This study reports on the use of augmented reality (AR) within the context of sustainable engineering design education. The objective of this study is to understand students’ collaboration and negotiation practices in a sustainable engineering design context using AR. The technology used in this study includes MERGE Cube (a physical cube that acts as a digital canvas for AR) and CoSpaces Edu (an online platform for students to build 3D creations and animate them with code). There have been 48 instances of student participation from upper elementary to middle school in four iterations of this study since February 2022. The research was conducted based on a design-based research methodology, and the data was collected through qualitative methods and analyzed using the intra-action analysis method. This study’s outcome revealed that interactions among participant dyads and with the technology shed light on distinct dynamics within collaborative sustainability-oriented learning and design processes. These diverse interactions collectively emphasize the multifaceted nature of collaborative design, where individual experiences, communication styles, and technological proficiency all play integral roles in shaping the collaborative process. In addition, the results of our research showed that the complexities inherent in negotiating ownership and collaboration dynamics are influenced by individual attitudes, timing of involvement, and previous experiences. Given the importance of collaboration in achieving sustainability-oriented goals, these findings are relevant to the field of sustainable engineering education, especially when working with younger children.

In the face of the climate crisis, sustainability education must include a focus on understandings of socio-ecological systems (SES) and applying systems thinking (ST) skills. This study investigates a Community and Citizen Science (CCS) program designed for elementary school students to collect forest data to better understand their SES and gain insights into wildfire management in a California region recently ravaged by wildfires. We examine the development of fourth-grade students’ systems thinking skills and understandings of SES, seeing these as crucial components toward fostering agency with science to support climate resilience. We found that students were capable of recognizing the intricate impacts of wildfires on interconnected human and ecological systems and demonstrated varying levels of proficiency in systems thinking skills. This place-based CCS program cultivated knowledge and skills in young learners that may contribute to better socio-ecological resilience and proactive sustainability efforts.

In a technology-rich learning environment where children collaboratively designed games from scratch, the learning processes are mediated by the technology tools and the socioemotional interactions. This study focuses on the group conflict around sharing the critical tool of iPad and examines the roles that emotional expressions play in mediating the interactions during the conflicts. Findings revealed that both negatively and positively activated and expressed emotions could hinder individual members from equally participating in the group design process, which indicated that to develop children's socioemotional competence, facilitators need to observe beyond the displayed behavior such as dominance and disengagement and understand the emotional experience of learners to better support students' reflection on emotional experiences.