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The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education

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This research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. This study, which used pre-test–post-test and semi-experimental model with permanence test, control group as a research model, was conducted with 44 students attending to the 6th grade of a public school in 2015–2016 academic year. The study consisted of the control group with constructivist teaching and the experimental group with integrated STEM education. Academic achievement test and reflective thinking scale towards problem solving were applied. In SPSS 24 package program, analysis of quantitative data was performed using t-test and Mann–Whitney U test. In conclusion, the integrated STEM education does not significantly increase success, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their effects on permanence according to constructivist teaching, but provides positive contributions to academic achievement. Keywords: Integrated STEM education, science education, academic achievement, problem solving, reflective thinking skills.
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Cypriot Journal of Educational
Sciences
Volume 13, Issue 1, (2018) 94-107
http://sproc.org/ojs/index.php/cjes/
The impact of integrated STEM education on academic
achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and
permanence in learning in science education
Gulcan Sarican, Teacher, Ministry of Education, Istanbul, Turkey.
Devrim Akgunduz*, Computer Education and Instructional Technologies Department, Istanbul Aydin
University, Turkey.
Suggested Citation:
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement,
reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science
education. 13(1), 94-107.
Received date October 02, 2017; revised date November 15, 2017; accepted date December 02, 2017.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu, Near East University.
©2018 SciencePark Research, Organization & Counseling. All rights reserved.
Abstract
This research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of Integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective
thinking skills towards problem solving, and permanence in learning in science education. This study, which used pre-test-
post-test and semi-experimental model with permanence test, control group as a research model, was conducted with 44
students attending to the 6th grade of a public school in 2015-2016 academic year in the "force and motion", "light and
sound", "matter and heat" and "electrical conduction" units. Working groups of the study consisted of the Control group with
constructivist teaching and the experimental group with integrated STEM education. Academic achievement test, reflective
thinking scale towards problem solving were applied to determine the students' academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and their effects on permanence of integrated STEM education. In SPSS 24 package program,
analysis of quantitative data was performed t-Test and Mann Whitney U test. In conclusion, it has been seen that integrated
STEM education does not significantly increase success, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their effects on
permanence according to constructivist teaching. However, it has become clear that integrated STEM education provides
positive contributions to academic achievement.
Keywords: Integrated STEM education, science education, academic achievement, problem solving, reflective thinking skills
* * ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Devrim, Akgunduz*, Istanbul Aydin University, Faculty of Education, Istanbul 34295, Turkey.
E-mail address: devrimakgunduz@aydin.edu.tr / Tel.: +90 444 1 428
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
1. Introduction
In the 21st century, the skills students must have been expressed as: creativity, innovation, problem
solving, critical thinking, technology literacy, information literacy, career and life skills, initiative,
flexibility, and social and cultural skills (Akgunduz, 2016; P21, 2016; WEF, 2016). This STEM education
that aims to equip the students with these skills is pointed out as one of the significant emerging
approaches in the field of education in the 21st century. STEM education is an approach that combines
the disciplines of science, math, engineering and technology (Akgunduz, 2015a; Akgunduz, 2016; Corlu,
2014). All of these disciplines highlight the skills in the 21st century, enabling students to obtain the
abilities to adapt, social skills, communication skills, scientific thinking, self-control, and adaptation to
innovation and creativeness (Bybee, 2010; NRC, 2010). The purpose of the implementation of qualified
STEM education is to raise quality engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and tech experts. In addition,
it aims to prepare the children for the post-school life, facilitating an encounter with real-world
problems (Akgunduz et al, 2015a; Akgunduz, 2016; Corlu, Adiguzel, Ayar, Corlu and Ozel, 2012).
The difference of STEM education from other approaches is that it is integrative. That STEM
education is integrative means that it blends the content of science and math with engineering and
technology (Akgunduz et al, 2015). In the integrative STEM education, learning quality and students'
interest have the potential to increase with project-based activities. With project-based education
integrated with math, engineering, technology and science courses, students' desire to learn and their
learning levels could be higher. At this stage, methods based on problem solving, exploration and
research all have great importance for the integration of STEM education (Sahin, Ayar and Adiguzel,
2014).
Actions taken to initiate STEM education have progressed with the space race starting in the 1950s
and the education reforms and policies during this race. Especially in the United States, this reform
targeted to raise quality engineers and scientists and aimed to lead the world economy (Akgunduz et
al., 2015a; Bybee, 2010). Some of these reforms include National Science Education Standards laid
down in 1996 (National Research Council, 1996) and the Next Generation Science Standards laid down
in 2012 (Achieve, 2012). With the last reforms, science education standards included engineering
design and standards on engineering design from pre-school to the end of high school, strengthening
the interdisciplinary relations (Achieve, 2012). The United States Government as part of state policy
devotes an average of $3 billion each year to STEM disciplines and STEM education (Akgunduz, 2016).
Turkey has in recent years achieved major advances in STEM education. Under the leadership of
Istanbul Aydin University (Akgunduz et al., 2015a, 2015b) and TUSİAD (2014. 2017), various reports
have been prepared and shared with the public. In addition, although many of them are not at the
level of K12, there is an increase each day in the research conducted, but it must be taken into
consideration that the actual development of STEM education will be provided with research and
application on the K12 level.
1.1. The importance and purpose of the research
At the national level, education programs are replenished at time periods of several years. A recent
change made in science education was carried out at the beginning of 2018 (TTKB, 2018). With this
change, actions regarding STEM education was included in the science education teaching program
with an engineering component. However, there are a variety of issues related to the implementation
of these steps. In this context, there is no adequate knowledge and application experience. In order to
have this experience, a lot of research and many applications are needed.
What is required is the development of STEM education design with the aims of increasing the
cooperation with technology, science and math teachers and supporting the innovative and critical
thinking skills of students, adaptation of this education to the conditions of our country, and preparing,
testing and evaluating the curriculum of professional development (Corlu, 2014). Especially in science
education at middle school level, STEM education must be evaluated from the viewpoint of several
variables and examples of implementation must be replicated.
When research about STEM education on databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, etc. is
examined, it has been established that international research started in the 2000s, whereas at the
national level, considerable research was done since 2014. However, it has also been observed that
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
most of the research was conducted on one or two STEM disciplines, that research integrating the four
disciplines is very rare, that the research is mostly conducted with prospective teachers, that research
on academic success on middle school level is rare and that no research was conducted on reflective
thinking towards problem solving.
