TEAM – co-play STEAM

Emma Edstrand | Halmstad University, Sweden

Emma Edstrand (Ph.D.) is the research coordinator and lead researcher of Co-Play STEAM. Edstrand teaches in teacher education and a master’s program in digital learning, where she also serves as the program director. Her research is centred around the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning and how such technologies co-determine activities and people’s ways of reasoning about domain-specific knowledge. She has led a research project on the use of adaptive VR environments in educational settings, developed through a co-design approach with school practitioners.

Eva Brooks | Halmstad University, Sweden

Professor Eva Brooks holds an expertise in learning and education in a digitalised world, with a particular focus on play and early childhood education. Her research centres on social relations, interaction, and democratic processes, and explores how digital technologies can be meaningfully integrated into educational practice. A key concept in her work is computational play, understood as playful, creative engagements with computational ideas in which analogue and digital materials are integrated to support children’s participation, agency, and learning. Her research is design- and innovation-oriented and builds on co-creation and participatory methods. She has led and contributed to several national and European research projects. ORCID: 0000-0000-0000-0000

Anne-Marie Cederqvist | Halmstad University, Sweden

Anne-Marie Cederqvist is an associate professor of science and technology education at Halmstad University. She is a lecturer in teacher education. Her research focuses on teaching and learning in science and technology, particularly in relation to sustainable development and the use of digital tools. A key focus of her work is promoting students’ engagement and learning in science and technology through pedagogical approaches that encourage curiosity and critical thinking.

Francesca Granone | Stavanger University, Norway

Associate Professor Francesca Granone is a specialist in mathematics didactics and technology in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), with a background in physics. Her work focuses on inclusive, play-based, and multimodal approaches to STEAM, supporting children’s mathematical and computational thinking. She has led several national and international research projects in ECEC.

Elin Reikerås | Stavanger University, Norway

Professor Elin Reikerås is a specialist in early childhood mathematics education, focusing on children’s mathematical development and digital play in ECEC. She has led multiple large-scale interdisciplinary research projects and has been part of expert groups at both national and international levels. She will contribute to the project with her competence in how play can support the learning of math, including computational thinking, in early age.

Kristin Grøsvik | Stavanger University, Norway

Kristin Grøsvik is an associate professor at Early Childhood Education and a researcher in FILIORUM – Centre for Early Childhood Research at University of Stavanger (UiS). Her research explores sustainability, nature, STEM and coding activities in ECEC, as well as ECEC teachers’ competence and children’s curiosity and play. Kristin contributes to the project by theory and practice, supporting inquired-based and digital learning.

Enrico Pollarolo | Stavanger University, Norway

Enrico Pollarolo is a postdoctoral researcher at the Knowledge Center for Education (KSU), University of Stavanger (UiS), Norway. With an engineering background, he earned a PhD in Educational Science on Higher Order Thinking in ECEC, focusing on critical thinking, problem- solving, coding toys, and the teacher’s mediating role. He conducts research and teaches about coding toys in kindergarten and school.

Susanne Dau | University College of Northern Denmark

Susanne Dau is a Senior Research Associate and holds a PhD in Blended Learning. She is head of research at the Research Program of Reflective Practice-based Research and research lead at the Department of Nursing Education at University College of Northern Denmark (UCN). Her research encompasses local, national and international projects within computational play, STEM, digitally supported learning and education, AI, professional development, and reflective practice-based learning.

Thomas Kjærgaard | University College of Northern Denmark

Thomas Kjærgaard specialises in digital learning, pedagogy, and innovation in higher education. His work focuses on understanding the human aspect of post-human education. He investigates the development of technological literacy, dialogue and reflection to enhance teaching practices and student creativity and engagement. With a background in applied research and curriculum development, Thomas contributes to projects that bridge theory and practice, supporting educators in research-based development of learning environments.

Camilla Finsterbach Kaup | University College of Northern Denmark

Camilla Finsterbach Kaup is a senior lecturer and educational researcher at University College of Northern Denmark (UCN). She has many years’ experiences creating playful, computational approaches to STEAM in early childhood education. Her research explores how children’s agency, coding, making and storytelling can enrich exploratory, curiosity-driven science and mathematics learning in close collaboration with educators and teachers.

Maja Højslet Schurer | University College of Northern Denmark

Maja Højslet Schurer is a researcher at University College of Northern Denmark (UCN) whose work focuses on early childhood education and sociocultural perspectives on play. She explores how children playfully and creatively engage with materials and technology and keeps research relevant through collaboration with stakeholders and practitioners, using ethnographic and participatory methods that involve children and adults in co-creating knowledge.

Brian Ravnborg | University College of Northern Denmark

Brian Ravnborg is an educational consultant in STEM at University College of Northern Denmark (UCN). He is passionate about integrating aesthetic and creative dimensions into science education and exploring how STEM can evolve into STEAM to create more engaging and meaningful learning experiences. He has many years’ experiences designing school-based teaching sequences and activities with a STEAM focus.

Cristina Sylla | University of Minho, Portugal

Cristina Sylla is a Principal Researcher at the University of Minho. She has wide experience as project leader. Her research focuses on the design, development and evaluation of innovative pedagogical materials, focusing on the intersection of traditional games and playful activities and the new interactive technological solutions, fostering young children’s experimental, participatory and active involvement

Orlanda Tavares | University of Minho, Portugal

Orlanda Tavares is an assistant researcher at the Research Centre on Child Studies, Institute of Education, University of Minho, Portugal, and holds a PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Porto. Her research focuses on educational policies, social equity, with a particular interest in teacher education. Within the Co-Play STEAM project, she contributes expertise on the policy and institutional conditions that support innovative, play-based and STEAM-oriented pedagogies in Early Childhood Education and Care. She has participated in several national and international research projects and has published in leading international journals.

Cristina Parente | University of Minho, Portugal

Cristina Parente is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education, University of Minho, and a researcher at the Centre for Research in Child Studies (CIEC). She holds a PhD in Child Studies and has extensive experience in training early childhood educators and primary school teachers. In the Co-Play STEAM project, she contributes by developing training processes that help educators integrate computational play into meaningful STEAM practices, with a focus on play as intentional pedagogy, critical reflection, and the integration of analogue and digital technologies while respecting children’s agency.

Ewelina Barthel | Comparative Research Network, Germany

Ewelina Barthel holds an MA in Social Geography and a BA in Public Administration from Jagiellonian University. A published researcher in regional development, she co-authored city revitalizations. Since 2011, she has led EU projects at Comparative Research Network in Berlin, Germany.

Rupert Hasterok | Comparative Research Network, Germany

Rupert Hasterok has a background in social science research and publishing. He is working as a project manager and researcher at Comparative Research Network where he designs and implements curricula for non-formal education for different target groups, including children.

Martin Barthel| Comparative Research Network, Germany

Martin Barthel is a geographer and sociologist focused on activism and borders. Since 2010, he has managed 40+ projects for Comparative Research Network, where he now serves as Executive Manager. A PhD candidate and EPALE Ambassador, he co-founded NGO Nest Berlin and specializes in Erasmus+ and peacebuilding.