Search results for: architectural pedagogy

Authors: Julia Rey-Pérez, Julia Díaz Borrego

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The modernisation process of the city of Sevilla in Spain and the transformation of the city took place through national and local government initiatives from the 1960s onwards. Part of these actions was the execution of numerous residential neighbourhoodsthat prepared Sevilla for the change of era. This process was possible thanks to the implementation of public policies that showed the imminent need for new architectural programmes, as well as for high-rise architecture built in reinforced concrete. However, very little is known to this day about the modernisation process in Sevilla and the development of these neighbourhoods, which were designed to house a large number of people and are today a key reference point in the Historic Urban Landscape of the city of Seville. Therefore, the present research aims to learn and reflect upon the urban transformation of the city at this time andto deepen the heritage uniqueness of these neighbourhoods, as is the case of ElPlantinarneighbourhood.The methodology proposed for this research is structured in three phases, where in the first stage, a general study of the El Plantinarneighbourhood was carried out on three scales: urban, object-typological and perceptive. In the second stage, the cultural attributes and values of the urban complex in question were identified in order to determine whether the case study is truly representative of the beginnings of modernity in Spain and whether it needs a heritage approach. Finally, a third phase is proposed in which criteria will be defined on how to intervene in this neighbourhood to guarantee its presence in the urban landscape of the city of Seville. The expected results will help to understand the process of modernisation that the city has undergone, as well as the heritage value of this architecture in the construction of the collective memory.

Keywords: modern heritage, urban obsolescence, methodology, develop

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Authors: Matthias Stange

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In the early modern period, a different image of man began to prevail in Europe. The focus was on the self-determined human being and his abilities. At first, these developments could be seen in Italian painting and architecture, which again oriented itself to the concepts and forms of antiquity. For example, through the discovery of perspective representation by Brunelleschi or later the orthogonal projection by Alberti, after the ancient knowledge of optics had been forgotten in the Middle Ages. The understanding of reality in the Middle Ages was not focused on the sensually perceptible world but was determined by ecclesiastical dogmas. The empirical part of this study examines the rediscovery and development of perspective. With the paradigm of antiquity, the figure of the architect was also recognised again - the cultural man trained theoretically and practically in numerous subjects, as Vitruvius describes him. In this context, the role of the architect, the influence on the painting of the Quattrocento as well as the influence on architectural representation in the Baroque period are examined. Baroque is commonly associated with the idea of illusionistic appearance as opposed to the tangible reality presented in the Renaissance. The study has shown that the central perspective projection developed by Filippo Brunelleschi enabled another understanding of seeing and the dissemination of painted images. Brunelleschi's development made it possible to understand the sight of nature as a reflection of what is presented to the viewer's eye. Alberti later shortened Brunelleschi's central perspective representation for practical use in painting. In early modern Italian architecture and painting, these developments apparently supported each other. The pictorial representation of architecture initially served the development of an art form before it became established in building practice itself.

Keywords: Alberti, Brunelleschi, central perspective projection, orthogonal projection, quattrocento, baroque

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Authors: Paulomi Polly Burey, Mark Lynch

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It has been shown that laboratory activities can help cement understanding of theoretical concepts, but it is difficult to deliver such an activity to an online cohort and issues such as occupational health and safety in the students’ learning environment need to be considered. Chemistry, in particular, is one of the sciences where practical experience is beneficial for learning, however typical university experiments may not be suitable for the learning environment of a distance learner. Food provides an ideal medium for demonstrating chemical concepts, and along with a few simple physical and virtual tools provided by educators, analytical chemistry can be experienced by distance learners. Food chemistry experiments were designed to be carried out in a home-based environment that 1) Had sufficient scientific rigour and skill-building to reinforce theoretical concepts; 2) Were safe for use at home by university students and 3) Had the potential to enhance student learning by linking simple hands-on laboratory activities with high-level virtual science. Two main components of the resources were developed, a home laboratory experiment component, and a virtual laboratory component. For the home laboratory component, students were provided with laboratory kits, as well as a list of supplementary inexpensive chemical items that they could purchase from hardware stores and supermarkets. The experiments used were typical proximate analyses of food, as well as experiments focused on techniques such as spectrophotometry and chromatography. Written instructions for each experiment coupled with video laboratory demonstrations were used to train students on appropriate laboratory technique. Data that students collected in their home laboratory environment was collated across the class through shared documents, so that the group could carry out statistical analysis and experience a full laboratory experience from their own home. For the virtual laboratory component, students were able to view a laboratory safety induction and advised on good characteristics of a home laboratory space prior to carrying out their experiments. Following on from this activity, students observed laboratory demonstrations of the experimental series they would carry out in their learning environment. Finally, students were embedded in a virtual laboratory environment to experience complex chemical analyses with equipment that would be too costly and sensitive to be housed in their learning environment. To investigate the impact of the intervention, students were surveyed before and after the laboratory series to evaluate engagement and satisfaction with the course. Students were also assessed on their understanding of theoretical chemical concepts before and after the laboratory series to determine the impact on their learning. At the end of the intervention, focus groups were run to determine which aspects helped and hindered learning. It was found that the physical experiments helped students to understand laboratory technique, as well as methodology interpretation, particularly if they had not been in such a laboratory environment before. The virtual learning environment aided learning as it could be utilized for longer than a typical physical laboratory class, thus allowing further time on understanding techniques.

Keywords: chemistry, food science, future pedagogy, STEM education

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Authors: Elnaz Abbasian, Mohsen Faizi

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In its thousand-year development, architecture has gained valuable patterns. Iran’s desert regions possess developed patterns of traditional architecture and outstanding skeletal features. Unfortunately increasing population and urbanization growth in the past decade as well as the lack of harmony with environment’s texture has destroyed such permanent concepts in the building’s skeleton, causing a lot of energy waste in the modern architecture. The important question is how cooling patterns of Iran’s traditional architecture can be used in a new way in the modern architecture of residential buildings? This research is library-based and documental that looks at sustainable development, analyzes the features of Iranian architecture in hot and dry climate in terms of sustainability as well as historical patterns, and makes a model for real environment. By methodological analysis of past, it intends to suggest a new pattern for residential buildings’ cooling in Iran’s hot and dry climate which is in full accordance to the ecology of the design and at the same time possesses the architectural indices of the past. In the process of cities’ physical development, ecological measures, in proportion to desert’s natural background and climate conditions, has kept the natural fences, preventing buildings from facing climate adversities. Designing and construction of buildings with this viewpoint can reduce the energy needed for maintaining and regulating environmental conditions and with the use of appropriate building technology help minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels while having permanent patterns of desert buildings’ architecture.