Unlike problem solving, what is central in the reflective thinking which adapts to the input-output
framework of the process of problem solving is not inputs of problem, but one's own actions (Kizilkaya
and Askar, 2009). Therefore, it is vital that reflective thinking should be used effectively in problem
solving during STEM education.
This study differs from others in that it investigates the application of integrative STEM education
with all its disciplines together, the academic success in science course at middle school level and the
development of reflective thinking skills geared for problem solving.
The main purpose of this study is to determine how integrated STEM education has an impact on
academic achievement, reflective thinking skills associated with problem solving and permanence?"
The following research questions were sought in line with the research objective:
The overarching research question is…….Then four research questions were answered in this study
as follows;
1- Is there any meaningful difference between pre and post-test scores of academic achievements?
2. Is there any meaningful difference among the academic achievement permanence test scores?
3- Is there any meaningful difference between pre and post-test scores of reflective thinking skills
associated with problem solving?
4- Is there any meaningful difference among retro-reflective ability permanence test scores for
problem solving?
2. Method
2.1. The model of the study
In this study, quasi-experimental design (pattern with pre-test and post-test control group) was
used. According to Buyukoztork, Kilic Cakmak, Akgun, Karadeniz and Demirel (2010), semi-
experimental designs with paired patterns are assigned to experimental groups and control groups as
unselected. The independent variable of the study is Integrated STEM education. Dependent variables
of research are academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving (RTSPS) and
permanence in learning.
Quantitative data is used in the study. The level of the relationship between the quantitative data
and the variables is determined. Goksu, Padem and Konakli (2012) explained quantitative research as
numerical research in general terms, testing a problem with theory, measuring it with numbers and
analysing it with statistical methods.
The research design used in the study is given in Table 1.
Table 1. Study pattern
Groups
Learning Approach
Post-Test
PT
Control Group (CG)
Constructivism
AAT,
RTSSPS
AAT,
RTSSPS
Experimental Group (EG)
Integrated STEM Education
AAT,
RTSSPS
AAT,
RTSSPS
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
The Academic Achievement Test (AAT) was used on all students to determine the effects of learning
approaches on the academic achievement of students, the Reflective Thinking Skills Scale towards
Problem Solving (RTSSPS) to determine the effect of RTSPS and the Permanence Test (PT) to determine
the effect of the study on permanence. Tests and scales were applied to students as pre-test, post-test
and permanence test (PT).
2.2. Participants
The study group of the study consists of 44 students studying middle school in the province of
Umraniye, İstanbul, in the academic year of 2015-2016. The practice was carried out at the school
where the researcher worked as a teacher. In the class selection, random selection was made among
the classes taught by the researcher who is a teacher. One of the selected classes was designated as
EG and the other as CG. There are 22 students in both CG and EG. The CG and EG consisted of 22
students, 10 girls and 12 boys.
2.3. Instruments
In the study AAT and RTSSPS were used.
Academic Achievement Test (AAT)
AAT was applied to measure students' achievements in the units of "Force and Motion", "Light and
Sound", "Electrical Conduction" and "Matter and Heat". AAT consists of 20 multiple-choice questions
prepared in accordance with achievements.
In many countries, multiple-choice questions are used to measure students' cognitive levels or
cognitive capacities (Pressley, Yokoi, van Meter, van Etten and Freebern, 1997). These tests are also
used because it is easy and quick to evaluate and allows many sub-gains to be measured.
In the 6th grade of middle school, a pool of 50 questions was created in accordance with the gains
in the units of "Force and Motion", "Light and Sound", "Electrical Conduction" and "Matter and Heat".
In order to ensure the validity of the test coverage, the opinions of one faculty member working in the
department of science teaching of the state universities and 2 faculty teachers of science class have
been taken into consideration. The scientific suitability of the questions was considered and a pilot
study was conducted with 60 students studying the 7th grade. At the end of the pilot study, the number
of questions was reduced to 20.
The AAT used in the study was evaluated according to the number of answers given by the students.
Questions that were left blank and answered incorrectly were evaluated as 0 points in the test and the
correctly answered questions as 1 point. The scores of the students who will take the test are rated at
a maximum of 20 points and a minimum of 0 points.
The difficulty and discriminatory indices of the test questions were determined in accordance with
the data obtained as a result of the preliminary evaluations of the prepared success test, and the
reliability of the test (KR-20) was found to be 0.87. The average strength of the 20-item success test
was 0.64 and the average discrimination was 0.58. In a success test, the substance strength is expected
to be around 0.50. (Buyukozturk, Kilic Cakmak, Akgun, Karadeniz and Demirel, 2010). The questions in
the AAT consist of moderate and easy questions. If the test item discriminantity index value is ≥ 0.40.
the item is considered very good (Buyukozturk, Kilic Cakmak, Akgun, Karadeniz and Demirel, 2010).
When we look at item discrimination values, the questions in the AAT are highly discriminatory.
Table 2 shows how many questions are included in the subjects of "Force and Motion," "Light and
Sound," "Electrical Conduction" and "Matter and Heat" in AAT.
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
Table 2. Distribution of the items constituting the achievement test according to the subject headings
Title of Topics
Subtitle of Topics
Related Question Numbers
Force and Motion
Velocity
1.2.3.4
Light and Sound
Absorption of Sound
5.6.7.8
Matter and Heat
Interaction of Heat with Matter
9.10.11
Light and Sound
Reflection of Light
12.13.14
Electrical Conduction
Electrical Conduction and Electrical Resistance
15.16.17.18.19.20
Reflective Thinking Skills Scale towards Problem Solving (RTSSPS)
"RTSSPS" was applied to reveal the change of reflective thinking skills of students towards problem
solving. The scale was developed by Kizilkaya and Askar (2009) and consists of 14 items. The options
range from "Always: 5" to "Never: 1". The scale is a 5-point Likert-type measure that determines to
what extent the respondents agree with the research-related statements. The highest score that can
be obtained from the scale is 70. the lowest score is 14.
Kizilkaya and Askar (2009) calculated the Cronbach Alpha value as 0.83 for all of the items on the
scale. The reliability analysis of the items in the RTSSPS used in this study was carried out again and the
internal consistency coefficient of Cronbach Alfa was found to be 0.85.
Permanence Test
Permanence test; is the instrument used to measure students' memory levels and problem solving
levels, which are conducted within the experimental setup of the research, one year after the last test.
In order to determine the permanence level, the AAT and RTSSPS, which were applied pre-test and
post-test were applied as a permanence test.
