Special Issue "Using Hybrid Approaches to Enhance the Practical Experience in the Context of STEM Education"

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many institutions worldwide to shut their physical campuses at short notice. One of the biggest challenges facing STEM subjects was continuing the provision of meaningful practical experiences whilst access to physical scientific spaces and equipment was restricted. The innovations made during this unprecedented period allowed students to successfully engage with STEM subjects in new and exciting ways and will have far-reaching implications for the future delivery of content. This Special Issue aims to capture these experiences and describe new strategies that will inform the future delivery of STEM subjects.

We invite our colleagues to submit papers that describe and evaluate the changes they made to their practical delivery practices during the pandemic.  We welcome future-focused submissions that explore what practices have been retained or enhanced as part of a new blended/hybrid model of practical teaching delivery. Submissions that place research findings within their wider context and extend our methodological and theoretical understanding are encouraged.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

• Theoretical frameworks for remote practical skill delivery;
• Digital tools to support remote practical skill delivery, including, but not limited to, the use of videos, simulations, and datasets;
• The use of augmented reality and virtual reality to deliver practical experiences;
• Using remote practical experiences as part of a hybrid/blended delivery model;
• Future challenges in the delivery and development of practical skills (problem solving, social interaction, reporting, analysis, and other graduate attributes);
• Solutions to challenges faced in developing employability skills, social interactions, and psychomotor/practical competencies in blended environments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Nigel Francis
Dr. David Smith
Prof. Dr. Ian Turner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• dry labs
• simulations
• videos
• AR/VR
• datasets
• digital learning
• eLearning
• blended learning
• employability skills
• practical competencies