“I Could Feel a Kind of Keen Air of Excitement”: Using IVR to Foster Girls’ Confidence, Interest, and Engagement in STEAM

How Can Emerging Technologies Impact STEM Education?

“…The last two articles in this issue addressed the design and implementation and evaluation of STEM learning and teaching with the emerging technologies across various educational levels-PreK-12 and higher education-as well as concerns over the use of the technologies. Specifically, the fourth article is an Australian qualitative study by Izadinia (2023). The author examined 23 Sydney high school students to determine how VR may be used to create an engaging learning environment that boosts girls' confidence, engagement, and interest in STEAM.…”

“…They are designed for everyone. Students found VR beneficial and simple to use, establishing a more positive attitude toward technology and STEM learning (Izadinia, 2023;Majewska & Vereen, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023). This is explained by Davis' (1989) technology acceptance model, which is a major paradigm for understanding the adoption of new technologies in a variety of contexts.…”

“…This implies that students (boys and girls, computer enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts) are more motivated to use VR and coding in STEM learning (Yu et al, 2021). This intrinsic motivation is also strongly associated with STEM interest and identity development that can predict career choice (Chiu, 2023;Izadinia, 2023;Majewska & Vereen, 2023). Emerging technologies empower and engage girls and computer non-enthusiasts in STEM education, increasing their likelihood of developing a stronger interest and identity toward STEM (Izadinia, 2023;Majewska & Vereen, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023).…”

“…This intrinsic motivation is also strongly associated with STEM interest and identity development that can predict career choice (Chiu, 2023;Izadinia, 2023;Majewska & Vereen, 2023). Emerging technologies empower and engage girls and computer non-enthusiasts in STEM education, increasing their likelihood of developing a stronger interest and identity toward STEM (Izadinia, 2023;Majewska & Vereen, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023). Furthermore, Ouyang et al's (2023) study revealed that AI analytics can predict student STEM career involvement and that AI-based virtual mentors may help students grow their STEM careers.…”

“…Instead of taking a focus on teacher education, in this special issue, we advocate for the use of emerging technologies to create a learning environment conducive to interdisciplinary learning. For example, Izadinia (2023) claimed that VR can involve students in digital arts for STEM learning; Ouyang et al (2023) revealed that students may readily utilize AI to solve problems in integrated ways. These findings could be explained by the theory of experiential learning (Fromm et al, 2021) and interdisciplinary nature of AI (Casal-Otero et al, 2023).…”