Entities, phenomena, and concepts in STEM domains are distributed across multiple spatio-temporal scales and are thus often beyond direct human perception and interaction (e.g. electromagnetism, ecological cycles, or evolution). External representations (or ERs) and models (e.g., diagrams, equations), traditionally considered 'symbolic elements' or 'stand-ins', mediate our engagement with these entities, phenomena, and concepts. Understanding how our minds relate to and make sense of these ERs and models is therefore critical to STEM education. Among other things, this helps us explore how emerging technologies and their novel affordances could transform STEM discovery and learning into more tangible, manipulable, interactive, and engaging forms.

With that background, my talk will operate at the intersections of embodiment, implicit and explicit dimensions of STEM learning, and the design of learning technologies. I will use snippets from my own theoretical and empirical research to demonstrate how the newer embodied, extended, embedded, and enactive cognition approaches (or 4E cognition) could help us reconceptualise (i) sense-making, learning, and expertise development in STEM, and (ii) the design of learning technologies (e.g., immersive VR and Gen-AI environments).

Tea/coffee, cake and fruit will be served @ 2pm.