Pedagogies of Joy;) A Leap to Joy‐Centered Critical Design

ABSTRACT Prior research demonstrates the integral nature of affective work in STEM/STEAM, including multiple works in this issue. In our contribution to this special issue on Centering Affect and Emotion Toward Justice and Dignity in Science Education, we seek to better understand the role of joy, an emotion that moves beyond the temporary shallows of happiness into the depths of complexity that connects fear and joy, constraint and transformation, and human connection. Attending to joy means attending to dignity, wholeness of people, and diversity of experiences. Leaning into joy affirms dignity, which in turn makes possible deeper disciplinary sensemaking. We conceptualize Pedagogies of Joy (POY, rhymes with joy) as design and instructional (in‐the‐moment) decisions an educator uses as they follow pathways leading to joy. We draw on cross‐case analysis of three empirical examples to illustrate four POY: attending to affective‐entanglements , switching roles , cultivating third space , and (co)dreaming to enact . We illustrate how these POY‐shaped design and instructional‐decisions in empirical exemplars to make visible the importance of leaning into moments of joy as seeds of possibility dignity‐affirming learning that can deepen sensemaking about STEM phenomena by foregrounding a full affective range of sensemaking repertoires. We offer POY as tools for educators, researchers, and designers (beyond binary categories of teacher, student, adult, child, youth). We find joy in knowing that these empirical examples are but drops in a wide sea of stories from countless educators who are already committed to seeking joy in solidarity with learners.