Learning as identity exploration cannot be traced easily in informal learning environments such as summer camps. Quantitative Ethnography techniques that are relatively new together with the new conceptual understanding of identity exploration as individual and social perceptions of perceived STEM career identity which is proposed in this study can shed light on the complexity of this area. Quantitative ethnography techniques such as Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) can go hand in hand with conventional research methods to trace the change in students in various environments and racial demographic features.

This paper is a methodological discussion around design-based research and ethnography. By reviewing the historical tensions/differences between the two research methodologies and exploring the possibilities to combine them together, this theoretical paper will provide valuable methodological insights on the research design for researchers who want to study how underserved students develop their interest in STEM learning and what factors may influence students’ development of interest in informal settings. Based on these findings, researchers and educators will have a better understanding of how to design an informal learning environment which helps underserved students to develop interest in learning STEM.

In this paper we interrogate the methodological consequences of pursing ethnographic methods with posthumanist theoretical guidance. We share examples of transcriptions of social activity from two different learning spaces 1) a high school robotics team in the United States and 2) the science teacher community of a high school in India. Both examples explored highlight non-neutral entanglements between|within matter and human actors that played an active role in how the data analysis unfolded. We explore an example of transcription practice that attempts to be grounded in not marginalizing matter's role in interactions, and call for more.