Materiality in STEAM Education: An Exploration of Basic Circuitry Concepts and Circuitry Layout Design Principles

• In Event: "STEAM" Programs: Equitable Approaches to Transdisciplinary Informal Environments

Abstract

Purpose: The Maker Movement has spurred an increase of new educational toys and electronic toolkits (e.g., microcontroller boards, e-textiles). These diverse electronic toolkits are propeling shifts in the ways we interact with technology presenting opportunities to substantially reshape learning and participation (Peppler & Glosson, 2013). Of particular interest is to study arts initiatives within traditional STEM approaches (Bevan et al., 2020), especially due to the little empirical work the ways materiality (in circuitry tools and materials) shapes learning, this exploratory study asks the questions: How does the materiality of electronic tools and materials shape learning of basic circuitry concepts and circuit layout design principles? Which toolkits are most conducive to learning and why?

Theoretical frameworks: This exploratory study is guided by constructionism, a theoretical framework for learning (Papert,1980; Kafai, 2006) that states that knowledge is constructed when the learner creates personally meaningful artifacts using different tools in a social context. In other words, learners iteratively externalize and adjust their understanding when interacting with the materials and tools while creating meaningful artifacts that are relevant to their local sociocultural contexts. We focus on basic concepts (current flow, polarity, connections) and more advanced circuit layout design principles, such as space allocation, placement of electronic components, and routing.

Methods and Data Sources: Building on findings of previous empirical studies (Peppler & Glosson, 2013; Peppler et al., 2019), this study compares two educational circuitry toolkits, ChibitronicsTM paper circuits and traditional solderless breadboards used in electrical engineering labs. For this study, we had a sample of 35 youth who participated in a breadboard workshop (n=16) and in a paper circuit workshop (n=19) sponsored by a partner art-science museum at no cost. We analyzed statistical differences, within (pre v. post) and between the two groups using t-tests.

Results: Test scores improved after both workshops (within-group differences of post-pre tests) for basic circuitry concepts and also for layout design principles with statistical significance at the p<.05 level. The scores of youth in the paper circuits workshop were higher for both basic circuitry concepts and also for layout design principles so we tested between-group differences. The gain scores between breadboards and paper circuits for the layout design principles were statistically significant at the p <.1 level (p=.062) even with a small sample size for this exploratory study. The gain scores for the basic concepts were not statistically significantly different (p=.150). Overall, we found that these toolkits and materials shaped learning of basic circuitry concepts and layout design principles finding that paper circuits seem to be most conducive to learning these advanced design constructs.

Significance: This exploratory study contributes to the little empirical work on advanced engineering concepts, such as layout design, as well the material /design features that best support learning. We make explicit how recent materials of educational toolkits actually impact understanding of circuitry concepts and layout design principles. Our findings encourage careful consideration of the chosen toolkits for learning purposes and help us refine our assessment instruments for future implementations.

Authors

• R. Mishael Sedas, University of California - Irvine

• Kylie A. Peppler, University of California - Irvine

• Naomi Thompson, Northwestern University