Keywords: sustainability concepts, sustainable development, energy climate architecture, fossil fuel, hot and dry climate, patterns of traditional sustainability for residential buildings, modern pattern of cooling

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Authors: Velázquez Alejandro, Pradhan Sujan, Yoon Rokhyun, Sanada Yasushi

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The utilization of new materials as an alternative solution to decrease the environmental impact of the construction industry has been gaining more relevance in the architectural design and construction industry. One such material is cross-laminated timber (CLT), an engineered timber solution that excels for its faster construction times, workability, lightweight, and capacity for carbon storage. This material is usually used alone for the entire structure or combined with steel frames, but a hybrid with reinforced concrete (RC) is rarer. Since RC is one of the most used materials worldwide, a hybrid with CLT would allow further utilization of the latter, and in the process, it would help reduce the environmental impact of RC construction to achieve a sustainable society, but first, the structural performance of such hybrids must be understood. This paper focuses on proposing a model to predict the seismic performance of RC frames with CLT panels as infills. A series of static horizontal cyclic loading experiments were conducted on two 40% scale specimens of reinforced concrete frames with and without CLT panels at Osaka University, Japan. An analytical model was created to simulate the seismic performance of the RC frame with CLT infill based on the experimental results. The proposed model was verified by comparing the experimental and analytical results, showing that the load-deformation relationship and the failure mechanism agreed well with limited error. Hence, the proposed analytical model can be implemented for the seismic performance evaluation of the RC frames with CLT infill.

Keywords: analytical model, multi spring, performance evaluation, reinforced concrete, rocking mechanism, wooden wall

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Authors: Akaki Qatamidze

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Implementation of the project will be a step forward in terms of reliability in Georgia and the improvement of the construction and the development of construction. Completion of the project is expected to result in a complete knowledge, which is expressed in concrete and stone structures of assessing the technical condition of the processing. This method is based on a detailed examination of the structure, in order to establish the injuries and the elimination of the possibility of changing the structural scheme of the new requirements and architectural preservationists. Reinforced concrete and stone structures research project carried out in a systematic analysis of the important approach is to optimize the process of research and development of new knowledge in the neighboring areas. In addition, the problem of physical and mathematical models of rational consent, the main pillar of the physical (in-situ) data and mathematical calculation models and physical experiments are used only for the calculation model specification and verification. Reinforced concrete and stone construction defects and failures the causes of the proposed research to enhance the effectiveness of their maximum automation capabilities and expenditure of resources to reduce the recommended system analysis of the methodological concept-based approach, as modern science and technology major particularity of one, it will allow all family structures to be identified for the same work stages and procedures, which makes it possible to exclude subjectivity and addresses the problem of the optimal direction. It discussed the methodology of the project and to establish a major step forward in the construction trades and practical assistance to engineers, supervisors, and technical experts in the construction of the settlement of the problem.

Keywords: building, reinforced concrete, expertise, stone structures

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Authors: Ashwini Bhosale, Yogesh Patil

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Urban areas are extremely complicated environmental settings, where health and well-being of an individual and population are governed by a large number of bio-physical, socio-economical, and inclusive aspects. Although poverty and slums are the prime issues under UN-HABITAT agenda of environmental sustainability, slums, the inevitable part of urban environment, have not accounted for inclusive city planning. Developing nations, where about 60 % of world slum population resides, are increasingly under pressure to uplift the urban poor, particularly slum dwellers. From a point of advantage, these new slum redevelopment projects have succeeded in providing legitimized and more permanent and stable shelter for the low income people, as well as individualized sanitation and water supply. However, they unfortunately follow the “one type fits all" approach and exhibit no response to the climatic design needs on Mumbai. The thesis focuses on the study of environmental perspectives in the context of Daylight, natural ventilation and social aspects in the design process of Slum-Rehabilitation schemes (SRS) – case of Mumbai. It attempts to investigate into Indian approaches about SRS and concludes upon strategies to be incorporated in SRS to improve the overall SRS environment. The main objectives of this work have been to identify and study the spatial configuration and possibilities of daylight and natural ventilation in Slum Rehabilitated buildings. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated by comparison with the daylight luminance simulated by lighting software, namely ECOTECT, and with measurements under real skies whereas for the ventilation study purpose, software named FLOW DESIGN was used.

Keywords: urban environment, slum-rehabilitation, daylight, natural-ventilation, architectural consequences

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Authors: Elif Bakkaloglu, Necdet Torunbalci

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The fact of earthquakes in Turkiye is an inevitable natural disaster. Therefore, buildings must be prepared for this natural hazard. Especially in hospital buildings, earthquake resistance is an essential point because hospitals are one of the first places where people come after an earthquake. Although hospital buildings are more suitable for horizontal architecture, it is necessary to construct and expand multi-storey hospital buildings due to difficulties in finding suitable places as a result of excessive urbanization, difficulties in obtaining appropriate size land and decrease in suitable places and increase in land values. In Turkiye, using seismic isolators in public hospitals, which are placed in first-degree earthquake zone and have more than 100 beds, is made obligatory by general instruction. As a result of this decision, it may sometimes be necessary to construct seismic isolated multi-storey hospital buildings in cities where those problems are experienced. Although widespread use of seismic isolators in Japan, there are few multi-storey buildings in which seismic isolators are used in Turkiye. As it is known, base isolation systems are the most effective methods of earthquake resistance, as number of floors increases, center of gravity moves away from base in multi-storey buildings, increasing the overturning effect and limiting the use of these systems. In this context, it is aimed to investigate structural systems of multi-storey buildings which built using seismic isolation methods in the World. In addition to this, a working principle is suggested for disseminating seismic isolators in multi-storey hospital buildings. The results to be obtained from the study will guide architects who design multi-storey hospital buildings in their architectural designs and engineers in terms of structural system design.

