This article introduces a framework for transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Heterotopic Affinity Spaces (HAS). Our model suggests HAS can shift traditional power dynamics by enhancing learner agency. Drawing on studies of affinity spaces and heterotopias, we present these spaces as free from the restrictions of formal…

Purpose: This practitioner-focused article highlights a collaborative, school-wide project at a PDS that showcased elementary students' strengths and talents. Based on the children's book, The Smart Cookie (John, 2021), teachers and the university professor-in-residence developed professional learning communities, which inspired the creation of a…

Daily media use by an entire generation shows the distance that exists between the reality experienced by young people and the institutions responsible for their education. Formal education is still closely linked to the passive role of literary receivers, ignoring the potential of connected communication for student empowerment. At the same time,…

This mixed methods study examines the creativity of Black girls as they learned to code virtual environments in an afterschool program. The afterschool program, West Philly Tech Camp/Black Girls in Computing was a nine-week program in which students learned to code a virtual chatbot using Python. The program's design was guided by culturally…

This study explores different conceptualizations of creativity within an educational setting, using textual coding and network mapping on data from a creativity-focused course. Two primary conceptualizations emerged: the Freedom-Possession and Playful-Adaptation conceptualizations. Each was associated with unique practices and elements of the…

Esports has been adopted by high schools across the country and around the world as a school-based opportunity for students to engage in competitive video gaming. Growth of esports in secondary schools has been informed independently by student and industry interests, leaving school administrators little understanding surrounding the motives and…

Comprehensive community development programs in a university provide the opportunity to bring awareness to diversity, inclusion, and equity in students' research projects. Unfortunately, the Indonesian higher education system is not yet fully inclusive of all of these issues. Students competed in a Student Creativity Program (PKM) project with…

Bet on Baltimore is a summer youth development program with a focus on creativity, making, and entrepreneurship created by Dent Education in 2017 and designed for Baltimore City public high school students. The goals are to engage high school students in Baltimore in meaningful work, leadership, and personal development activities and, according…

This study aimed to explore the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) principles in informal STEM education, focusing on the experiences of Underrepresented Racially Minoritized (UUREM) girls during a week-long residential STEM summer camp. Utilizing a single case study design, the researchers investigated how PBL facilitates engagement…

As we have come to accept the duality of physical and virtual learning spaces as a permanent feature of our educational landscape, we begin to question its validity. Is this really a dichotomy, or is it a continuum? Should this be the primary dimension around which we cluster educational experiences -- how does it intersect and interact with other…

This book provides a single source of reference for educators interested in understanding how industry-based ideas have been adapted into different educational contexts, and supports their utilisation in practice. The link between industry-based ideas and their application in education has enabled educators to develop engaging, collaborative, and…

Creativity is an important twenty-first century skill often overlooked in higher education curricula, particularly in the sciences. Students need opportunities to practice and demonstrate their creativity and gain an awareness of the importance of such skills to enhance their graduate capabilities. One way is to embed creativity into course…

Making is an iterative process of designing, building, tinkering, and problem-solving, resulting in the creation of personally meaningful artifacts. Fueled by recent developments in affordable, safe, and easy to use digital fabrication technologies, making has been embraced by educators the world over. While educational scholarship is developing…