Decolonizing STEM Learning Spaces: Contemplative Traditions as the Bedrock of Creativity & Healing

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Saturday 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Orienting to Affect, Culture, and Language in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This paper reimagines STEM learning spaces—specifically makerspaces—through a contemplative and decolonial lens. Drawing from contemplative traditions, we propose a pedagogical framework where creativity becomes a practice of healing and cultural affirmation. Rather than replicating colonial logics of abstraction and control, our approach centers on identity, stillness, and making. Using sneaker design as a culturally grounded medium, we demonstrated how meditation, nature immersion, and remixing artifacts restore learning as a personal and collective act of transformation. Though not a traditional qualitative study, we introduce a workshop that exemplifies this decolonized making foundation for fellow faculty and teachers. This work offers a repeatable, theory-practice model for educators seeking to challenge dominant STEM paradigms and implement creative and culturally relevant approaches.

Authors

• Raaghav Pandya, City University of New York

• Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University