Keywords: earthquake, energy absorbing systems, hospital, seismic isolation systems

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Authors: Maria V. Mishatkina

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The modelling of dialogical environment is an essential feature of modern education. The dialogue of cultures is a foundation and an important prerequisite for a formation of a human’s main moral qualities such as an ability to understand another person, which is manifested in such values as tolerance, respect, mutual assistance and mercy. A formation of a modern expert occurs in an educational environment that is significantly different from what we had several years ago. Nowadays university education has qualitatively new characteristics. They may be observed in Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), a top Russian higher education institution which unites representatives of more than 150 countries. The content of its educational strategies is not an adapted cultural experience but material between science and innovation. Besides, RUDN University’s profiles and specialization are not equal to the professional structures. People study not a profession in a strict sense but a basic scientific foundation of an activity in different socio-cultural areas (science, business and education). RUDN University also provides a considerable unit of professional education components. They are foreign languages skills, economic, political, ethnic, communication and computer culture, theory of information and basic management skills. Moreover, there is a rich social life (festive multicultural events, theme parties, journeys) and prospects concerning the inclusive approach to education (for example, a special course ‘Social Pedagogy: Issues of Tolerance’). In our research, we use such methods as analysis of modern and contemporary scientific literature, opinion poll (involving students, teachers and research workers) and comparative data analysis. We came to the conclusion that knowledge transfer of RUDN student in the activity happens through making goals, problems, issues, tasks and situations which simulate future innovative ambiguous environment that potentially prepares him/her to dialogical way of life. However, all these factors may not take effect if there is no ‘personal inspiration’ of students by communicative and dialogic values, their participation in a system of meanings and tools of learning activity that is represented by cooperation within the framework of scientific and pedagogical schools dialogue. We also found out that dominating strategies of ensuring the quality of education are those that put students in the position of the subject of their own education. Today these strategies and approaches should involve such approaches and methods as task, contextual, modelling, specialized, game-imitating and dialogical approaches, the method of practical situations, etc. Therefore, University in the modern sense is not only an educational institution, but also a generator of innovation, cooperation among nations and cultural progress. RUDN University has been performing exactly this mission for many decades.

Keywords: dialogical developing situation, dialogue of cultures, readiness for dialogue, university graduate

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Authors: A. Papadopoulou

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When people are asked to provide an oral description of a space they usually provide a Tour description, which is a dynamic type of spatial narrative centered on the narrator’s body, rather than a Map description, which is a static type of spatial narrative focused on the organization of the space as seen from above. Also, subjects with training in the architecture discipline tend to adopt a Tour perspective of space when the narrative refers to a space they have actually experienced but tend to adopt a Map perspective when the narrative refers to a space they have merely imagined. This pilot study aims to investigate whether the Tour description, which is the most common mode in the oral descriptions of experienced space, is a cognitive perspective taken in the process of designing a space. The study investigates whether a spatial description provided by a subject with architecture training in the type of a Tour description would be accurately translated into a spatial layout by other subjects with architecture training. The subjects were given the Tour description in written form and were asked to make a plan drawing of the described space. The results demonstrate that when we conceive and design space we do not adopt the same rules and cognitive patterns that we adopt when we reconstruct space from our memory. As shown by the results of this pilot study, the rules that underlie the Tour description were not detected in the translation from narratives to drawings. In a different phase, the study also investigates how would subjects with architecture training describe space when forced to take a Tour perspective in their oral description of a space. The results of this second phase demonstrate that if intentionally taken, the Tour perspective leads to descriptions of space that are more detailed and focused on experiential aspects.

Keywords: architecture, design process, embodied cognition, map description, oral narratives, tour description

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Authors: Hao-Wei Fu, Chung-Feng Kao

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In the era of rapid technological advancement, information technology (IT) has become integral to modern life, exerting significant influence across diverse sectors and serving as a catalyst for development in various industries. Within agriculture, the integration of IT offers substantial benefits, notably enhancing operational efficiency. Real-time monitoring systems, for instance, have been widely embraced in agriculture, effectively improving crop management practices. This study specifically addresses the management of rice panicle fertilizer, presenting the development of a web application tailored to handle data associated with rice panicle fertilizer management. Leveraging the normalized difference red edge index, this application optimizes the quantity of rice panicle fertilizer used, providing recommendations to agricultural stakeholders and service providers in the agricultural information sector. The overarching objective is to minimize costs while maximizing yields. Furthermore, a robust database system has been established to store and manage relevant data for future reference in rice cultivation management. Additionally, the study utilizes the Representational State Transfer software architectural style to construct an application programming interface (API), facilitating data creation, retrieval, updating, and deletion for users via the HyperText Transfer Protocol methods. Future plans involve integrating this API with third-party services to incorporate it into larger frameworks, thus catering to the diverse requirements of various third-party services.

Keywords: application programming interface, HyperText Transfer Protocol, nitrogen fertilizer intelligent management, web-based application

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Authors: Sheilla Atieno Odhiambo, Simona Vasile, Alexandra De Raeve, Ann Schwarz

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Strain sensing seams have been developed by integrating conductive sewing threads in different types of seams design on a fabric typical for sports clothing using sewing technology. The aim is to have a simple integrated textile strain sensor that can be applied to sports clothing to monitor the movements of the upper body parts of the user during sports. Different types of commercially available sewing threads were used as the bobbin thread in the production of different architectural seam sensors. These conductive sewing threads have been integrated into seams in particular designs using specific seam types. Some of the threads are delicate and needed to be laid into the seam with as little friction as possible and less tension; thus, they could only be sewn in as the bobbin thread and not the needle thread. Stitch type 304; 406; 506; 601;602; 605. were produced. The seams were made on a fabric of 80% polyamide 6.6 and 20% elastane. The seams were cycled(stretch-release-stretch) for five cycles and up to 44 cycles following EN ISO 14704-1: 2005 (modified), using a tensile instrument and the changes in the resistance of the seams with time were recorded using Agilent meter U1273A. Both experiments were conducted simultaneously on the same seam sample. Sensing functionality, among which is sensor gauge and reliability, were evaluated on the promising sensor seams. The results show that the sensor seams made from HC Madeira 40 conductive yarns performed better inseam stitch 304 and 602 compared to the other combination of stitch type and conductive sewing threads. These sensing seams 304, 406 and 602 will further be interconnected to our developed processing and communicating unit and further integrated into a sports clothing prototype that can track body posture. This research is done within the framework of the project SmartSeam.

