Dr. Shin is an Associate Professor of STEM Education in the Department of Liberal
Studies at California State University, Fresno. His research focuses on broadening
participation in science and STEM education among children from underserved communities
and designing inspiring, engaging, and equitable learning environments. He is also
deeply involved in science and STEM teacher education, preparing future elementary
and middle school teachers.
Dr. Shin is currently a Co-Principal Investigator on several research projects, including
a National Science Foundation-funded initiative, “The Expansion of a Mobile Making Project That Engages Underserved Youth Across California
in STEM,” and a Chevron-funded project, “Expanding Opportunities for Fresno State and Fresno Unified Students to Experience
Impactful STEM Learning Experiences through the Mobile Making Program.”
His research has been published in academic journals such as the International Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Journal of Science Teacher
Education, and Connected Science Learning. He also serves as a peer reviewer for multiple academic journals and as an advisory
board member for an NSF-funded project.
- Science and STEM Education
- Makerspaces and Maker Education
- Preservice Teacher Education
- Engineering Design in K-12 Education
- Community-Based Learning & Service Learning
Grants
The Expansion of a Mobile Making Project That Engages Underserved Youth Across California
in STEM: Supplemental Funding towards the 75th Anniversary NSF STEM Day
National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, Award# 2215656, 1/1/2025-8/31/2025,
$93,969
From Low-Tech to High-Tech: Expanding Opportunities for Fresno State and Fresno Unified
Students to Experience Impactful STEM Learning Experiences through the Mobile Making
Program
Chevron, Co-Principal Investigator, 7/1/2024-6/30/2025, $100,000
Collaborative Research: Broad implementation of Mobile Making: STEM-Making for engaging
underserved communities across California
National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, Award#2215656, 9/1/2022-8/31/2027,
$502,509
Design Thinking for Innovation in Science Teaching: Preservice Teachers’ Applications
of Design Thinking to Reinvent Science Lessons
Dandoy Research Grant, California State University, Fresno, Principal Investigator,
7/1/2021-6/30/2022, $6,055
Re-envisioning Maker Education in STEM Teacher Preparation
Dandoy Research Grant, California State University, Fresno, Principal Investigator,
9/1/2018-5/31/2019, $3,000
Enacting Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in a STEM Capstone Course for Preservice Elementary
Teachers
Dandoy Research Grant, California State University, Fresno, Principal Investigator,
9/1/2017-5/31/2018, $2,667
Selected Publications
Hansen, A., Siyahhan, S., Price, E., Nation, J., Marshall, J., Kisiel, J., & Shin, M. (2025). The Mobile Making Program: Undergraduate Facilitation of Afterschool STEM
Activities to Inspire the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers. Connected Science Learning.https://doi.org/10.1080/24758779.2024.2436851
Shin, M., Lee, J., & Nelson, F. (2022). Funds of knowledge in making: reenvisioning maker
education in teacher preparation. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 54(4), 635-653. http://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2021.1908868
Macias, C., Shin, M., & Bennett, L. (2022). “They were teaching me!”: reimagining collaborative inquiry
with elementary students in science teacher education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 33(5), 466-487. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2021.1963392
Phan, T., & Shin, M. (2021). Re-imagining Technology Education for Student Teachers Using Human-centered
Design. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 12(3). 31-48.
Shin, M., Greenberg, D, & Nazar, C. (2018). "We Wanna Makerspace!": Youth Participatory Action
Research Towards the Design of Equity-Oriented Making. In Calabrese Barton, A., &
Tan, E. (Eds.). STEM-Rich Maker Learning: Designing for Equity with Youth of Color (pp. 34-61). New York, NY: Teacher College Press.
Tan, E., Calabrese Barton, A., Shin, M., & Turner, C. (2016). Probing participatory partnerships: Equitably-consequential
making by, for and with marginalized youth. In FabLearn 2016 Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication
in Education (pp. 1-8). Stanford, CA.
Calabrese Barton, A., Tan, E., & Shin, M. (2016). Mobilities of Criticality: Space-Making, Identity and Agency in a Youth-Centered
Makerspace. Singapore: International Society of the Learning Sciences, 2016.
Shin, M., Calabrese Barton, A., & Johnson, L. (2016). “I am an Innovator: Quahn’s Counter-Narrative
of Becoming in STEM.” In Marx, S. (Ed). Qualitative Research in STEM: Studies of Equity, Access and Innovation (pp. 15-35). New York, NY: Routledge.
Selected Presentations
Shin, M., & Hansen, A. (2024, March). Making Beyond the University Classroom: Lessons from Preservice Teachers Participating
in a Mobile Making Program. 2024 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual International
Conference, Denver, CO.
Shin, M., & Lee, J. (2023, April). Design Thinking for Human-Centered Engineering: Preservice Teachers' Engineering Design
Projects for Underserved Communities. 2023 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual International
Conference, Chicago, IL.
Shin, M., & Lee, J. (2022, March). Placing Empathy at the Center of Engineering: Design Thinking Embraced by Preservice
Teachers for Engineering Design. 2022 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual International
Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
Shin, M., Lee, J., & Nelson, F. (2021, April). Funds of Knowledge in Making: Re-envisioning Maker Education in Teacher Preparation. 2021 American Educational Research Association annual conference, Virtual Conference.
