This study evaluates a STEAM-based astronomy workshop for children, delivered at two science engagement events in Malta: Science in the City 2023 and Unconventional Science Careers Days 2023. The workshop integrated storytelling, mythological narratives, creative making activities, and digital tools within the 5E instructional model and the creative pedagogy CREATIONS, with constellations as the central theme. Using a mixed-methods approach, we collected survey data from 122 participants (aged M=10, SD=2.4) and practitioner observations. Quantitative analysis showed that most children (80.3%) found the workshop easy to understand, though 91.8% reported not learning new content. Despite this, 51.6% expressed strong interest in learning more about astronomy, and 55.7% wanted similar school workshops. Significant differences emerged by setting: open-air festival participants reported higher levels of enjoyment and clarity than classroom-based participants. Qualitative analysis revealed children emphasized astronomy knowledge, enjoyment, and creative processes, often linking learning to personal contexts such as zodiac signs. Practitioner observations highlighted parental involvement as both supportive and potentially intrusive. These findings suggest STEAM workshops emphasising artistic processes, can stimulate curiosity, engagement, and cultural relevance in astronomy education, while underscoring the importance of facilitator training and careful scaffolding to balance creativity with conceptual accuracy. The study contributes to research on non-formal STEAM learning by demonstrating the potential and challenges of integrating arts, storytelling, and science in astronomy education.

Recent research emphasizes the importance of Artificial Intelligence applications as supporting tools for students in higher education. Simultaneously, an intensive exchange of views has started in the public debate in the international educational community. However, for a more proper use of these applications, it is necessary to investigate the factors that explain their intention and actual use in the future. With the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model, this work analyses the factors influencing students’ use and intention to use Artificial Intelligence technology. For this purpose, a sample of 197 Greek students at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences from the University of Patras participated in a survey. The findings highlight that expected performance, habit, and enjoyment of these Artificial Intelligence applications are key determinants influencing teachers’ intentions to use them. Moreover, behavioural intention, habit, and facilitating conditions explain the usage of these Artificial Intelligence applications. This study did not reveal any moderating effects. The limitations, practical implications, and proposed directions for future research based on these results are discussed.

In this paper we are examining the evolving landscape of the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in early childhood education. We are reviewing journal papers published over the past decade (2012–2023) (Ν = 29) and analyse them descriptively and through thematic analysis. We focus on the learning context and educational content of the AI applications in preschool settings. Research in the field has focused on areas such as the design and development of AI-powered tools and intelligent systems, the interaction of children with AI technologies and their impact on children’s skills and development, while more recently AI is being also viewed as a learning objective in the context of AI education and literacy. Our findings suggest that AI can be leveraged to foster a range of cognitive, social, and emotional skills through appropriate pedagogical frameworks and carefully designed pedagogical practices. The trends identified in the paper suggest the need for multidisciplinary approaches where technology, pedagogy, education, psychology, and policymaking intersect.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent, it has become a topic of interest in education. The use of AI in education poses complex issues, not only in terms of its impact on teaching and learning outcomes but also in terms of the ethical considerations regarding personal data and the individual needs of each student. Our study systematically analyzed empirical research on the use of AI in primary education, specifically for children aged 4–12 years old. We reviewed 35 articles indexed in SCOPUS, filtered them according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, analyzed them, and categorized the findings. The research focused on the studies’ objectives, learning content, learning outcomes, learning activities, and the pedagogy of activities or the AI tools. Our categorization resulted in three main categories of research objectives regarding the creation, implementation, and evaluation of AI tools and five categories for learning content: AI and ML (machine learning) concepts in STEM and STEAM, language learning, mathematics, arts, and various other subjects. The learning activities were split into four categories: apply, engage, interact, use; project-based learning with multiple activities; experience and practice; and students as tutors. The learning outcomes were split into three levels: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The pedagogy of AI tools falls into four categories: constructivism, experiential learning, AI-assisted learning, and project-based learning. The implications for teacher professional development are discussed.

Despite the increasing demand for non-formal science learning activities, few studies report on practitioners' perspectives and experiences with designing and implementing such activities worldwide. This paper focuses on their challenges by drawing upon twenty-two interviews with practitioners involved in diverse science learning activities in various non-formal settings in seven European countries. By including diverse activities and settings, this study contributes to the existing knowledge base, addresses the aforementioned gap in the literature, and informs future practices. Our findings suggest that despite the existing and celebrated diversity, practitioners face similar challenges related to (a) the activities' organisation and management, (b) the competencies required to run such activities, and (c) the attitudes held by the parties involved in them. Direct interview quotes exemplify each theme, further pinpointing the interconnection of multiple factors that inform the organisation and implementation of non-formal science learning activities. The findings allowed for a deeper understanding of challenges reported in the literature and shed light on the challenges voiced by the practitioners including the multiple competencies required and the workload. We conclude with a discussion foregrounding the need to build a knowledge base of shared practices in the field of non-formal science learning.