Keywords: conductive sewing thread, sensing seams, smart seam, sewing technology

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Authors: Lida Balilan, Dariush Sattarzadeh, Rana Koorepaz

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In the Ilkhanid era, the mystical school of Tabriz manifested itself as an art school in various aspects, including miniatures, architecture, urban planning and design, simultaneously with the expansion of the many sciences of its time. In this era, mysticism, both in form and in poetry and prose, as well as in works of art reached its peak. Mysticism, as an inner belief and thought, brought the audience to the artistic and aesthetical view using allegorical and symbolic expression of the religion and had a direct impact on the formation of the intellectual and cultural layers of the society. At the same time, Mystic school of Tabriz could create a symbolic and allegorical language to create magnificent works of architecture with the expansion of science in various fields and using various sciences such as mathematics, geometry, science of numbers and by Abjad letters. In this era, geometry is the middle link between mysticism and architecture and it is divided into two categories, including intellectual and sensory geometry and based on its function. Soltaniyeh dome is one of the prominent buildings of the Tabriz school with the shrine land use. In this article, information is collected using a historical-interpretive method and the results are analyzed using an analytical-comparative method. The results of the study suggest that the designers and builders of the Soltaniyeh dome have used shapes, colors, numbers, letters and words in the form of motifs, geometric patterns as well as lines and writings in levels and layers ranging from plans to decorations and arrays for architectural symbolization and encryption to express and transmit mystical ideas.

Keywords: geometry, Tabriz school, mystical thoughts, dome of Soltaniyeh

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Authors: M. Iommi, G. Losco

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Current building sector is focused on reduction of energy requirements, on renewable energy generation and on regeneration of existing urban areas. These targets need to be solved with a systemic approach, considering several aspects simultaneously such as climate conditions, lighting conditions, solar radiation, PV potential, etc. The solar access analysis is an already known method to analyze the solar potentials, but in current years, simulation tools have provided more effective opportunities to perform this type of analysis, in particular in the early design stage. Nowadays, the study of the solar access is related to the easiness of the use of simulation tools, in rapid and easy way, during the design process. This study presents a comparison of three simulation tools, from the point of view of the user, with the aim to highlight differences in the easy-to-use of these tools. Using a real urban context as case study, three tools; Ecotect, Townscope and Heliodon, are tested, performing models and simulations and examining the capabilities and output results of solar access analysis. The evaluation of the ease-to-use of these tools is based on some detected parameters and features, such as the types of simulation, requirements of input data, types of results, etc. As a result, a framework is provided in which features and capabilities of each tool are shown. This framework shows the differences among these tools about functions, features and capabilities. The aim of this study is to support users and to improve the integration of simulation tools for solar access with the design process.

Keywords: energy building design tools, solar access analysis, solar potential, urban planning

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Authors: Jefto Terzovic, Ana Kontic, Isidora Ilic

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In the proposed design concept, laminated glass and laminated plexiglass, as ”unconventional materials”, are considered as a filling in a steel frame on which they overlap by the intermediate rubber layer, thereby forming a composite assembly. In this way vertical elements of stiffening are formed, capable for reception of seismic force and integrated into the structural system of the building. The applicability of such a system was verified by experiments in laboratory conditions where the experimental models based on laminated glass and laminated plexiglass had been exposed to the cyclic loads that simulate the seismic force. In this way the load capacity of composite assemblies was tested for the effects of dynamic load that was parallel to assembly plane. Thus, the stress intensity to which composite systems might be exposed was determined as well as the range of the structure stiffening referring to the expressed deformation along with the advantages of a particular type of filling compared to the other one. Using specialized software whose operation is based on the finite element method, a computer model of the structure was created and processed in the case study; the same computer model was used for analyzing the problem in the first phase of the design process. The stiffening system based on composite assemblies tested in laboratories is implemented in the computer model. The results of the modal analysis and seismic calculation from the computer model with stiffeners applied showed an efficacy of such a solution, thus rounding the design procedures for aseismic stiffening by using unconventional materials.

Keywords: laminated glass, laminated plexiglass, aseismic stiffening, experiment, laboratory testing, computer model, finite element method

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Authors: Yulia A. Kononova, Znang X. Ning

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Nowadays, architectural development is getting faster and faster. Nevertheless, modern architecture often does not meet all the points, which could help our planet to get better. As we know, people are spending an enormous amount of energy every day of their lives. Because of the uncontrolled energy usage, people have to increase energy production. As energy production process demands a lot of fuel sources, it courses a lot of problems such as climate changes, environment pollution, animals’ distinction, and lack of energy sources also. Nevertheless, nowadays humanity has all the opportunities to change this situation. Architecture is one of the most popular fields where it is possible to apply new methods of saving energy or even creating it. Nowadays we have kinds of buildings, which can meet new willing. One of them is energy effective buildings, which can save or even produce energy, combining several energy-saving principles. The main aim of this research is to provide information that helps to apply energy-saving methods while designing an environment-friendly building. The research methodology requires gathering relevant information from literature, building guidelines documents and previous research works in order to analyze it and sum up into a material that can be applied to energy-efficient building design. To mark results it should be noted that the usage of all the energy-saving methods applied to a design project of building results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. As a conclusion it can be stated that developing methods of passive house design can decrease the need of energy production, which is an important issue that has to be solved in order to save planet sources and decrease environment pollution.

Keywords: accumulation, energy-efficient building, storage, superinsulation, passive house

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Authors: Akram Mahdaviparsa, Tamera McCuen, Vahideh Karimimansoob

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Fire service is responsible for protecting life, assets, and natural resources from fire and other hazardous incidents. Search and rescue in unfamiliar buildings is a vital part of firefighters’ responsibilities. Providing firefighters with precise building information in an easy-to-understand format is a potential solution for mitigating the negative consequences of fire hazards. The negative effect of insufficient knowledge about a building’s indoor environment impedes firefighters’ capabilities and leads to lost property. A data rich building information modeling (BIM) is a potentially useful source in three-dimensional (3D) visualization and data/information storage for fire emergency response. Therefore, this research’s purpose is prioritizing the required information for firefighters from the most important information to the least important. A survey was carried out with firefighters working in the Norman Fire Department to obtain the importance of each building information item. The results show that “the location of exit doors, windows, corridors, elevators, and stairs”, “material of building elements”, and “building data” are the three most important information specified by firefighters. The results also implied that the 2D model of architectural, structural and way finding is more understandable in comparison with the 3D model, while the 3D model of MEP system could convey more information than the 2D model. Furthermore, color in visualization can help firefighters to understand the building information easier and quicker. Sufficient internal consistency of all responses was proven through developing the Pearson Correlation Matrix and obtaining Cronbach’s alpha of 0.916. Therefore, the results of this study are reliable and could be applied to the population.