2.4. Procedures
The data were collected by two researchers. One of the researchers is an academician conducting
high-level research on STEM education, and the other is a science teacher who has attended the STEM
teacher certification program organized by a foundation university and obtained an STEM teacher
certificate.
Pilot study for 1 week (4 lesson hours) was given to EG students before the study. The aim of the
pilot study is to prepare students for the Engineering Design Cycle and for STEM integration. In total,
the application lasted 22 hours (5 weeks). The whole study was carried out by researchers. AAT and
RTSSPS pre-test were applied to all students before application. Table 3 shows the durations of the
implemented applications according to the subjects.
Table 3. Duration of the applications performed in the CG and EGs according to subjects
Title of Topics
Duration
Electrical Conduction and Electrical Resistance
6 Hours
Reflection of Light
4 Hours
Absorption of Sound
4 Hours
Interaction of Heat with MATTER
4 Hours
Velocity
4 Hours
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
Total
22 Hours
CG (constructivist approach) applications
1. In CG, lesson plans were implemented within the Science Program in accordance with the gains in
"Force and Motion," "Light and Sound," "Electrical Conduction" and "Matter and Heat" units.
2. All lessons were administered as 4 hours per week, in accordance with the course book, in
accordance with the annual plan.
3. In the course of the lessons, the constructivist approach was used with appropriate techniques.
4. The course book, worksheets, posters and laboratory supplies were used as references.
5. Homework assignments were given to the students at the end of each course to prepare them for
the next lesson. Homework has been checked and evaluated.
6. In the evaluation of the students, mostly the textbook was used.
EG (integrated STEM training) applications
1. In the EG, Integrated STEM Education was implemented within the Science Program in accordance
with the gains in "Force and Motion", "Light and Sound", "Electrical Conduction" and "Matter and
Heat" units.
2. All lessons were carried out within the annual plan and 4 hours per week with appropriate lesson
plans for STEM approach.
3. The course book, worksheets, posters and laboratory supplies were used as references.
4. Homework assignments were given to the students at the end of each course to prepare them for
the next lesson. Homework has been checked and evaluated.
5. In the EG, some activities appropriate to the STEM approach, which required engineering design
process in CG were applied instead of some activities in CG.
6. The students were asked to design proposals for solutions of the problem and to design these
solutions, and the designs were transformed into products and the engineering processes of the
students were evaluated.
Sample lesson schedule flow:
The first activity applied to the students of the EG belongs to the sub-topic titled "Velocity" of the
"Force and Movement" unit. According to the lesson plan prepared, firstly questions were asked to
determine the students' prior knowledge about the topic. In the second phase, students were able to
discover the concept of velocity. In the third phase, the concept of velocity is explained, velocity units
are given, and problems related to unit conversions are solved. In the fourth stage, the "I design a
racing car" activity, which is appropriate to the Engineering Design Cycle, was held to transfer learned
information onto everyday life. In the activity, students are asked to design a vehicle, determine
velocity, and figure out how a vehicle will change velocity. In line with the information they learned in
the third phase, the students measured the distance taken by the meter while calculating the velocity
by the meter and the passing time by the stopwatch. As a result of the measurements made, they
calculated an object's velocity by the ratio of the road covered to the passing time. In the fourth stage,
students studied the structure of a toy car and designed a car of their own. While doing their designs,
they made prototype drawings and made calculations using mathematical information. At the last
stage measurement and evaluation were done with the evaluation questions.
2.5. Data analysis
One sample Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z test was used to determine whether the data obtained in the
study conformed to the normal distribution, as a result of AAT, RTSSPS pre-test, post-test and
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
permanence test. The Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z test is used to test whether a coincidental sample of data
fits a uniform distribution, such as uniform, normal, or Poisson distribution (Akgul, 2005).
In the study, Mann Whitney U test was used for non-parametric tests for AAT pre-test and RTSSPS
pre-test data with no normal distribution of CG and EG (p <0.05). The t-Test was applied to the
parametric analyses for AAT post-test, AAT PT, RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT data showing normal
distribution of CG and EG (p>0.05). The t-Test is used to test whether the difference between the two
related sample averages is significantly different from zero (Buyukozturk, 2006).
3. Findings and discussion
3.1. Findings from the first research question
The first research question is to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between the
AAT pre-test and AAT post-test score averages of the CG and EG students who are educated by the
constructivist approach and integrated STEM education in the 6th grade science course of middle
school.
Table 4 shows the results of the Mann Whitney U Analyses for the AAT pre-test scores CG and EG
students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG: p <0.05 and EG: p>0.05).
Table 4. The results of the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and Mann Whitney U analysis of
the AAT PT scores CG and EG students
Groups
N
X
sd
Mean Rank
Sum of
Rank
U
Z
p
CG
22
10.45
1.819
21.77
479.00
226.00
0.381
0.704
EG
22
11.00
2.944
23.23
471.00
Total
44
10.73
2.434
When Table 4 was examined, CG had a mean AAT pre-test of 10.45 and a standard deviation of
1.819; EG's mean AAT pre-test is 11.00 and the standard deviation is 2.944. According to Table 4, it is
seen that CG and EG students have similar values of AAT pre-test scores. Since the P value was 0.704
(p>0.05), there was no significant difference between the two groups' AAT pre-test scores. Given the
average values of the AAT pre-test scores, the students in the EG and CG may be regarded as equivalent
in terms of academic achievement, although the students in EG with integrated STEM training seem to
have a higher academic success.
Table 5 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the AAT post-test scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG: p>0.05 and
EG: p>0.05).
Table 5. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and independent group t-Test results of AAT post-test scores
of CG and EG students
Groups
N
X
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG
22
12.50
-1.377
21
0.176
EG
22
14.23
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
When Table 5 is examined, CG's AAT post-test average is 12.50 and standard deviation is 3.851; The
AAT post-test average of the EG is 14.23 and the standard deviation is 4.450. According to Table 5, it is
seen that PT' group averages of the students in EG are higher than the average post-test' points of CG
students. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups when compared with
AAT post-test data (p>0.05). Integrated STEM education increases the academic achievement averages
more than the constructivist approach, but this does not make a meaningful difference.
3.2. Findings from the second research question
The second research question is to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between
the RTSSPS pre-test and RTSSPS post-test score averages of the CG and EG students who are educated
by constructivist approach and integrated STEM education in the 6th grade science course of middle
school.
Table 6 shows the results of the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and Mann Whitney U Analyses
of RTSSPS pre-test scores of the students in the CG and EGs (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: CG: p
<0.05 and EG: p>0.05).
