Sociocultural Approaches to STEM Education

Katerina Plakitsi is a full professor of Science Education and member of the Governing Board at the University of Ioannina. She is ISCAR President and co-founder of the ISCAR-STEM section.  She is journal editor, principal investigator and director of a master’s program working on Formal and Informal Science/Environmental Education and Cultural Historical Activity Theory for Sustainability.  Sylvie Barma is a full professor of Science Education at Laval University. Her experience as a practitioner and curriculum writer is put to use in her research. She is co-founder of the ISCAR-STEM section. Her research interests are: Expansive learning theory and the Change Laboratory methodology, addressing socio scientific issues in the science class and collaborative problem solving.

• Preface.- Part I: SECTION 1: SECTION 1: A CHAT PERSPECTIVE ON TRANSFORMATIVE ACTIVITY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: THE ROLE OF TENSIONS AND CONTRADICTIONS.- Chapter 1. A cultural-historical perspective on upper-primary and secondary science education: Implications for research (Seth Chaiklin).- Chapter 2. On the Nature of Science Education Antinomies: Discussion from Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Perspective (André Rodrigues, Juliano Camillo, and Cristiano Mattos).- Chapter 3. Expansive resolution of conflicts of motives by science teachers leading to the development of their praxis in their respective school communities (Sylvie Barma).- Chapter 4. Exemplifying tensions of inter- versus intra-disciplinary learning in context of school makerspaces using lenses of activity theory (Viktor Freiman).- Chapter 5. STEM Education and double stimulation in a regional network (John Cripps Clark).- Part II: INSTRUMENT PRODUCING ACTIVITY AND THE ROLE OF TECHNOCREATIVE ACTIVITIES IN STEM EDUCATION:A CHAT PERSPECTIVE.- Chapter 6. We have problems! Analysis of the attitudes and actions within the collaborative problem solving of the international educational robotics challenge (Margarida Romero and Sylvie Barma).- Chapter 7. Creative Computing:  acculturating school children and teachers to teaching and learning with scratch (Tara Ratnam).- Part III: EARLY YEARS SCIENCE EDUCATION FROM A CULTURAL HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.- Chapter 8. ‘On the way to Science…’ Development of the Scientific Method in the early years (Eleni Kolokouri and Katerina Plakitsi).- Chapter 9. The mediating role of the educator: Is it always a case of intervention (Glykeria Fragkiadaki and Konstantinos Ravanis).- Chapter 10. Creativity in Early Years Science Education (Maria Topoliati and Katerina Plakitsi).- Part IV: CHAT IN SCIENCE TEACHERS EDUCATION.- Chapter 11. Expanded co-teaching activity in the context of physics teacher education (Glauco S. F. Silva and Cristiano Mattos).- Chapter 12. CHAT in organizing a Teacher Development program about teaching NOS (Anna Koumara).- Chapter 13. Science Education Program “Thunderbolt Hunt”. Practicing Scientific Method in the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina (Christina Kornelaki and Katerina Plakitsi).- Epilogue.