Artificial intelligence (AI) education and literacy are gaining momentum over the past few years; AI systems are permeating our daily lives and mediate our social, cultural, and political interactions. The implications of AI extend beyond the technical aspects and involve ethical, cultural, and social issues such as misinformation and bias. Understanding how an AI system works and critical thinking skills have, therefore, become ever more crucial for children and young people in order to be able to identify the benefits and challenges of AI. The role of the educators is, at this point, critical. This chapter is situated in the context of AI education and literacy and aims to propose a framework for teacher training on AI and ML education. The design of the teacher training courses and initial findings are described. Through an exploratory approach, insights on the attitudes, the requirements, and the recommendations of the teachers emerged.

PRESCHOOL EDUCATION AND EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING IN THE COVID ERA: EXPLORING THE PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCE OF IN-SERVICE PRESCHOOL EDUCATORS

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are increasingly being adopted to create and filter online digital content viewed by audiences from diverse demographics. From an early age, children grow into habitual use of online services but are usually unaware of how such algorithms operate, or even of their presence. Design decisions and biases inherent in the ML algorithms or in the datasets they are trained on shape the everyday digital lives of present and future generations. It is therefore important to disseminate a general understanding of AI and ML, and the ethical concerns associated with their use. As a response, the digital game ArtBot was designed and developed to teach fundamental principles about AI and ML, and to promote critical thinking about their functionality and shortcomings in everyday digital life. The game is intended as a learning tool in primary and secondary school classrooms. To assess the effectiveness of the ArtBot game as a learning experience we collected data from over 2,000 players across different platforms focusing on the degree of usage, interface efficiency, learners' performance and user experience. The quantitative usage data collected within the game was complemented by over 160 survey responses from teachers and students during early pilots of ArtBot. The evaluation analysis performed in this paper gauges the usability and usefulness of the game, and identifies areas of the game design which need improvement.

Research examining preschool teachers' views on the use of digital games in teaching and learning is quite limited. This study aims to investigate preschool teachers’ views about the integration of digital games in the classroom. Views from ten Greek preschool teachers were collected with semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Teachers mention that use various digital environment such as KidMedia, RamKid, Kidepedia, TuxPaint as digital games and use them mainly for students’ assessment or just for relaxation, while fewer choose to teach through digital games. Teachers observe that children are more focused and are more productive without complaining and getting bored easily. Finally, participants report as barriers mainly the lack of equipment. Implications for in-service teacher training and educational policy are discussed.

: The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and its increased use in everyday life have exacerbated the need to understand its underlying processes, and to raise awareness about its shortcomings and faults. Consequently there has been an increased effort to teach basic concepts of AI and machine learning (ML) from an early age. Digital games have been shown to be effective as teaching and learning tools, and there are ongoing efforts to increase AI literacy through educational digital games. To this effect, this work describes the process followed to extrapolate the design of such an educational game directly from the pedagogical needs emerging from stakeholders. Seven focus groups and workshops were conducted in Greece, Malta and Norway, with 55 teachers, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, and 22 primary and secondary education students in total. These workshops identified seven goals which informed the design of a game for AI literacy called ArtBot. The game design process and the final interface and gameplay loop of ArtBot are explained in relation to these goals. The game was subsequently deployed across a variety of platforms, to enable dissemination to a broad audience in classrooms and elsewhere. The game was part of the tools developed in the framework of the LearnML Erasmus+ project. A preliminary online survey was used to gauge how well the game was received by teachers and students, with an overall positive result. A longer-term data collection of the game usage statistics has been initiated and will be analysed over the course of the game dissemination.

With the ubiquitous role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday applications such as smartphones and social media, children need digital literacy skills to navigate the digital world, critically view, and reflect on the social and ethical implications of the design and architecture of AI systems. To address this increasing need for AI literacy skills, particularly for younger students, this paper presents the rationale of the LearnML project which aims to develop a framework and game-based educational material for promoting AI literacy among primary and secondary education students. We also describe the design and initial assessment of the game “ArtBot”, developed as part of the LearnML project. We review existing literature, discuss the educational game design and development of “ArtBot” and describe the initial feedback of students and teachers. Our goal is to provide insights and suggest guidelines for the implementation of game-based learning environments for supporting AI literacy skills of students.