Keywords: BIM, building fire response, ranking, visualization

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Authors: S. Pushkar, O. Verbitsky

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Currently, green rating systems are mainly utilized for correctly sizing mechanical and electrical systems, which have short lifetime expectancies. In these systems, passive solar and bio-climatic architecture, which have long lifetime expectancies, are neglected. Urban rating systems consider buildings and services in addition to neighborhoods and public transportation as integral parts of the built environment. The main goal of this study was to develop a more consistent point allocation system for urban building standards by using six different lifetime shearing layers: Site, Structure, Skin, Services, Space, and Stuff, each reflecting distinct environmental damages. This shearing-layer concept was applied to internationally well-known rating systems: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development, BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for Communities, and Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development. The results showed that LEED for Neighborhood Development and BREEAM for Communities focused on long-lifetime-expectancy building designs, whereas CASBEE for Urban Development gave equal importance to the Building and Service Layers. Moreover, although this rating system was applied using a building-scale assessment, “Urban Area + Buildings” focuses on a short-lifetime-expectancy system design, neglecting to improve the architectural design by considering bio-climatic and passive solar aspects.

Keywords: green rating system, urban community, sustainable design, standardization, shearing-layer concept, passive solar architecture

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Authors: H. Alqunayeer, S. Zamir

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Blended learning, an ideal amalgamation of online learning and face to face traditional approach is a new approach that may result in outstanding outcomes in the realm of teaching and learning. The dexterity and effectiveness offered by e-learning experience cannot be guaranteed in a traditional classroom, whereas one-to-one interaction the essential element of learning that can only be found in a traditional classroom. In recent years, a spectacular expansion in the incorporation of technology in language teaching and learning is observed in many universities of Saudi Arabia. Some universities recognize the importance of blending face-to-face with online instruction in language pedagogy, Qassim University is one of the many universities adopting Blackboard Learning Management system (LMS). The university has adopted this new mode of teaching/learning in year 2015. Although the experience is immature; however great pedagogical transformations are anticipated in the university through this new approach. This paper examines the role of blended language learning with particular reference to the influence of Blackboard Learning Management System on the development of English language learning for EFL learners registered in Bachelors of English language program. This paper aims at exploring three main areas: (i) the present status of Blended learning in the educational process in Saudi Arabia especially in Qassim University by providing a survey report on the number of training courses on Blackboard LMS conducted for the male and female teachers at various colleges of Qassim University, (ii) a survey on teachers perception about the utility, application and the outcome of using blended Learning approach in teaching English language skills courses, (iii) the students’ views on the efficiency of Blended learning approach in learning English language skills courses. Besides, analysis of students’ limitations and challenges related to the experience of blended learning via Blackboard, the suggestion and recommendations offered by the language learners have also been thought-out. The study is empirical in nature. In order to gather data on the afore mentioned areas survey questionnaire method has been used: in order to study students’ perception, a 5 point Likert-scale questionnaire has been distributed to 200 students of English department registered in Bachelors in English program (level 5 through level 8). Teachers’ views have been surveyed with the help of interviewing 25 EFL teachers skilled in using Blackboard LMS in their lectures. In order to ensure the validity and reliability of questionnaire, the inter-rater approach and Cronbach’s Alpha analysis have been used respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to analyze the students’ perception about the productivity of the Blended approach in learning English language skills. The analysis of feedback by Saudi teachers and students about the usefulness, ingenuity, and productivity of Blended Learning via Blackboard LMS highlights the need of encouraging and expanding the implementation of this new approach into the field of English language teaching in Saudi Arabia, in order to augment congenial learning aura. Furthermore, it is hoped that the propositions and practical suggestions offered by the study will be functional for other similar learning environments.

Keywords: blended learning, black board learning management system, English as foreign language (EFL) learners, EFL teachers

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Authors: Bernard Morais Joosa

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Kerala, the southern state of India, is known for its accomplishments in universal education and enrollments. Through this mission, the Government proposes comprehensive educational reforms including 1000 Government schools into international standards during the first phase. The idea is not only to improve the infrastructural facilities but also to reform the teaching and learning process to the present day needs by introducing ICT enabled learning and providing smart classrooms. There will be focus on creating educational programmes which are useful for differently abled students. It is also meant to reinforce the teaching–learning process by providing ample opportunities to each student to construct their own knowledge using modern technology tools. The mission will redefine the existing classroom learning process, coordinate resource mobilization efforts and develop ‘Janakeeya Vidyabhyasa Mathruka.' Special packages to support schools which are in existence for over 100 years will also be attempted. The implementation will enlist full involvement and partnership of the Parent Teacher Association. Kerala was the first state in the country to attain 100 percent literacy more than two and a half decades ago. Since then the State has not rested on its laurels. It has moved forward in leaps and bounds conquering targets that no other State could achieve. Now the government of Kerala is taking off towards new goal of comprehensive educational reforms. And it focuses on Betterment of educational surroundings, use of technology in education, renewal of learning method and 1000 schools will be uplifted as Smart Schools. Need to upgrade 1000 schools into international standards and turning classrooms from standard 9 to 12 in high schools and higher secondary into high-tech classrooms and a special unique package for the renovation of schools, which have completed 50 and 100 years. The government intends to focus on developing standards first to eighth standards in tune with the times by engaging the teachers, parents, and alumni to recapture the relevance of public schools. English learning will be encouraged in schools. The idea is not only to improve the infrastructure facilities but also reform the curriculum to the present day needs. Keeping in view the differently-abled friendly approach of the government, there will be focus on creating educational program which is useful for differently abled students. The idea is to address the infrastructural deficiencies being faced by such schools. There will be special emphasis on ensuring internet connectivity to promote IT-friendly existence. A task-force and a full-time chief executive will be in charge of managing the day to day affairs of the mission. Secretary of the Public Education Department will serve as the Mission Secretary and the Chairperson of Task Force. As the Task Force will stress on teacher training and the use of information technology, experts in the field, as well as Directors of SCERT, IT School, SSA, and RMSA, will also be a part of it.

