IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i5p2014-d1600392.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Children’s Visualization and Collaboration in a STEM Makerspace: Opportunities for Fostering Sustainability Awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Mijung Kim

    (Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5, Canada)

  • Josh Markle

    (Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5, Canada)

  • Qingna Jin

    (Education Department, Cape Breton University, Sydney, NS B1M 1A2, Canada)

  • Kadriye Akdemir

    (Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5, Canada)

Abstract

With growing concerns about climate change and environmental degradation, students’ understanding of sustainability and climate change has become an increasingly prominent topic in science curricula. This has increased the need for learning experiences that meaningfully address these topics in the classroom. In this study, we investigated how grade 6 students explored sustainability concepts through visualization, specifically by creating 3D models of a sustainable place in a STEM makerspace classroom. By analyzing students’ visualization and their collaborative problem solving, we examined how students conceptualize and navigate diverse perspectives related to sustainability. Our findings indicate that visualization supported students’ epistemic agency and engagement with sustainability concepts. In their 3D models, students highlighted the importance of greenery, renewable energy, local food sources, low-emission transportation, and waste management. They displayed diverse problem-solving approaches when encountering differing ideas in group work. and the visualization activities provided opportunities for students to reason, understand, and negotiate ideas on sustainability and climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Mijung Kim & Josh Markle & Qingna Jin & Kadriye Akdemir, 2025. "Children’s Visualization and Collaboration in a STEM Makerspace: Opportunities for Fostering Sustainability Awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:2014-:d:1600392
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/2014/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/2014/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kumar, Prashant & Sahani, Jeetendra & Rawat, Nidhi & Debele, Sisay & Tiwari, Arvind & Mendes Emygdio, Ana Paula & Abhijith, K.V. & Kukadia, Vina & Holmes, Kathryn & Pfautsch, Sebastian, 2023. "Using empirical science education in schools to improve climate change literacy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    2. Shannon Audley & Julia L. Ginsburg & Cami Furlong, 2024. "“We Don’t Always Have to Be Talking about It”: Moral Reasoning in US Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Dilan Kalaycı Alas & Kurthan Korutürk, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Values Education on Sustainable Environmental Awareness and Behavior Among Eighth-Grade Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Sevinç Gelmez Burakgazi & Michael J. Reiss, 2024. "Perceptions of Sustainability among Children and Teachers: Problems Revealed via the Lenses of Science Communication and Transformative Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-21, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muhammad Adnan & Baohua Xiao & Shaheen Bibi & Peiwen Xiao & Peng Zhao & Haiyan Wang & Muhammad Ubaid Ali & Xianjin An, 2024. "Known and Unknown Environmental Impacts Related to Climate Changes in Pakistan: An Under-Recognized Risk to Local Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Grace Gardner & Wendy Burton & Maddie Sinclair & Maria Bryant, 2023. "Interventions to Strengthen Environmental Sustainability of School Food Systems: Narrative Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Tang, Wenguang & Mai, Liuqing & Li, Meifeng, 2023. "Green innovation and resource efficiency to meet net-zero emission," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:2014-:d:1600392. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.