STEM Online and Blended Learning after the COVID-19 in Higher Education: From Teaching Strategies to Experiences with Technology-Rich Innovative Learning Environments

Dear Colleagues,

In the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the teaching and learning processes are characterized by a balance between theory and practice. As a matter of fact, the inclusion of practical activities is a key component of STEM curricula when working in developing certain competences and skills. This is the case, for instance, of math students who wish to develop their problem solving capabilities, as well as of engineers who wish to improve their programming skills. Higher education in these areas has experienced a significant change during the last months, mainly due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, many universities across the globe have been forced to offer an increasing percentage of their courses online, using video-conference systems and collaborative platforms. For many instructors and students worldwide, this unexpected shift towards e-learning has represented a challenge, in particular in the STEM areas due to the intrinsic complexity of teaching and learning mathematical-related concepts and programming and analytical skills.  In this context, research around a wide range of topics as curriculum models, innovative teaching strategies including e-assessment, and the design of and practices within technology-rich learning environments can improve the quality of teaching and learning in STEM.

This Special Issue aims at presenting a collection of high-quality contributions  on the aforementioned topics, that help advance theoretical perspectives and research methodologies in STEM education. Both methodological as well as practical contributions are welcome. The Special Issue is open to world class case studies, international initiatives regarding innovative teaching methodologies, the efficacy of learning analytics interventions, as well as best practices in the use of simulation environments.

Dr. Daniel Riera Terrén
Prof. Dr. Teresa Sancho Vinuesa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mathematics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics higher education
• e-assessment and feedback in STEM
• experiences with technology-rich innovative learning environments
• learning analytics intervention
• online and blended models after COVID-19