We are all hardwired to belong.
Belonging is key to understanding cognitive development and academic success—particularly in STEM. Belongingness is a fundamental human need. Take Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory—it’s third, right after physiological and safety needs. To feel secure, we need to all feel connected with peers, family, and a larger community. Belongingness helps us feel that connection. This is […]
Inspiration Behind Innovative Learning Center, LLC
Last year, we used the oculus image illustrated to re-conceptualize the ILC logo. I found the colors warm and vibrant. I selected the oculus as our logo concept because it reminds me to look up towards my personal mission, which is: “To ensure that all children in the world have access to high quality formal […]
Eye-tracking: Striking the Balance of Insight and Intervention
As a STEM education researcher, I’m interested in understanding and studying the physiological responses of students to pedagogical interventions. To gain deeper insight into learning, education researchers need to open up to nuanced research designs that use objective assessment technologies and instruments, other than standardized tests, to measure cognition and cognitive processes. And to gain […]
Why examining precursor non-cognitive variables is critical to improving STEM teaching and learning
Along with several of my colleagues, I have had the privilege of bringing to the forefront an exciting new study underway on gender equality in STEM education research. In short, the study examines non-cognitive variables of undergraduate freshman students majoring in STEM. While that’s not as attention grabbing or headline making as Katherine Johnson using […]
Recognizing Youths’ Social and Emotional Assets
Educators recognizing youth’s social and emotional assets is critical to youth’s learning and intellectual development. This article is to inform science and mathematics educators about the need to focus on youths’ social and emotional assets during hands-on, inquiry-based teaching and learning. The information is represented through the scientific observations of baby sea turtles erupting from […]
Social Innovation in STEM
Welcome to Social Innovation in STEMTM I introduced Social Innovation in STEM in September 2016. Gradually, STEM educators are seeing that science is social and paying closer attention to the social dimension of STEM education. People are constant across all STEM education spaces and careers. People are social. In this article, I share our concept […]