Prof Andrew Manches, Chair in Children and Technology and Director of the Centre's Children and Technology research strand, has been developing a new product, STEM Charades, informed by Wellcome Trust funded research into the role of actions and gestures in how children learn.
STEM Charades is a fun, interactive, gesture game that builds communication skills, confidence, and a deeper understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The game is one of several efforts to scale the impact of the underpinning research into embodied learning. Another is an at-cost accredited self-study course on Embodied Learning, being created with STEM Educator charity partner SSERC, and due for launch in October 2024.
STEM Charades is licenced to PlayTalkLearn (Pling Ltd), an early learning technology company, of which Prof Manches is director, and draws on the Move2Learn project's research, undertaken at the Centre for Research in Digital Education and funded by the National Science Foundation (US) and Wellcome Trust (UK). The STEM Charades website brings together a commercial dissemination route while also sharing research about the development of STEM, with the aim of amplifying social impact. STEM Charades has now soft launched and is available to buy. Key organisations are set to receive samples in the coming weeks.
For any questions on STEM Charades or the above-mentioned upcoming course on Embodied Learning, please contact a.manches@ed.ac.uk.