Keywords: educational standards, methodology, pedagogy, technology

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Authors: W. S. Barber, S. L. King

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This paper is a qualitative case study analysis of the development of a fully online learning community of graduate students through arts-based community building activities. With increasing numbers and types of online learning spaces, it is incumbent upon educators to continue to push the edge of what best practices look like in digital learning environments. In digital learning spaces, instructors can no longer be seen as purveyors of content knowledge to be examined at the end of a set course by a final test or exam. The rapid and fluid dissemination of information via Web 3.0 demands that we reshape our approach to teaching and learning, from one that is content-focused to one that is process-driven. Rather than having instructors as formal leaders, today’s digital learning environments require us to share expertise, as it is the collective experiences and knowledge of all students together with the instructors that help to create a very different kind of learning community. This paper focuses on innovations pursued in a 36 hour 12 week graduate course in higher education entitled “Critical and Reflective Practice”. The authors chronicle their journey to developing a fully online learning community (FOLC) by emphasizing the elements of social, cognitive, emotional and digital spaces that form a moving interplay through the community. In this way, students embrace anywhere anytime learning and often take the learning, as well as the relationships they build and skills they acquire, beyond the digital class into real world situations. We argue that in order to increase student online engagement, pedagogical approaches need to stem from two primary elements, both creativity and critical reflection, that are essential pillars upon which instructors can co-design learning environments with students. The theoretical framework for the paper is based on the interaction and interdependence of Creativity, Intuition, Critical Reflection, Social Constructivism and FOLCs. By leveraging students’ embedded familiarity with a wide variety of technologies, this case study of a graduate level course on critical reflection in education, examines how relationships, quality of work produced, and student engagement can improve by using creative and imaginative pedagogical strategies. The authors examine their professional pedagogical strategies through the lens that the teacher acts as facilitator, guide and co-designer. In a world where students can easily search for and organize information as self-directed processes, creativity and connection can at times be lost in the digitized course environment. The paper concludes by posing further questions as to how institutions of higher education may be challenged to restructure their credit granting courses into more flexible modules, and how students need to be considered an important part of assessment and evaluation strategies. By introducing creativity and critical reflection as central features of the digital learning spaces, notions of best practices in digital teaching and learning emerge.

Keywords: online, pedagogy, learning, communities

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Authors: Cassandra Branham, Danielle Farrar

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As writing instructors and writing center administrators at a large research university with a significant population of English language learners (ELLs), we are interested in how peer feedback pedagogy can be effectively translated for writing center purposes, as well as how various modes of peer feedback can enrich the learning experiences of L1 and L2 writers in these spaces. Although peer feedback is widely used in classrooms and centers, instructor, student, and researcher opinions vary in respect to its effectiveness. We argue that peer feedback - traditional and digital, synchronous and asynchronous - is an indispensable element for both classrooms and centers and emphasize that it should occur with both L1 and L2 students to further develop an array of reading and writing skills. We also believe that further understanding of the best practices of peer feedback in such cross-cultural spaces, like the classroom and center, can optimize the benefits of peer feedback. After a critical review of the literature, we implemented an embedded tutoring program in our university’s writing center in collaboration with its First-Year Composition (FYC) program and Language Institute. The embedded tutoring program matches a graduate writing consultant with L1 and L2 writers enrolled in controlled-matriculation composition courses where ELLs make up at least 50% of each class. Furthermore, this program is informed by what we argue to be some best practices of peer feedback for both classroom and center purposes, including expectation-based training through rubrics, modeling effective feedback, hybridizing traditional and digital modes of feedback, recognizing the significance the body in composition (what we call writer embodiment), and maximizing digital technologies to exploit extended cognition. After conducting surveys and follow-up interviews with students, instructors, and writing consultants in the embedded tutoring program, we found that not only did students see an increased value in peer feedback, but also instructors saw an improvement in both writing style and critical thinking skills. Our L2 participants noted improvements in language acquisition while our L1 students recognized a broadening of their worldviews. We believe that both L1 and L2 students developed self-efficacy and agency in their identities as writers because they gained confidence in their abilities to offer feedback, as well as in the legitimacy of feedback they received from peers. We also argue that these best practices situate novice writers as experts, as writers become a valued and integral part of the revision process with their own and their peers’ papers. Finally, the use of iPads in embedded tutoring recovered the importance of the body and its senses in writing; the highly sensory feedback from these multi-modal sessions that offer audio and visual input underscores the significant role both the body and mind play in compositional practices. After beginning with a brief review of the literature that sparked this research, this paper will discuss the embedded tutoring program in detail, report on the results of the pilot program, and will conclude with a discussion of the pedagogical implications that arise from this research for both classroom and center.

Keywords: English language learners, peer feedback, writing center, writing classroom

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Authors: Severino Machingambi

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Most academics entering Higher education as lecturers in South Africa do not have qualifications in Education or teaching. This creates serious problems since they are not sufficiently equipped with pedagogical approaches and theories that inform their facilitation of learning strategies. This, arguably, is one of the reasons why higher education institutions are experiencing high student failure rate. In order to mitigate this problem, it is critical that higher education institutions devise internal academic staff development programmes to capacitate academics with pedagogical skills and competencies so as to enhance the quality of student learning. This paper reported on how the Teaching and Learning Development Centre of a university used design-based research methodology to conceptualise and implement an academic staff development programme for new academics at a university of technology. This approach revolves around the designing, testing and refining of an educational intervention. Design-based research is an important methodology for understanding how, when, and why educational innovations work in practice. The need for a professional development course for academics arose due to the fact that most academics at the university did not have teaching qualifications and many of them were employed straight from industry with little understanding of pedagogical approaches. This paper examines three key aspects of the programme namely, the preliminary phase, the teaching experiment and the retrospective analysis. The preliminary phase is the stage in which the problem identification takes place. The problem that this research sought to address relates to the unsatisfactory academic performance of the majority of the students in the institution. It was therefore hypothesized that the problem could be dealt with by professionalising new academics through engagement in an academic staff development programme. The teaching experiment phase afforded researchers and participants in the programme the opportunity to test and refine the proposed intervention and the design principles upon which it was based. The teaching experiment phase revolved around the testing of the new academics professional development programme. This phase created a platform for researchers and academics in the programme to experiment with various activities and instructional strategies such as case studies, observations, discussions and portfolio building. The teaching experiment phase was followed by the retrospective analysis stage in which the research team looked back and tried to give a trustworthy account of the teaching/learning process that had taken place. A questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to collect data from participants that helped to evaluate the programme and its implementation. One of the findings of this study was that academics joining university really need an academic induction programme that inducts them into the discourse of teaching and learning. The study also revealed that existing academics can be placed on formal study programmes in which they acquire educational qualifications with a view to equip them with useful classroom discourses. The study, therefore, concludes that new and existing academics in universities should be supported through induction programmes and placement on formal studies in teaching and learning so that they are capacitated as facilitators of learning.