Table 6. The results of the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and Mann Whitney U analysis of the RTSSPS
pre-test scores CG and EG students
Groups
N
X
sd
Mean Rank
Sum of Rank
U
Z
p
CG
22
55.59
9.127
23.59
479.00
218.00
0.564
0.573
EG
22
54.45
8.606
23.23
471.00
Total
44
55.02
8.786
When the Table 6 was examined, CG's average of the RTSSPS pre-test score is 55.59 and standard
deviation is 9.127; the average of EG's RTSSPS pre-test is 55.45 and the standard deviation is 8.606.
According to Table 6, it is seen that CG and EG students have similar values of RTSSPS pre-test scores.
Since the P value was 0.573 (p>0.05), there was no significant difference between the two groups'
RTSSPS pre-test scores. Regarding the mean values of the RTSSPS pre-test, although the students in CG
to which the constructivist approach is applied do not seem to have a reflective thinking skills to solve
a higher problem, the students in the EG and CG can be regarded as equivalent in terms of RTSPS.
Table 7 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the RTSSPS post-test scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG: p>0.05
and EG: p>0. 05).
Table 7. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and independent group t-Test results of RTSSPS post-test
scores of CG and EG students
Groups
N
X
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG
22
52.86
0.627
21
0.534
EG
22
51.09
When Table 7 was examined, CG's RTSSPS post-test average is 52.86 and standard deviation is 8.055;
EG's RTSSPS post-test average is 51.09 and the standard deviation is 10.542. According to Table 7, it is
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
seen that the average scores of the students in CG are higher than the average scores of the students
in EG in RTSSPS post-test However, there was no significant difference between the two groups when
compared with RTSSPS post-test data (p>0.05). When evaluating the RTSSPS post-test scores, it can be
said that the effect of constructivist approach and integrated STEM education did not make a
significant difference.
3.3. Findings from the third research question
The third research question is to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between
students' AAT PT score points and the constructive method and integrated STEM education in the 6th-
grade science course of middle school.
Table 8 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the AAT PT scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG: p>0.05 and EG:
p>0. 05).
Table 8. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and independent group t-Test results of AAT PT scores of CG
and EG students
Groups
N
X
sd
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG
22
9.50
5.031
-1.569
21
0.124
EG
22
11.86
4.960
When Table 8 was examined, CG had a mean AAT PT of 9.50 and a standard deviation of 5.031; EG's
average AAT PT is 11.86 and the standard deviation is 4.960. According to Table 8, it is seen that CG
and EG students have similar values of AAT PT scores. Since the p value was 0.124 (p>0.05), there was
no significant difference between the two groups' AAT PT scores. Given the average values of the AAT
PT scores, the students in EG and CG may be regarded as equivalent in terms of academic achievement,
although the students in EG with integrated STEM training seem to have a higher academic success.
Table 9 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the AAT post-test and AAT PT scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG:
p>0.05 and EG: p>0. 05).
Table 9. Dependent group t-Test results for CG and EG students' AAT post-test and AAT PT scores
Groups
N
X
sd
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG AAT Post Test
22
12.50
3.851
4.095
21
0.124
CG AAT PT
22
10.25
3.436
EG AAT Post Test
22
14.23
4.450
2.767
21
0.012
EG AAT PT
22
12.86
4.006
When Table 9 was examined, it was found that CG students had an average AAT post-test of 12.50
and a standard deviation of 3.851; 10.25 of the mean AAT PT and 3.436 of the standard deviation;
14.23 of the AAT post-test average of the students of EG and 4.450 of the standard deviation; It is seen
that the average AAT PT is 12.86 and the standard deviation is 4.006. There was no significant
difference between the AAT post-test and AAT PT scores of CG students (p>0.05), but there was a
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
statistically significant difference in favour of post-test between the AAT post-test and AAT PT scores
of the students of EG (p <0.05).
3.4. Findings from the fourth research question
The fourth research question is to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between
students' RTSSPS PT score points and the constructive method and integrated STEM education in the
6th-grade science course of middle school.
Table 5 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the RTSSPS PT scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p values: (CG: p>0.05 and
EG: p>0.05).
Table 10. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and independent group t-Test results of RTSSPS PT scores of
CG and EG students
Groups
N
X
sd
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG
22
52.27
11.797
-1.028
21
0.310
EG
22
55.45
8.461
When Table 10 is examined, CG has a RTSSPS PT mean of 52.27 and a standard deviation of 11.797;
the average of EG' RTSSPS P is 55.45 and the standard deviation is 8.461. According to Table 10, it is
seen that the average RTSSPS PT scores of the students in EG are higher than those in CG students.
However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the RTSSPS PT score
(p>0.05). It can be said that the constructivist approach and integrated STEM training do not make a
significant difference to the results of RTSSPS PT.
Table 11 shows the results of the arithmetical mean, standard deviation and independent group t-
Test on the RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT scores CG and EG students (Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z p
values: (CG: p>0.05 and EG: p>0. 05).
Table 11. Dependent group t-Test results for CG and EG students' RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT scores
Groups
N
X
sd
t-Test
t
sd
p
CG RTSSPS Post Test
22
52.86
8.055
0.233
21
0.818
CG RTSSPS PT
22
52.25
11.915
EG RTSSPS Post Test
22
51.09
10.542
2.323
21
0.074
EG RTSSPS PT
22
54.75
10.896
When Table 11 is examined, it is seen that CG students have an RTSSPS post-test average of 52.86
and the standard deviation is 8.055; RTSSPS PT average is 52.25 and the standard deviation is 11.915;
51.09 and the standard deviations of the RTSSPS post-test average of the students in EG is 10.542;
RTSSPS PT average is 54.75 and the standard deviation is 10.896. According to Table 11, when the data
of RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT is analysed, there was no significant difference between the average
scores of RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT in CG students (p>0.05). There was no significant difference
between the RTSSPS post-test and RTSSPS PT scores of the students in EG (p>0.05).
