as…

Out-of-school making and engineering programmes that are frequently positioned as playful have increased dramatically in recent years -- but how appropriate is the framing of play for engagement in these informal STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) spaces? Drawing on data from two research sites located in the UK, including…

The qualitative study revealed how 15 choristers from an adult amateur choir with different musical experience supplemented their weekly formal choir rehearsals with self-directed informal learning strategies to learn the choral concert repertoires in Hong Kong. Semi-structured individual interviews were used to obtain data for the study. The data…

The study examined the effect of teachers' formal, nonformal and informal learning experiences on their promotion to middle leadership roles in schools during their first ten years of work. Analyses were based on data from two cohorts of Israeli teachers who completed their pre-service programs in the years 2005-2006 (N = 4208). They were followed…

This exploratory study examined the potential connections between informal digital learning of English (IDLE), strategic competence for cross-cultural communication and perception of varieties of English. A total of 266 Korean EFL university students, who had no overseas experience, filled in a questionnaire survey. Follow-up semi-structured…

Teachers do not consistently maximize the potential of classroom technologies for enhancing student learning. As their self-efficacy is positively associated with technology integration, developing teachers' self-efficacy could increase high-quality integration. We investigate how a holistic system of professional learning about technology…

The study examined high school students' perspectives on climate change before and after participation in an informal science education program. During the program, students made a short, place-based film about climate change impacts in their communities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of student data revealed key themes that illustrate how…

Informal pedagogy is closely associated with popular music practices, its methods known to engage students in authentic music learning that develops critical and independent thinking skills, social skills, creativity and self-identity, among others. However, formal and non-formal pedagogies also have relevant roles to play in popular music…

Despite generous funding, the current data shows slow-moving demographical changes in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, and little to no slowing in the decline of STEM-associated career interests in underserved communities (Leeker, Maxey, Cardella & Hynes, 2019). While a considerable amount has been written about the…

Outreach initiatives are typically framed as informal learning environments that provide an opportunity to increase the participants' interest in science. Research on chemistry outreach has primarily focused on designing and implementing demonstrations for outreach. Recent studies indicate student organizations are at the forefront of chemistry…