Keywords: academic staff, pedagogy, programme, staff development

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Authors: A. Dinelka Panagoda, Bathiya Bandara, Chamod Wijetunga, Chathura Malinda, Lakmal Rupasinghe, Chethana Liyanapathirana

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This research takes us forward with the concepts of Federated Learning and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to introduce an efficient malware detection technique and provide a mitigation mechanism to give birth to a resilient and automated healthcare sector network system by also adding the feature of extended privacy preservation. Due to the daily transformation of new malware attacks on hospital Integrated Clinical Environment (ICEs), the healthcare industry is at an undefinable peak of never knowing its continuity direction. The state of blindness by the array of indispensable opportunities that new medical device inventions and their connected coordination offer daily, a factor that should be focused driven is not yet entirely understood by most healthcare operators and patients. This solution has the involvement of four clients in the form of hospital networks to build up the federated learning experimentation architectural structure with different geographical participation to reach the most reasonable accuracy rate with privacy preservation. While the logistic regression with cross-entropy conveys the detection, SDN comes in handy in the second half of the research to stack up the initial development phases of the system with malware mitigation based on policy implementation. The overall evaluation sums up with a system that proves the accuracy with the added privacy. It is no longer needed to continue with traditional centralized systems that offer almost everything but not privacy.

Keywords: software-defined network, federated learning, privacy, integrated clinical environment, decentralized learning, malware detection, malware mitigation

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Authors: Geetanjali Sachdev

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This paper explores the decorative uses of plant motifs and symbols in traditional Indian art and craft practices in order to assess their pedagogical significance within the context of plant study in higher education in art and design. It examines existing scholarship on decoration and plants in Indian art and craft practices. The impulse to elaborate upon an existing form or surface is an intrinsic part of many Indian traditional art and craft traditions where a deeply ingrained love for decoration exists. Indian craftsmen use an array of motifs and embellishments to adorn surfaces across a range of practices, and decoration is widely seen in textiles, jewellery, temple sculptures, vehicular art, architecture, and various other art, craft, and design traditions. Ornamentation in Indian cultural traditions has been attributed to religious and spiritual influences in the lives of India’s art and craft practitioners. Through adornment, surfaces and objects were ritually transformed to function both spiritually and physically. Decorative formations facilitate spiritual development and attune our minds to concepts that support contemplation. Within practices of ornamentation and adornment, there is extensive use of botanical motifs as Indian art and craft practitioners have historically been drawn towards nature as a source of inspiration. This is due to the centrality of agriculture in the lives of Indian people as well as in religion, where plants play a key role in religious rituals and festivals. Plant representations thus abound in two-dimensional and three-dimensional surface designs and patterns where the motifs range from being realistic, highly stylized, and curvilinear forms to geometric and abstract symbols. Existing scholarship reveals that these botanical embellishments reference a wide range of plants that include native and non-indigenous plants, as well as imaginary and mythical plants. Structural components of plant anatomy, such as leaves, stems, branches and buds, and flowers, are part of the repertoire of design motifs used, as are plant forms indicating different stages of growth, such as flowering buds and flowers in full bloom. Symmetry is a characteristic feature, and within the decorative register of various practices, plants are part of border zones and bands, connecting corners and all-over patterns, used as singular motifs and floral sprays on panels, and as elements within ornamental scenes. The results of the research indicate that decoration as a mode of inquiry into plants can serve as a platform to learn about local and global biodiversity and plant anatomy and develop artistic modes of thinking symbolically, metaphorically, imaginatively, and relationally about the plant world. The conclusion is drawn that engaging with ornamental modes of plant representation in traditional Indian art and craft practices is pedagogically significant for two reasons. Decoration as a mode of engagement cultivates both botanical and artistic understandings of plants. It also links learners with the indigenous art and craft traditions of their own culture.

Keywords: art and design pedagogy, decoration, plant motifs, traditional art and craft

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Authors: Muhammad Abu Bakar Tariq

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Construction industry plays a crucial role in the progress of societies and economies. Furthermore, construction projects have social as well as economic implications, thus, their success/failure have wider impacts. However, the industry is lagging behind in terms of efficiency and productivity. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is recognized as a revolutionary development in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. There are numerous interest groups around the world providing definitions of BIM, proponents describing its advantages and opponents identifying challenges/barriers regarding adoption of BIM. This research is aimed at to determine what actually BIM is, along with its potential role in delivering successful construction projects. The methodology is critical analysis of secondary data sources i.e. information present in public domain, which include peer reviewed journal articles, industry and government reports, conference papers, books, case studies etc. It is discovered that clash detection and visualization are two major advantages of BIM. Clash detection option identifies clashes among structural, architectural and MEP designs before construction actually commences, which subsequently saves time as well as cost and ensures quality during execution phase of a project. Visualization is a powerful tool that facilitates in rapid decision-making in addition to communication and coordination among stakeholders throughout project’s life cycle. By eliminating inconsistencies that consume time besides cost during actual construction, improving collaboration among stakeholders throughout project’s life cycle, BIM can play a positive role to achieve efficiency and productivity that consequently deliver successful construction projects.

