*Editorial* **Rebuilding Education—Contributions to STEM Education Practices and Research during the Post-COVID-19 Era**

**Zubair Ahmad**

Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QUYSC), Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar; zubairtarar@qu.edu.qa

COVID-19 resulted in an unprecedented transformation in the context of learning and teaching, wherein a significant shift in the different realms of educational attainment was observed [1]. This Special Issue in *Sustainability*, titled "Rebuilding Education—Contributions to STEM education practices and Research during the post-COVID-19 Era", comprises 12 contributions. These contributions demonstrate the diverse approaches adopted in different developing and developed countries to remediate the analogous challenges, which prompt us to explore the variant underlying factors. Delving into the uncertainties posed by integrated teaching practices, specifically across STEM education, it was observed that the teaching community faced diverse challenges in both learning areas and improving learners' cognitive behavior [2]. Gaining clarity to nullify inherent uncertainties is quintessential when dissecting the teaching and learning processes.

As cases of COVID-19 were initially reported in China, educators in China pioneered methods of overcoming most classroom drawbacks by initiating flexible learning with enhanced accessibility and implementing open educational practices and resources. However, significant concerns were raised by STEM educational researchers from diverse communities in implementing multidisciplinary education, which was, at that time, acquiring augmented responses from diverse audiences. To sustain and nurture multidisciplinary learning, researchers developed an innovative STEAM education model supported by collaborative teaching employing project-based learning and collaborative learning, successfully promoting a multidisciplinary approach (contribution 4). Meanwhile, in Korea, convergence education was introduced into STEAM education to enhance multidisciplinary education. STEAM-integrated convergence education solves the problem of the lack of knowledge associated with segmented academic paradigms resulting from rapidly disproportionate digital transformation (contribution 6). It is also interesting to observe the findings from a study associated with a Qatar-based university course that adopted a multi-course project-based learning (MPL) approach in which educators observed effective achievement of student outcomes, promoting multidisciplinary research (contribution 11). Studies from Spain introduced a STEM-driven multidisciplinary approach by blending pedagogic and architectural backgrounds with substantial experience in instruction, organizational management, and ICT applied to education. The key highlights were, however, limited to the relationship between the setting/learning space (bedroom and facilities) as a moderator and students' effective learning outcomes (contribution 9).

Researchers also explored more direct challenges that were faced in formal settings, such as in school or university classrooms. For example, researchers studied the challenges faced during the online regime by most computer education professionals in understanding students' programming processes (contribution 8). They employed visual representations to clarify the evolution of source-code contents, thereby serving as a reference for future real-time implementation in class. Meanwhile, two student-centered instructional strategies (problem-based learning (PBL) and just-in-time teaching (JiTT)) were adopted across multiple disciplines to encourage a non-conducive online learning climate, with technical problems being the main implementation challenges (contribution 7). Researchers also

**Citation:** Ahmad, Z. Rebuilding Education—Contributions to STEM Education Practices and Research during the Post-COVID-19 Era. *Sustainability* **2023**, *15*, 7861. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su15107861

Received: 5 May 2023 Revised: 6 May 2023 Accepted: 10 May 2023 Published: 11 May 2023

**Copyright:** © 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

delved into exploring the impact of different teaching styles adopted during online lessons, specifically, experimental classes, by approaching the experiments with activities that could be conducted at home by employing daily-use materials (contribution 12). Meanwhile, it was reported that online ICT implementation using flipped classrooms in Physics and Chemistry teaching to university students gained popularity with the initiation of lockdown (contribution 10).

On the behavioral front, it was also observed that university students' responses during a vulnerable situation, as in the case of a pandemic, adversely affected their emotions, as researchers explored the impact on students' cognitive responses to adaptability and the resultant emotional development (contribution 5). The researchers also reported that this emotional behavior influenced the degree of engagement and investment in school-related activities. Meanwhile, a study based in the United States and Mexico explored the effects of taking online classes on students' sense of belonging in engineering, whereby students had uncertainties about successful learning in the domain, including deficits in peer collaboration and faculty support (contribution 1). While re-conceptualizing education to incorporate STEM education practices with utmost efficiency in the post-COVID era, the key highlights were limited to innovative research that demonstrated students' knowledge or capabilities in multi-disciplinary settings.

However, further studies need to be performed to expand the scope of these research findings beyond the COVID pandemic with concise and conclusive directions for educators in engaging students for sustainable impact. The evolution of teaching practices from the pre-COVID era to the post-COVID era with sustainable takeaways needs to be elaborately explored so as to create models that can be replicated or built upon to attain meaningful and productive student learning gains. It would also be interesting for STEM educators to explore the possibilities of effective implementation of digital tools in the post-COVID era with the escalated digital presence in students' lives.

List of Contributions


**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.

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