Digital games have gained significance as a new paradigm in education. Digital games are accessible and affordable to anyone and provide opportunities for at-scale teaching and learning. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in digital games to support computational thinking and programming in pre-college (K–12) schools. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are a rapidly developing field, attracting an increasing number of learners in the past few years. Although the confluence of digital games and AI/ML is an important and challenging field for teaching and learning researchers, a literature review has not yet been conducted in this area. The purpose of this work is to present a review of recent research into games to support AI and ML education. After a thorough search, relevant papers and games were selected and included in our qualitative content analysis. Based on this review, we present an overview of the relevant research papers and games, as well as showcased how different games provide a unique opportunity to teach a number of different concepts and topics in AI and ML.

Although the appropriate design of the game is crucial for the attainment of learning objectives in game based learning, in formal education settings the role of the educators is critical. The experience and the competences of the educators are important for the success of the game based educational intervention. Our study is situated in this context, examining the perceptions, experience, and intentions to use digital games of student teachers. Our goal is to identify and propose areas where student teachers may be supported during their studies so that they are better prepared to implement games in primary and secondary education. The sample of this study was 125 university students who may potentially become primary and secondary education teachers. Data were collected through an online survey in Universities in Greece and analysed statistically. The results indicate that game experience and perceived usefulness of the games as learning tools are the strongest predictors for the intention to use digital games in the classroom.

Game design can have a positive impact on children's game literacy skills, on domain specific knowledge, and on cognitive skills such as problem solving. This paper reports a participatory game design activity involving early childhood education students. Seven preschoolers, aged 4-5, were asked to design a digital game in the framework of a year-long school programme of activities on architecture. An exploratory approach using a qualitative research methodology was adopted and data from participatory observation and video recordings were analysed. Our findings indicate the potential of preschool children for the design of digital games, as well as their perceptions on digital games. Implications on the design of participatory game design activities in preschool education are further discussed. Further research in the field of participatory game design in preschool education can provide valuable insights regarding children's needs and requirements in relation to digital games, as well as their perceptions and approaches to game design.

There is a growing number of informal and non-formal learning activities worldwide related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curricular subject areas—particularly those involving coding and making. To better understand the general aim and content of such activities, we conducted a survey addressing highly experienced instructional designers and instructors of informal and non-formal science learning activities in nine European countries (N = 128). The goal of this paper is to investigate the relation between the gender of the activity leader experts, the target audience, the covered curricular subjects, the main goal, and the place of the activity. The results show that the gender and age of the participants are related to the covered curricular subjects and to the goal of the activity, and that the place of the activity is associated with all of the investigated dimensions. We introduce the patterns we identified that describe typical goals and the covered curricular subjects in relation to the participants' gender and age along with patterns between the activity leader experts' gender, the covered curricular subjects, and the main goal of the activity, as well as relationships between the studied dimensions and the place of the activity. Furthermore, we discuss the best practices and the bottlenecks of the activities, as well as detailed study findings regarding the revealed patterns, in addition to their implications and value for the informal and non-formal learning communities.

In this study, we review existing free digital games for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We examine their features, aim, educational design, and learning theories that underlie them. Fourteen games were analysed. Based on our analysis, behaviourism seems to be a dominant educational approach for the design of games for ASD, despite the educational advantages of constructivist approaches. Through this review, we link the educational design of digital games for children with ASD to the potential learning outcomes, and we provide some insights for game developers, ASD specialists, and teachers, relevant to the design of more effective games for children with ASD.

In this chapter, we focus on the links between science learning and digital games. We review previous studies in the field, identify key findings and propose a conceptual model for further research. We view digital games not only as media through which players can explore and understand or be motivated to further study the learning content, but also as cultural and social practices within which gameplaying is situated. The main themes discussed in this chapter as factors relevant to the support of science learning and scientific thinking through game-based learning are (a) game design issues, (b) individual factors such as game preferences and motivations, game experience and literacy, and perceptions of games and (c) the social and cultural context of gameplaying (e.g. formal, non-formal and informal learning settings). Digital games can be effective instructional tools for science education but in this chapter we further examine how they can become tools for empowering the learners to meaningfully engage with science and how they can support the learners’ scientific literacy and citizenship.