Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2023) | Viewed by 10277

Special Issue Editor

Department of Mathematical Foundations of Informatics, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1040 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: codes theory; data bases; data protection; watermarking
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The Scientific Conference with International Participation Innovative STEM Education (STEMEDU) is a multidisciplinary conference in subject-content education that focuses on the study of teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The goal of the conference is to promote interactions between theoretical, experimental, and applied areas to encourage a rich exchange of ideas in emerging areas within mathematics, computer science, and engineering.

We are also interested in studies that address specific challenges in improving students’ achievements, approaches used to motivate and engage students, and lessons learned from changes in curriculum and instruction in STEM education.

All articles submitted to this Special Issue are expected to contain original ideas and novel approaches. This Special Issue offers researchers worldwide the opportunity to report their most recent developments and ideas in the field, with a special emphasis on the latest theoretical and practical technical advances.

Prof. Dr. Galina Bogdanova
Guest Editor

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.

Keywords

  • STEM/STEAM education
  • pedagogy
  • educational games
  • computing
  • engineering
  • applied mathematics
  • big data
  • digital libraries
  • semantic processing
  • аccessibility technologies for people with special need

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 5281 KiB  
Article
Application of STEM Technologies on the Example of the Problem of a Thread with a Load
by Valery Ochkov, Inna Vasileva, Ekaterina Borovinskaya and Wladimir Reschetilowski
Mathematics 2023, 11(12), 2755; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/math11122755 - 18 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 770
Abstract
This paper demonstrates the application of STEM technologies using the example of the problem of a thread with a load. As a training problem, parameter finding of a flexible inextensible thread with a load sliding along it, as well as with a fixed [...] Read more.
This paper demonstrates the application of STEM technologies using the example of the problem of a thread with a load. As a training problem, parameter finding of a flexible inextensible thread with a load sliding along it, as well as with a fixed load, is considered. A mathematical model of a thread with a load is created without using simplifying assumptions such as a negligibly small mass of the thread, a thread with a small sag or a parabolic approximation of the thread form. When solving the problem, methods of analysis from various branches of mathematics, theoretical mechanics, physics, history of mathematics, as well as various tools of computer mathematical packages (Mathcad), are used. The reasonability of considering such tasks from the perspective of teaching effectiveness for first-year students in engineering as well as in physics and mathematics is proved. Promising educational tasks based on the investigated problem are considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education)
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16 pages, 26396 KiB  
Article
Engaging STEM Learning Experience of Spatial Ability through Activities with Using Math Trail
by Katarína Laššová and Lucia Rumanová
Mathematics 2023, 11(11), 2541; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/math11112541 - 01 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1191
Abstract
Math trail is a type of outdoor activity conducted in groups. Group members work together, communicate, and find common and best strategies for solving problems. Thus, it combines the use of mathematics in real life with a pleasant walk. Pupils have the opportunity [...] Read more.
Math trail is a type of outdoor activity conducted in groups. Group members work together, communicate, and find common and best strategies for solving problems. Thus, it combines the use of mathematics in real life with a pleasant walk. Pupils have the opportunity to explore mathematics linked to real objects, solving standard and non-standard problems. Teachers, in turn, can use mathematics in this way as a tool to connect it to other STEM disciplines. This article first describes the results of research aimed at assessing spatial ability and mental rotation in students at technical vocational schools in Slovakia. A stereometry test was solved by 455 students. We then created a mathematical walk aimed at developing students’ spatial ability. The experiences presented in the article may be helpful as other mathematics’ popularization stimuli. We believe that when students are engaged in problem-based learning activities that are related to STEM disciplines, in particular, by connecting with the subjects in the problem context of the real world, STEM disciplines may become more important for students. Interdisciplinary STEM learning imitates authentic real-world problem-solving. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education)
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14 pages, 1333 KiB  
Article
Project-Based STEM Learning Using Educational Robotics as the Development of Student Problem-Solving Competence
by Petr Coufal
Mathematics 2022, 10(23), 4618; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/math10234618 - 06 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3361
Abstract
The study focuses on teaching students using educational robots in the field of STEM. The study focused on the influence of project-based teaching on the development of student competences, especially problem-solving competences. The research part of the study describes the conducted pedagogical experiment—teaching [...] Read more.
The study focuses on teaching students using educational robots in the field of STEM. The study focused on the influence of project-based teaching on the development of student competences, especially problem-solving competences. The research part of the study describes the conducted pedagogical experiment—teaching pupils the programming of educational robots. The experiment compared two groups of students in the 8th grade of elementary school, using the “Skills for Life” test, which is used to test student competencies. Project-based teaching in STEM fields using educational robotics is very popular among students and, according to research results, has an impact on the development of student competencies. The results of the presented study clearly demonstrate the positive influence of project-based teaching using educational robots on the development of student competencies, especially the important key competencies for solving problems. The key competence to solve problems is applicable both in the areas of STEM education, but also in the everyday life of the student. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education)
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16 pages, 1437 KiB  
Article
Methods for Mathematical Analysis of Simulated and Real Fractal Processes with Application in Cardiology
by Evgeniya Gospodinova, Penio Lebamovski, Galya Georgieva-Tsaneva, Galina Bogdanova and Diana Dimitrova
Mathematics 2022, 10(19), 3427; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/math10193427 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1333
Abstract
In the article, a comparative analysis is performed regarding the accuracy parameter in determining the degree of self-similarity of fractal processes between the following methods: Variance-Time plot, Rescaled Range (R/S), Wavelet-based, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA). To evaluate [...] Read more.
In the article, a comparative analysis is performed regarding the accuracy parameter in determining the degree of self-similarity of fractal processes between the following methods: Variance-Time plot, Rescaled Range (R/S), Wavelet-based, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA). To evaluate the methods, fractal processes based of Fractional Gaussian Noise were simulated and the dependence between the length of the simulated process and the degree of self-similarity was investigated by calculating the Hurst exponent (H > 0.5). It was found that the Wavelet-based, DFA and MFDFA methods, with a process length greater than 214 points, have a relative error of the Hurst exponent is less than 1%. A methodology for the Wavelet-based method related to determining the size of the scale and the wavelet algorithm was proposed, and it was investigated in terms of the exact determination of the Hurst exponent of two algorithms: Haar and Daubechies with different number of coefficients and different values of the scale. Based on the analysis, it was determined that the Daubechies algorithm with 10 coefficients and scale (i = 2, j = 10) has a relative error of less than 0.5%. The three most accurate methods are applied to the study of real cardiac signals of two groups of people: healthy and unhealthy (arrhythmia) subjects. The results of the statistical analysis, using the t-test, show that the proposed methods can distinguish the two studied groups and can be used for diagnostic purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education)
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Review

