International STEM Journal

Digestoville: A Multisensory and Inclusive Approach to Enhance Younger Learners’ Understanding of Human Digestive System

Hani Nuraini Zaini, Vinothini Vasodavan, Yee Ling Lee — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Many students, particularly those from under-resourced schools, struggle to grasp complex science topics like the human digestive system due to a lack of engaging and interactive teaching tools. Digestoville is a multisensory educational intervention designed to enhance younger learners' understanding of the human digestive system. By integrating tactile, auditory, and visual elements, this approach aims to make complex biological concepts accessible to students from underserved backgrounds. This is where students can touch, see, and interact with learning aids – to make science more accessible and enjoyable. Instead of relying solely on textbooks, Digestoville introduces tools like storytelling, a special apron with detachable organs, and an educational game. These tools allow students to visualize and understand how the digestive system processes food. A mixed-methods study was conducted during STEM Teach Fest with an underprivileged school to test how effective Digestoville is in improving younger learners’ understanding of digestion. The results showed that 42% of respondents were more engaged and had a better grasp of the topic. Teachers also found Digestoville helpful and adaptable to classroom settings. This study demonstrates the potential of multisensory teaching methods to bridge learning gaps, enhancing inclusivity and effectiveness in science education for younger learners. These findings underline the importance of such approaches in creating more engaging and accessible learning environments. Future research should explore the scalability of Digestoville in various educational settings.

Can Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) Bridge the Gap?

Wang Shuaihan, Sarmila Muthukrishnan — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Educational fairness is the common pursuit of human society. It is an important foundation of social fairness. There is an inherent and inevitable connection between education and technology. Currently, the situation of global educational inequality is severe, while technology-driven educational innovation has great potential. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) technology is influencing and will continue to influence the field of education. This influence will promote the development of educational fairness in many ways, such as shaping a fair environment inside and outside education, spreading the concept of fairness and justice, replicating high-quality classroom resources, making up for the shortage of excellent teacher resources, and meeting students' personalized learning needs. However, the role of AIGC technology also has limitations in promoting educational fairness. This study explores the relationship between educational fairness and AIGC from the perspective of educational fairness, aiming to provide guidance for its subsequent application and help achieve the goal of educational fairness.

An Exploration of Topic-wise Mastery in Mathematics and its Relationship with Students’ Motivation, Perception, and Interest.

Zulmaryan Embong, Batrisyia Huda Mohd Anizan — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This study investigates the heterogeneity of topic-wise mastery in mathematics and its relationship with affective factors among Malaysian secondary school students. Despite documented national weaknesses in international assessments such as PISA (PISA 2022 Results (Volume I), 2023) it remains unclear which specific curriculum topics pose the greatest challenges. Using a quantitative design, the achievement of 50 Form 2 students was assessed across five core mathematical domains: Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, Probability, and Straight Lines. Affective factors, including Motivation, Perception, and Interest, were measured via a survey questionnaire. Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed a highly significant main effect of topic on student achievement (p < 9.255×10⁻³¹). Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis indicated that affective factors were not statistically significant predictors of achievement for any individual topic. These findings highlight the necessity of a topic-wise diagnostic approach and suggest that extrinsic, structural factors, such as instructional quality, are the dominant influences on topic-wise success, calling for targeted pedagogical interventions in abstract domains.

A Simple Protocol for Initial Micropropagation of Musa acuminata cv. Berangan (AAA)

Ahmad Haikal Muhamad Azizi, Nurul Huda Alwakil, Nur Syazwani Hamid — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This study presents an observational investigation into the in vitro propagation of Musa acuminata cv. Berangan (AAA), conducted during a 15-week industrial training program at the Plant Biotechnology Incubator Unit (PBIU), Universiti Malaya. Growth progression, contamination rates, and aseptic practices were evaluated during initiation and multiplication stages. Two culture batches, Batch 1 and Batch 2 were established on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), achieving clean culture rates of 89.6% and 98.6%, respectively. The findings highlight contamination sources and emphasize the importance of strict aseptic handling, accurate media preparation, and systematic monitoring to enhance micropropagation efficiency.