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
4. Conclusion and discussion
In the first research question, it was examined whether there was a meaningful difference between
AAT PT and AAT post-test score averages of students who are applied structured approach and
integrated STEM education in 6th-grade science course of middle school. It was determined that there
was no significant difference between the academic achievement of the groups administered by the
constructivist approach and integrated STEM education before and after the research. It has been
observed that integrated STEM education seems to increase academic achievement more according
to constructivist approach but has limited effect on academic achievement. It is thought that the
reason why academic achievement does not reach a significant level is due to the fact that STEM
education is process-oriented and evaluated with a result-oriented achievement test. The relevant
literature has in general presented results in the opposite direction of the results of this study. In the
studies conducted by Tabaru (2017) on the subject of simple electrical circuits, by Salman Parkalay
(2017) on the unit Let's Get Familiar With the Fauna of Living Beings, by Irkcatal (2016) on the simple
machines of the unit Force and Movement, by Yildirim (2016) on the subjects of the 7th grade, by
Ceylan (2014) on Acids and Alcalis, by Roth (2001) on the 6th and 7th grade Simple Machines subject,
and by Doppelt, Mehalik, Schunn, Silk and Krysinski (2008), it has been established that the final
academic success test scores of experimental group students working STEM-based activities or
activities toward STEM are higher than those of CG students. Fortus et al. (2004) showed that learning
levels of 10th and 11th-grade students are improving with activities that can be considered as design-
based STEM education. Becker, Park (2011) In the related literature, there were no studies showing
that there were no significant differences between groups with STEM-based activities and those with
other approaches and models. However, there are studies which show that there is no difference
between the schools named as STEM schools and the other schools in terms of academic success (Oner
and Capraro, 2016; Judson, 2014; Young et al., 2011). For example, Oner and Capraro (2016) conducted
a survey of STEM schools in Texas to determine the extent to which the integration of STEM schools'
technology and engineering has succeeded, and found no significant difference between the
mathematics and science achievement scores of T-STEM schools and other schools, and found that
there was a significant difference between science and mathematics achievement scores over the
years among students of both schools.
The second research question is to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between
the RTSSPS pre-test-RTSSPS post-test score averages of the CG and EG students who are educated by
the constructivist approach and integrated STEM education in the 6th-grade science course of middle
school. Analysing the RTSSPS pre-test data obtained in the study shows that there is no meaningful
difference between the students in the CG and EG in terms of the RTSPS. It is seen that CG who were
applied the constructivist approach has higher RTSPS than the integrated STEM education group with
higher scores in the final test. It was observed that students in the CG and EG had a decrease in their
reflective thinking skills scores for problem solving after the application. A significant reduction in the
reflective thinking skills scores for problem solving by the students with integrated STEM training and
constructivist approach shows that the applied approaches do not change students' RTSPS in the
subject-matter. This is not considered as a conclusion expected by the researchers. This is because the
STEM education practices include the stages expressed in the report prepared by the OECD (2003) as;
identification of the problem, identification of the appropriate information, determination of possible
solutions, solution of the problem, evaluation of the solution and sharing of the results. These steps
are also similar to engineering design process steps. In addition, relevant literature shows that problem
solving abilities and reflective thinking skills are are among the 21st century skills (P21. 2018. WEF,
2016), and are among the objectives of the STEM education (Akgunduz et al., 2015a, Akgunduz et al.,
2015b, Akgunduz, 2016. Ozcelik and Akgunduz, 2018). In the related literature of STEM education,
there is limited research on the reflective thinking skills of STEM education towards problem solving,
and the results are contrary to the results of this research. Gulhan (2016) concluded the research he
conducted in the 5th-grade science class that STEM applications were more effective in the
development of the layer of reflective thinking, which is the highest level of creativity. Pekbay (2017)
obtained the conclusion in the researched conducted in the 7th-grade science applications that STEM
activities developed students' problem solving skills based on everyday life. In another study, Ozcelik
and Akgunduz (2018) stated that problem solving skills of students improved as a result of extra-
curricular STEM education practices based on science education with gifted middle school students.
Sarican, G. & Akgunduz, D. (2018). The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking
skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. 13(1), 94-107.
In the third research question, it was examined whether there was a meaningful difference between
AAT PT score averages of students who are applied structured approach and students who are applied
integrated STEM education in 6th-grade science course of middle school. When the results of AAT
conducted as PT one year after the last test, it was found that there was no significant difference
between the academic achievement levels of CG and EG. However, according to the results of the AAT
PT, the group with integrated STEM education received higher scores than the constructivist approach
group. The STEM education or constructivist approach does not influence the permanence of the
academic achievement of students. This conclusion is in parallel with AAT post-test results.
In the fourth research question, it was examined whether there was a meaningful difference
between RTSSPS PT score averages of students who are applied structured approach and students who
are applied integrated STEM education in 6th-grade science course of middle school. When the results
of RTSSPS test conducted as PT one year after are analysed, it was seen that there was no significant
difference between the CG and EG's ability to think reflective with regard to problem solving. Although
there is no significant difference, the group with integrated STEM education seems to have a higher
score than the constructivist approach group. This situation is in parallel with the results of RTSSPS pre-
test, post-test and PT.
5. Recommendations
Although in this study integrated STEM education relative to the constructivist approach did not
make a meaningful difference in terms of academic achievement, it also increased the scores more.
The longer-term use of integrated STEM training in science education can positively contribute to the
academic achievement of students. Other studies on various topics and class levels suitable for STEM
education can be conducted. It is believed that the evaluation of academic achievement with process-
oriented assessment methods will provide a clearer picture of success. Better planning of problem
solving steps can make meaningful differences in RTSPS. In this study, the effects of integrative STEM
education and constructivist approach on academic achievement and RTSPS are examined. The effects
of integrated STEM education can be investigated with different variables, on different school levels
and subject-matters. This research is limited to the middle school science curriculum and the topics
covered.
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... Pengukuran matematis digunakan pada bidang teknik. Pengetahuan sains, teknologi, dan teknik digunakan untuk merancang proyek STEM (Gülen & Yaman, 2019;Hiğde & Aktamış, 2022;Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018;Tsai et al., 2021). Melalui kegiatan STEM siswa dapat menggabungkan dua atau lebih disiplin ilmu STEM. ...