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20 pages, 2150 KiB  
Review
Research on Online Collaborative Problem-Solving in the Last 10 Years: Current Status, Hotspots, and Outlook—A Knowledge Graph Analysis Based on CiteSpace
by Peijie Jiang, Xiaomeng Ruan, Zirong Feng, Yanyun Jiang and Bin Xiong
Mathematics 2023, 11(10), 2353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/math11102353 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1869
Abstract
Collaborative problem-solving is a crucial skill to be developed in education. With the development of information technology, collaborative problem-solving in online environments has received increasing attention in recent years. There has been some foundation of research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and collaborative [...] Read more.
Collaborative problem-solving is a crucial skill to be developed in education. With the development of information technology, collaborative problem-solving in online environments has received increasing attention in recent years. There has been some foundation of research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and collaborative problem-solving (CPS). They both have a focus, but there is a trend to combine them. Further understanding of the current state of research on online collaborative problem-solving is much needed. This study reviews 528 relevant papers from the last decade. The researchers summarized the current state of research and hotspots in online collaborative problem-solving based on the visual analysis of CiteSpace. It was found that the number of papers on online collaborative problem-solving is on the rise, with CPS and CSCL as the main research content and ‘feature extraction’, ‘task analysis’, and ‘computation modeling’ as the hot research topics in the past three years. The current research power on CPS and CSCL is mainly distributed in China and the United States, but the inter-institutional collaboration is little. Based on the research results, this paper proposes four future directions to improve the research in online collaborative problem-solving: identity awareness in online collaborative problem-solving, interdisciplinary online collaborative problem-solving, online collaborative problem-solving for teachers, and online collaborative problem-solving and ICT skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the Innovative STEM Education)
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