Keywords: building information modeling, clash detection, construction project success, visualization

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Authors: Gülnar Bayramoğlu Barman

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Since the industrial revolution, technological developments and increased population have caused environmental damages. To protect the nature and architectural environment, firstly, green architecture, ecological architecture and then sustainability occurred. This term has been proposed not to be a new term but a response to environmental disturbances caused by human activities and it is re-conceptualization of architecture. Sustainable architecture or sustainability is lot more extensive than ecological and green architecture. It contains the imbalance between environmental problems that is natural environment and consumption that occurred all around the world. An important part of sustainability debate focused on urban planning and design for more sustainable forms and patterns. In particular, it is discussed that planning and design of urban areas have a major effect on transport and therefore can help reduce car usage, emissions, global warming and climate change. There are many planning and design approaches and movement that introduce certain criteria and strategies to prevent car dependency and encourage people to use public transportation and walking. However, when review the literature, it is seen that planning movements, such as New Urbanism and Transit Oriented Development originated and were implemented mostly in West European and North American Cities. The purpose of this study is to find out whether all those criteria, principles and strategies are also relevant planning approaches for more non-western cities like Baku, which has a very different planning background and therefore possibly different urban form and transport issues. In order to answer the above mentioned question, planning and design approaches in the literature and these recent planning movements were studied and a check list was formed which indicate planning and design approaches that can help attain a more sustainable transport outcome. The checklist was then applied to the case of Baku.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable transportation, transport, urban design

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Authors: Emmanuel Mkambankhani, Tiwonge Manda

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Software platform architecture includes system components, their relationships, and design, as well as evolution principles. Software architecture and documentation affect a platform's customizability and openness to external innovators, thus affecting developer productivity. Malawi Point of Care (POC) Electronic Medical Records System (EMRS) follows some architectural design standards, but it lacks third-party innovators and is difficult to customize as compared to CommCare and District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2). Improving software architecture and documentation for the Malawi POC will increase productivity and third-party contributions. A conceptual framework based on Generativity and Boundary Resource Model (BRM) was used to compare the three platforms. Interviews, observations, and document analysis were used to collect primary and secondary data. Themes were found by analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, which led to the following results. Configurable, flexible, and cross-platform software platforms and the availability of interfaces (Boundary Resources) that let internal and external developers interact with the platform's core functionality, hence boosting developer productivity. Furthermore, documentation increases developer productivity, while its absence inhibits the use of resources. The study suggests that the architecture and openness of the Malawi POC EMR software platform will be improved by standardizing web application program interfaces (APIs) and making interfaces that can be changed by the user. In addition, increasing the availability of documentation and training will improve the use of boundary resources, thus improving internal and third-party development productivity.

Keywords: health systems, configurable platforms, software architecture, software documentation, software development productivity

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Authors: Henry Nicholas Lee, George Thomas, Juliana Johari, Carmilla Freddie, Caroline Val Madin

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Research in comparative and international education often provides value-laden views of an education system within and in between other countries. These views are frequently used by policy makers or educators to explore similarities and differences for, among others, benchmarking purposes. In this study, a comparison is made between Malaysia and England, focusing on the process of writing children went through to create a text, using a multimodal theoretical framework to analyse this comparison. The main purpose is political in nature as it served as an answer to Malaysia’s call for benchmarking of best practices for language learning. Furthermore, the focus on writing in this study adds into more empirical findings about early writers’ writing development and writing improvement, especially for children at the ages of 5-9. In research, comparative studies in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing pedagogy – particularly in Malaysia since the introduction of the Standard- based English Language Curriculum (KSSR) in 2011 as a draft and its full implementation in 2017; reviewed 2018 KSSR-CEFR aligned – has not been done comparatively. In theory, a multimodal theoretical framework somehow allows a logical comparison between first language and ESL which would provide useful insights to illuminate the writing process between Malaysia and England. The comparisons are not representative because of the different school systems in both countries. So far, the literature informs us that the curriculum for language learning is very much emphasised on children’s linguistic abilities, which include their proficiency and mastery of the language, its conventions, and technicalities. However, recent empirical findings suggested that literacy in its concepts and characters need change. In view of this suggestion, the comparison will look at how the process of writing is implemented through the five modes of communication: linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, and gestural. This project draws on data from Malaysia and England, involving 10 teachers, 26 classroom observations, 20 lesson plans, 20 interviews, and 20 brief conversations with teachers. The research focused upon 20 primary children of different genders aged 5-9, and in addition to primary data descriptions, 40 children’s works, 40 brief classroom conversations, 30 classroom photographs, and 30 school compound photographs were undertaken to investigate teachers and children’s use of modes and semiotic resources to design a text. The data were analysed by means of within-case analysis, cross-case analysis, and constant comparative analysis, with an initial stage of data categorisation, followed by general and specific coding, which clustered the data into thematic groups. The study highlights the importance of teachers’ and children’s engagement and interaction with various modes of communication, an adaptation from the English approaches to teaching writing within the KSSR framework and providing ‘voice’ to ESL writers to ensure that both have access to the knowledge and skills required to make decisions in developing multimodal texts and artefacts.

Keywords: comparative education, early writers, KSSR, multimodal theoretical framework, writing development

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Authors: Aliya K. Salahova

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Scientific thinking, characterized by purposeful knowledge-seeking and the harmonization of theory and facts, holds a crucial role in preparing young minds for an increasingly complex and technologically advanced world. This abstract presents a research study aimed at fostering scientific thinking in early childhood, focusing on children aged 5 to 9 years, through experiential learning in Kids Science Labs (STEM). The study utilized a longitudinal exploration design, spanning 240 weeks from September 2018 to April 2023, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kids Science Labs program in developing scientific thinking skills. Participants in the research comprised 72 children drawn from local schools and community organizations. Through a formative psychology-pedagogical experiment, the experimental group engaged in weekly STEM activities carefully designed to stimulate scientific thinking, while the control group participated in daily art classes for comparison. To assess the scientific thinking abilities of the participants, a registration table with evaluation criteria was developed. This table included indicators such as depth of questioning, resource utilization in research, logical reasoning in hypotheses, procedural accuracy in experiments, and reflection on research processes. The data analysis revealed dynamic fluctuations in the number of children at different levels of scientific thinking proficiency. While the development was not uniform across all participants, a main leading factor emerged, indicating that the Kids Science Labs program and formative experiment exerted a positive impact on enhancing scientific thinking skills in children within this age range. The study's findings support the hypothesis that systematic implementation of STEM activities effectively promotes and nurtures scientific thinking in children aged 5-9 years. Enriching education with a specially planned STEM program, tailoring scientific activities to children's psychological development, and implementing well-planned diagnostic and corrective measures emerged as essential pedagogical conditions for enhancing scientific thinking abilities in this age group. The results highlight the significant and positive impact of the systematic-activity approach in developing scientific thinking, leading to notable progress and growth in children's scientific thinking abilities over time. These findings have promising implications for educators and researchers, emphasizing the importance of incorporating STEM activities into educational curricula to foster scientific thinking from an early age. This study contributes valuable insights to the field of science education and underscores the potential of STEM-based interventions in shaping the future scientific minds of young children.

Keywords: Scientific thinking, education, STEM, intervention, Psychology, Pedagogy, collaborative learning, longitudinal study

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