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Penelitian ini mengkaji terkait pembelajaran STEM. Kajian ini membahas tentang aspek positif dan keterbatasan dari pembelajaran STEM. Penelitian ini menggunakan Literature Review atau kajian pustaka dengan model mensintesis artikel ilmiah terindeks Scopus yang berjumlah 15 artikel. Hasil kajian literatur menunjukkan bahwa terdapat aspek-aspek positif dalam pembelajaran STEM yaitu menciptakan pembelajaran yang kohesif, meningkatkan keterampilan proses sains, mempengaruhi prestasi siswa, memotivasi siswa dalam belajar, meningkatkan kreativitas siswa, meningkatkan minat karir siswa. serta pembelajaran menjadi lebih bermakna karena dapat mengembangkan keterampilan pemecahan masalah, pemikiran kreatif dan analitis, dan berkolaborasi. Kemudian keterbatasan dalam pembelajaran STEM adalah kurangnya pembagian tugas, penjadwalan, kurangnya ketangkasan, perselisihan. Selain itu, penggunaan peralatan teknologi memerlukan waktu khusus sebelum pelajaran. Terutama di proses desain produk, dicoba untuk menyediakan ruang dan ketertiban yang cukup di dalam kelas untuk kerja kelompok. Topik yang digunakan hanya cocok pada topik pembelajaran STEM yang berkaitan dengan permasalahan kompleks.
... This opportunity will be reflected in the scientific and academic research carried out, and it is seen that studies on STEM education are carried out in various subject areas and from different perspectives. When the studies carried out on STEM education or STEM approach are examined; cognitive achievement in STEM (Acar, 2018;Becker & Park, 2011;Bircan, 2019;Ceylan, 2014;Dogan, 2019;Eroglu, 2018;Han, 2013;Higde, 2018;Irkicatal, 2016;Koroglu, 2019;McKinnon, 2018;Sarican, 2017;Tabaru, 2017;Tastan-Akdag, 2017;Wai, Lubinski, Benbow, & Steiger, 2010;Yildirim, 2016;Yildirim & Altun, 2015), meaningful learning in STEM (Kocyigit, 2019;Tseng, Chang, Lou, & Chen, 2011), scientific process skills in STEM (Alan, 2017;Alan, 2020;Ayverdi, 2018;Cotabish, Dailey, Robinson, & Hughes, 2013;Dogan, 2019;Sacan, 2018;Tabaru, 2017;Tastan-Akdag, 2017;Yamak, Bulut & Dundar, 2014;Yildirim, 2016), critical thinking skill in STEM (Acar, 2018;Duran & Sendag, 2012;Hacioglu, 2017), student engagement in STEM (Hedrick, Dizen, Collins, Evans, & Grayson, 2010), STEM profession (Higde, 2018;Karakaya, 2017;Kiriktas, 2019;Kizilay, 2018;Koroglu, 2019;Tseng et all., 2011), motivation in STEM (Higde, 2018;Kizilay, 2018), engineering skill in STEM (Ayverdi, 2018), learning perception in STEM (Gulhan, 2016;Koc, 2019;Reisslein, Moreno, & Ozogul, 2010), problem-solving in STEM (Acar, 2018;Alan, 2017;Bicer, Nite, Capraro, Barrosso, Capraro, & Lee, 2017;Ceylan, 2014;Koc, 2019;Sarican, 2017;Tabaru, 2017), attitude in STEM (Bircan, 2019;Dogan, 2019;Gulhan, 2016;Irkicatal, 2016;Ismail, Zain, & Zin, 2019;Kiriktas, 2019;Kocyigit, 2019;Koroglu, 2019;Lou, Shih, Die, & Tseng, 2011;Sacan, 2018;Toma & Greca, 2018;Yamak et all., 2014;Yildirim, 2016;Zhou, Zeng, Xu, Chen, & Xiao, 2019) and creativity in STEM (Ayverdi, 2018;Bicer et all, 2017;Ceylan, 2014;Eroglu, 2018;Gulhan, 2016;Hacioglu, 2017). Additionally, it is seen that the necessity of ensuring the integration of STEM activities into the education and training process (Gul, 2019;Lin, Hsiao, Williams, & Chen, 2020;Okulu, 2019;Shahali, Halim, Rasul, Osman, & Arsad, 2019;Tunc, 2019;Ustu, 2019;Yazar, 2019), the perception of STEM education (Jeong & Kim, 2015;Kiriktas, 2019;Knezek, Christensen, Wood, & Periathiruvadi, 2013;Lee et all, 2012;Marulcu & Sungur, 2012), the views on STEM activities (Karahan, Canbazoglu-Bilici & Unal, 2015), the effect of STEM education on interest (Hsu, Lin, & Yang, 2017) and the intentions of the STEM (Lin & Williams, 2016) are determined. ...
... This opportunity will be reflected in the scientific and academic research carried out, and it is seen that studies on STEM education are carried out in various subject areas and from different perspectives. When the studies carried out on STEM education or STEM approach are examined; cognitive achievement in STEM (Acar, 2018;Becker & Park, 2011;Bircan, 2019;Ceylan, 2014;Dogan, 2019;Eroglu, 2018;Han, 2013;Higde, 2018;Irkicatal, 2016;Koroglu, 2019;McKinnon, 2018;Sarican, 2017;Tabaru, 2017;Tastan-Akdag, 2017;Wai, Lubinski, Benbow, & Steiger, 2010;Yildirim, 2016;Yildirim & Altun, 2015), meaningful learning in STEM (Kocyigit, 2019;Tseng, Chang, Lou, & Chen, 2011), scientific process skills in STEM (Alan, 2017;Alan, 2020;Ayverdi, 2018;Cotabish, Dailey, Robinson, & Hughes, 2013;Dogan, 2019;Sacan, 2018;Tabaru, 2017;Tastan-Akdag, 2017;Yamak, Bulut & Dundar, 2014;Yildirim, 2016), critical thinking skill in STEM (Acar, 2018;Duran & Sendag, 2012;Hacioglu, 2017), student engagement in STEM (Hedrick, Dizen, Collins, Evans, & Grayson, 2010), STEM profession (Higde, 2018;Karakaya, 2017;Kiriktas, 2019;Kizilay, 2018;Koroglu, 2019;Tseng et all., 2011), motivation in STEM (Higde, 2018;Kizilay, 2018), engineering skill in STEM (Ayverdi, 2018), learning perception in STEM (Gulhan, 2016;Koc, 2019;Reisslein, Moreno, & Ozogul, 2010), problem-solving in STEM (Acar, 2018;Alan, 2017;Bicer, Nite, Capraro, Barrosso, Capraro, & Lee, 2017;Ceylan, 2014;Koc, 2019;Sarican, 2017;Tabaru, 2017), attitude in STEM (Bircan, 2019;Dogan, 2019;Gulhan, 2016;Irkicatal, 2016;Ismail, Zain, & Zin, 2019;Kiriktas, 2019;Kocyigit, 2019;Koroglu, 2019;Lou, Shih, Die, & Tseng, 2011;Sacan, 2018;Toma & Greca, 2018;Yamak et all., 2014;Yildirim, 2016;Zhou, Zeng, Xu, Chen, & Xiao, 2019) and creativity in STEM (Ayverdi, 2018;Bicer et all, 2017;Ceylan, 2014;Eroglu, 2018;Gulhan, 2016;Hacioglu, 2017). Additionally, it is seen that the necessity of ensuring the integration of STEM activities into the education and training process (Gul, 2019;Lin, Hsiao, Williams, & Chen, 2020;Okulu, 2019;Shahali, Halim, Rasul, Osman, & Arsad, 2019;Tunc, 2019;Ustu, 2019;Yazar, 2019), the perception of STEM education (Jeong & Kim, 2015;Kiriktas, 2019;Knezek, Christensen, Wood, & Periathiruvadi, 2013;Lee et all, 2012;Marulcu & Sungur, 2012), the views on STEM activities (Karahan, Canbazoglu-Bilici & Unal, 2015), the effect of STEM education on interest (Hsu, Lin, & Yang, 2017) and the intentions of the STEM (Lin & Williams, 2016) are determined. ...
