Providing online STEM workshops in times of isolation

The global spread of COVID-19 has resulted in learning and teaching being confronted with immense challenges and changes since spring 2020. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic had and continue to have a particularly strong impact on non-formal and informal learning, which are important features of out-of-class on-line STEM workshops combining science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We developed and carried out online STEM workshops for approximately 250 students during times of isolation in the spring and summer of 2020. To identify potential success factors and stumbling blocks for designing and implementing online STEM workshops, we conducted a qualitative interview-based study with a selection of eight experts in the summer and autumn 2020, i.e. after the STEM workshops. The experts were Austrian and German teachers who planned and implemented STEM workshops for students age 10 to 18. Our collected data was examined using techniques of grounded theory approaches. Using techniques of qualitative interview studies and grounded theory approaches, we found that removing learning barriers and creating new types of learning spaces, online socio-constructivist learning, and teachers' TPACK for STEM Workshops are important factors when considering and designing STEM workshops for online learning environments. These same factors will also be central when planning and implementing online STEM workshops in post-COVID-19 times. To facilitate student participation and to increase social interaction are critical elements for practitioners working on online STEM workshops—both during and after COVID-19. Highly trained teachers with in-depth technical, pedagogical, and content skills are essential to facilitate participation and interactions among students, teachers, and learning contents.