Spatial reasoning has been shown to be an important, trainable cognitive skillset for developing successful engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but little empirical work has been conducted in the context of digitally mediated pedagogies. This paper reports on a study into the effectiveness of a technologically enhanced STEM program on the spatial reasoning of a cohort of year 7 students (n = 107). The students undertook five digitally based activities over the period of a week and were assessed on their spatial reasoning development and attitudes towards STEM prior and subsequent to the intervention. Results indicate that the week of learning activities had an impact on attitudes towards STEM and had a positive impact on overall spatial skills. However, no statistically significant improvements were found within the spatial sub-skills or in relation to specific activities.

Video has become a useful tool in Initial Teacher Education for self-evaluation and reflection by pre-service teachers (PSTs). The availability of 360degree video cameras and web-based applications, to review and annotate 360degree videos, allows PSTs greater flexibility to view and review their practice from a variety of perspectives. This study explores PSTs’ use of 360degree video for reflection on their teaching practice. 360degree video provides PSTs with the capacity to pan ‘around’ the video, and in doing so has supported PSTs to detach and reflect on their own practice. The findings suggest that the PSTs valued the additional perspectives afforded by the 360degree nature of the video, which had a particular impact on their understanding of their presence, interactions and explanations. Peer video viewing was also found to be a useful tool in supporting PSTs to ‘notice’ additional areas for improvement in their own practice.

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This study examines the impact of a learning design focussed on providing guided autonomy within a virtual makerspace on the spatial thinking, anxiety and learning creativity of participating students. The learning design deployed within the virtual makerspace was consistent with the learning principles espoused by Self-Determination Theory in that it allowed students to develop autonomy and make many important decisions in their own learning, created diverse opportunities for the relatedness through authentic opportunities to work with others, and ensured a sense of competence through the provision of ‘just in time’ training and support. Through a within-subjects pre-/post-test design, the study showed a significant improvement in spatial reasoning across the cohort (n = 340). The most notable gains were for students with low but not very low pre-test scores before the intervention. Improvements in creativity and anxiety were also reported by students following the program. Given the research showing the importance of spatial reasoning to future success in STEM educational and career trajectories, these results suggest that well designed makerspace learning may be particularly useful in addressing an important learning gap for disadvantaged students.

Learning progressions have become increasingly prevalent in mathematics education as they offer a fine-grain map of possible learning pathways a child may take within a particular domain. However, there is an opportunity to build upon this research in ways that consider learning from multiple perspectives. Many current forms of learning progressions describe learning pathways without explicit consideration of how related skills and contexts directly or indirectly enhance or influence learning. That is, the structured and unstructured learning contexts that can help children develop conceptual understanding in a range of STEM contexts. We consider learning progressions from multiple perspectives, which will be particularly important for supporting learning in early years, play-based contexts. We propose a novel theoretical perspective, termed Bounded Learning Progressions (BLP), which demonstrates the connection and influence ways of reasoning have on the progression of learning in specific domains, bounded by the context in which learning develops. We suggest that this approach provides a broader perspective of children’s learning capabilities and the possible connections between such abilities, acknowledging the critical role context plays in the development of learning.