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STEM-Based Activity Scientific Creativity Cognitive Achievement Gifted Students This research aimed to determine the effect of STEM-based activity designed for gifted students on students' scientific creativity and cognitive achievement. Depending on this purpose a simple experimental method, which is one of the quantitative research approaches, was preferred. While the "Scientific Creativity Scale" was used to determine the effect of STEM-based activity designed for gifted students on students' scientific creativity, the "Academic Achievement Test" developed in the field of preferred subject matter was used as part of the research to determine the effect on cognitive achievement. SPSS 25.0 package program was used to analyze quantitative data collected in the form of pre-testing and post-testing. When evaluating the effect of STEM-based activity for gifted students on scientific creativity; the post-test scores obtained by the research group from the scientific creativity scale differed significantly from the pre-test scores. It has been concluded that the nature of STEM-based activity and the steps involved in the engineering design process have an impact on the relevant skill in making a meaningful difference in scientific creativity. When the effect of STEM-based activity developed for gifted students on cognitive achievement is evaluated; it was concluded that the post-test scores obtained from the cognitive achievement test of the research group differed significantly from the pre-test scores. In making a meaningful difference in cognitive achievement, STEM-based activity directs the student to research and question and provides meaningful-lasting learning.
... There is a lot of research that proves that STEM learning can improve learning achievement and CTS, such as research conducted by Sarican & Akgunduz (2018) which found that the use of the STEM approach can help students gain knowledge by discovering and conducting experiments to prove hypotheses, which have been created so as to improve student academic achievement. The research results of Ritonga & Zulkarnaini (2021) also show that the implementation of STEM in learning can improve CTS, as well as Yaki (2022) who states that the STEM approach is effective in improving students' CTS. ...
... According to Fadlina, et al. (2021) the STEM approach makes it easier for students to find new ideas well, be skilled in using tools and materials, easy to handle learning problems, easy to understand the material and makes students more active and motivated to learn. Furthermore, according to Sarican & Akgunduz (2018) academic achievement can increase through integrated STEM learning and in accordance with a constructivist approach but has a limited impact on academic achievement. ...
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The success of learning process can be seen from students' achievements and critical thinking skills. One approach that can be used to improve learning achievement and CTS is STEM. Many researchers have conducted research on STEM, but have not been specific about the aspects that play a role on it. This research aims to determine the effect of STEM from the facility aspect, teacher aspect and environmental aspect on learning achievement and CTS. This survey research used purposive sampling involving 152 students. The research instrument consists of a questionnaire to see students' perceptions of STEM from three aspects and a test instrument to determine students' learning achievement and CTS. Data analysis was carried out using partial least square. The research results show that (1) the facility aspect has the greatest influence on learning achievement; (2) environmental aspects have the greatest influence on CTS; (3) the three aspects of STEM learning have a big influence on learning achievement and CTS; and (4) learning achievement greatly influences CTS. These results show that STEM is very feasible to be implemented in the classroom to improve learning achievement and CTS
... Several studies found the benefit of STEM-based activities in science education (e.g., Eroğlu & Bektaş, 2022;Jongluecha & Worapun, 2022;Sahin, Ayar, & Adiguzel, 2014;Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018;Ültay et al., 2020;Yuliati, Parno, Yogismawati, & Nisa, 2018). It was found that using STEM-based activities can lead to desirable outcomes in science education in terms of scientific literacy, 21st-century skills, and science learning achievement. ...
... The results of this study suggest that incorporating STEM-based activities into grade 5 science classes can enhance students' knowledge and learning outcomes. These findings align with the results of previous studies that have also demonstrated the benefits of STEM education on science education (Eroğlu & Bektaş, 2022;Jongluecha & Worapun, 2022;Sahin, Ayar, & Adiguzel, 2014;Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018;Ültay et al., 2020;Yuliati, Parno, Yogismawati, & Nisa, 2018). The effectiveness of STEM-based activities in promoting science education can be attributed to several factors. ...
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This study aimed to investigate the effects of STEM-based activities on grade 5 students’ science learning achievement, computational skills, and satisfaction with the learning experience. The study involved 30 grade 5 students in the Thai context, and data were collected through a learning management plan designed using STEM-based activities, a learning achievement test, a computational thinking test, and a satisfaction questionnaire. Mean scores, standard deviation, and a paired samples t-test were used to analyze the data. The results showed that STEM-based activities had a positive impact on grade 5 students’ learning achievement and computational thinking skills. Moreover, the students expressed a high level of satisfaction with the STEM-based activities, which provided an engaging and relevant learning experience. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of STEM-based activities in promoting student achievement and satisfaction with the learning experience.
... STEM education is regarded as an effective strategy for solving social problems in the twenty-first century (Herranen et al., 2021). As essential components of the modern world of the industrial 4.0 era, it has been argued that STEM subjects should be incorporated into education to support pupils integration of knowledge across disciplines via formal or informal learning and to foster higher-order thinking, such as problem-solving, creativity, engineering thinking, etc. (Li et al., 2019;Rifandi & Rahmi, 2019;Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018;Supian et al., 2023). Quality STEM education is essential for assisting pupils to develop the necessary abilities to function in today's dynamic modern environment from an early age (Lundell et al., 2023). ...
