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Children’s Creative Inquiry in STEM

  • Book
  • © 2022

Overview

Editors:
  1. Karen Janette Murcia

    1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

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  2. Coral Campbell

    1. Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

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  3. Mathilda Marie Joubert

    1. Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, Perth, Australia

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  4. Sinead Wilson

    1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

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  • Provides a clear literature derived and empirically tested framework of children’s creativity
  • Contains rich discriptions of cross- disciplinary pedagogical approaches to children’s creative STEM inquiry
  • Includes illustrative case studies of children’s creativity in STEM from a range of international education contexts

Part of the book series: Sociocultural Explorations of Science Education (SESE, volume 25)

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Karen Murcia, Mathilda Marie Joubert, Coral Campbell, Sinead Wilson
    Pages 1-14

  3. Creative Dispositions and Processes – Synergies Between Inquiry and Creative Approaches to STEM Learning and Teaching

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15
      Download chapter PDF

    2. A Systematic Literature Review of Children’s Creative Inquiry

      • Mathilda Marie Joubert
      Pages 17-39

    3. Teachers’ Reflections on Their Changing Roles and Young Children’s Learning in Developing Creative, Inquiry-Based Approaches in Science Education

      • Esmé Glauert, Fani Stylianidou
      Pages 41-64

    4. Developing Children’s Questioning Skills for Inquiry in STEM

      • Marta Carli, Anna Fiorese, Ornella Pantano
      Pages 65-84

    5. Creativity and Motivation in Early Years Science as it Relates to Cognitive Styles

      • Nina Skorsetz
      Pages 85-96

    6. Child-Focused Primary Science Inquiry: Can the Right Balance Be Found Between Creativity, Curriculum Objectives and Assessment Requirements?

      • Lynne Bianchi, Sarah Earle
      Pages 97-111

    7. Working with Inquiry Activities to Encourage Creative Thinking

      • Christine Harrison, Sally Howard
      Pages 113-127

  4. Characteristics of Creative STEM Learning Environments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 129-129
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    2. Young Children’s Creativity in the Context of STEM Learning Experiences

      • Christine D. Tippett, Roxana Yanez Gonzalez
      Pages 131-150

    3. ‘Creatively’ Using Pre-School Children’s Natural Creativity as a Lever in STEM Learning Through Playfulness

      • Chrystalla Papademetri-Kachrimani, Loucas T. Louca
      Pages 151-169

    4. Characteristics of Learning Environments and Teachers’ Support for Children’s Creative STEM Enquiry in Japan

      • Kenji Matsubara, Masato Kosaka, Yoshimi Kobayashi
      Pages 171-183

    5. Bush Kinders in Australia: A Creative Place for Outdoor STEM Learning

      • Coral Campbell, Chris Speldewinde
      Pages 185-204

  5. Creative Approaches to Teaching STEM

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 205-205
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    2. Exploring an Engineering Design Process and Young Children’s Creativity

      • Karen Murcia, Chloe Oblak
      Pages 207-223

    3. From Slavery to Scientist: Dramatising a Historical Story to Creatively Engage Learners in Resolving STEM Problems

      • Debra McGregor, Sarah Frodsham, Clarysly Deller
      Pages 225-243

    4. Leonardo da Vinci’s Apprentices or Tinkering Belles and Boys at Ludic Play?

      • Debbie Myers
      Pages 245-260

    5. Working with Nature of Science in Early Childhood Education: Inspiring Children’s Curiosity, Inquiry and Play

      • Lena Hansson, Lotta Leden, Susanne Thulin
      Pages 261-272

    6. Taking STEM to STEAM and Enhancing Creativity

      • Marion Cahill, Jacinta Petersen
      Pages 273-287
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Keywords

About this book

This edited volume brings together international research that explores children’s creativity in STEM inquiry. It takes the position that creativity is relevant in all aspects of life and is essential for adaptable and innovative thinking. The research informed content of the book, highlights both challenges and opportunities for growing children’s creativity. The book focuses on fostering children’s creativity and natural curiosity in the world around them through STEM inquiry. Through STEM inquiry, children are learning through a cross- disciplinary approach where they apply concepts from multiple fields as they are thinking creatively, problem solving and constructing solutions. Educators play a critical role in encouraging children’s creativity by modelling creativity, providing creative projects for children and importantly, establishing rich culturally connected environments where children have the resources, conditions and opportunities for acting and thinking creatively. 


The book provides a lens for looking at children’s creativity in a range of different cultural settings. It offers insight and guidance to future research and will build educators’ capacity for developing children’s creative practices.

Reviews

“This book presents a rich and detailed account of instructional and learning approaches for creative STEM inquiry. Most of the articles use qualitative research methodology and that is justified due to the vagueness of creativity definition within different cultural contexts, which again opens new and creative directions for future research. I highly recommend this book to STEM teacher educators and graduate students who may be interested in working in this evolving area.” (Sandra Richy John, MAA Reviews, November 21, 2023)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Karen Janette Murcia, Sinead Wilson

  • Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    Coral Campbell

  • Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, Perth, Australia

    Mathilda Marie Joubert

About the editors

Karen Murcia (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. Dr Murcia has an established track record of research related to STEM education that has a particular focus on scientific literacy, digital technologies in education and children’s creativity. She has worked extensively in school-based research, with strong industry links and partnerships. She uses action research principles and design experiment methods to support teachers as classroom based researchers. She works primarily with qualitative methods and specialises in video ethnography and multimodal data analysis. Karen is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child and an Independent Director on the Board of Scitech Discovery Centre, Perth, Western Australia


Coral Campbell is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Deakin University. She has contributed significantly to the fields of science, science teaching and science/STEM educational research over three careers. Coral’s sustained focus on science/STEM education, teacher professional learning and students’ learning in science is reflected in her research around developing greater understandings of how teachers and students learn and ways to enhance this learning. 


Mathilda Joubert is Director of Excellence and Innovation at Sheridan College, Perth where she lectures in both the Education and Business Faculties. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Western Australia, studying the assessment of children’s creative thinking skills. Mathilda is a true cross-disciplinarian with bachelors, honours and/or masters degrees (in music, languages, arts education, cognitive neuropsychology and business) and experience teaching at primary, secondary and tertiary level. She serves on the Western Australian Executive of the Australian Council for Educational Leadership, is an accredited School Improvement Advisor for the Australian Council for Educational Research, a Director of Geelong Baptist College and a reviewer for the International Journal of Educational Research and the Thinking Skills and Creativity Journal. 


Sinead Wilson is a Research Assistant and PhD student at Curtin University. In 2016, she graduated with a Masters of Education in  through the University of Auckland and is passionate about educational projects and the research skills necessary to make them happen. Sinead has experience in working within a longitudinal research study called Growing Up in New Zealand where she worked as a research assistant for three years. From 2018- 2019 Sinead continued her work with Growing Up in New Zealand but from overseas in Mauritius, where she also volunteered her time at a local school. Sinead’s main area of interest is within the domain of children’s education and psychology, and her chosenfield for her doctorate is to investigate children’s online experiences. Specifically, she will investigate how the online safety of children is managed in family, care and educational settings; and what constitutes positive interactions in online environments. This research will commence February 2020. 



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