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This study aimed to determine pupils' attitudes about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in China. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from senior primary school pupils for a quantitative research study into their attitudes towards STEM. The survey collated attitudes towards three STEM subject subdimensions (i.e. mathematics attitude, science attitude, engineering and technology attitude) and STEM career interest using 42 items. Online data were collected from 864 senior primary school pupils (664 fifth graders, and 200 sixth graders). The data analysis included descriptive analysis and correlation analysis, specifically Pearson's and Spearman's rank correlations. The descriptive analysis showed that the STEM attitudes of Chinese senior primary school pupils were at a moderate level. The correlation analyses showed significant relationships between STEM attitudes and gender, grade, STEM experience or a lack of STEM experience, and parents' educational background.
... Güneş (2015) found a significant relationship between reflective thinking skills for problem solving, mathematics achievement, and mathematics course attitudes in his study with Science and Art Center students. Sarıcan (2017) found that integrated STEM education did not significantly increase achievement and reflective thinking skills towards problem solving. Uygun and Bilgiç (2018) determined a significant relationship between students' reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their academic achievement in the social studies course. ...
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This study examines the relationship between secondary school students' reflective thinking skills toward problem solving and their metacognitive awareness. Using the correlational survey method, this study selected a sample of 571 secondary school students from Afyonkarahisar province during the 2022-2023 academic year using the convenient sampling method. The study used the 'Reflective Thinking Skills Scale for Problem Solving' and the 'Metacognitive Awareness Scale for Children' as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and simple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the collected data. According to the findings of the study, secondary school students' reflective thinking skills for problem solving and their metacognitive awareness are positively and highly related. Furthermore, the study determined that the reflective thinking skills of secondary school students for problem solving significantly predict their metacognitive awareness.
... However, as Moore et al (2021) demonstrate, constructivist integrated STEM education is likely to foster greater academic performance while the actual extent of its influence on academic performance is likely to be minimal. The use of integrated STEM training for a protracted period of time should enhance students' academic performance during scientific education (Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018). ...
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This systematic literature review aims to address some critical questions in interdisciplinary STEM education. Specifically, this study endeavors to determine how STEM education has been implemented in the K-12 and higher education settings, which are the major targets of this review, in the time range of 2016 to 2024. Within this time frame, The researcher utilized PRISMA'S systematic review procedures to conduct an analysis of peer-reviewed articles databases such as ERIC, Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Articles from these databases would be analyzed through the use of Boolean oppositions of texts connected to education 5.0, STEM education as well as interdisciplinary approaches. There are tangible outcomes on student participation, improved retention, and development of timely necessary and relevant skills such as advanced ICT understands, intricate problem solving, and teamwork. Inadequate curriculum development policies, lack of curriculum policies, trained personnel and poor resource provision limited the development of the said framework. The review concludes that while interdisciplinary STEM education effectively prepares students for contemporary challenges and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals, successful implementation requires systematic institutional support and robust infrastructure. Recommendations include developing age-appropriate integrated curricula, establishing teacher collaboration networks, and conducting longitudinal research to assess long-term program impacts on student outcomes and career readiness.
... Este enfoque permite abordar problemas complejos, innovar, fomentar el pensamiento crítico, y mejorar habilidades como la resolución de problemas y la creatividad. La naturaleza interdisciplinar de la educación STEM mejora los resultados de aprendizaje (Sarican y Akgunduz, 2018) y aumenta el interés y compromiso de los estudiantes (Struyf et al., 2019). Al mismo tiempo contribuye al fortalecimiento de la práctica docente, una percepción que los docentes comparten al considerar que enriquece el proceso de aprendizaje de sus estudiantes (Margot y Kettler, 2019;Cardetti y Orgnero, 2013). ...
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En una era donde la tecnología y la ciencia están en constante avance, formar a los docentes en educación STEM les permite preparar a los estudiantes para los trabajos del futuro. En el artículo se presenta la primera fase del estudio Ambientes de aprendizaje para la integración disciplinar bajo el enfoque STEM apoyados por tecnologías digitales, en el que se llevó a cabo el diseño e implementación de una metodología de formación para la integrar la educación STEM en establecimientos educativos bajo los planteamientos de la investigación basada en diseño. La metodología diseñada tiene como pilares Desing Thinking, el uso de metodologías activas y la integración tecnologías educativas para abordar problemas complejos. Los datos sugieren que la metodología implementada incrementó la motivación de los estudiantes; los docentes reportaron sentirse apoyados y equipados con herramientas pedagógicas y tecnológicas efectivas. No obstante, existen retos en la formación de decentes que deben tenerse en cuenta buscando diferentes estrategias para un desarrollo profesional continuo, mecanismos específicos para la integración curricular y estrategias para fomentar el trabajo colaborativo entre docentes. La metodología demostró ser replicable, lo que significa que puede adaptarse y transferirse a diferentes contextos educativos y ser implementada a mayor escala.
... In the 21 st century, student competence must have been described as: Creativity, problem solving, technical literacy, innovation, critical thinking, information literacy, work and life skills, initiative, flexibility, social and cultural skills (Sarican & Akgunduz, 2018;Hacioglu & Gulhan, 2021). In addition, the educators and students must improve their science and technology knowledge in order to increase the quality of life and society in this current era of globalization. ...
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The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of using the STEM approach in learning science and physics. The 20 research articles whose findings were examined in this study were all published in journals between 2018 and 2022. Effect size values used in the meta-analysis in this study were calculated using the OpenMEE program. Four indicators—level of education, learning models, learning media, and higher-order thinking skills—can be used to determine the impact of STEM (HOTS) learning. The average effect size on educational attainment is 1,590 at the junior high school level and 1,440 at the senior high school level. The average effect size for STEM learning with the PjBL learning model is 1.490, PBL is 1.250 and inquiry learning is 0.333. According to the average effect size results obtained for LKPD of 1.878, module of 1.818, and LKP of 1.503, this study examines the impact of STEM on the media. The average effect size score was obtained for higher order thinking skills (HOTS) for problem solving skills of 1.699, critical thinking skills of 1.899, scientific literacy abilities of 1.126, concept understanding of 0.997, and creative thinking abilities of 0.951. According to the findings of the effect size study, STEM learning is appropriate for use at the junior high school level with the PjBL learning approach using LKPD learning media to strengthen students' critical thinking skills.
... The relevant literatures have the results of this study. Integrating STEM Education seems to enhance students' learning achievement more than constructivist approach [3]. According to the fact that STEM Education is process-oriented and evaluated with a result- oriented achievement test. ...
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STEM Education is an area of study that intergrates the four principles of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through coherent and active teaching and learning approaches which base on problem-based learning in the real-world. Thus, the purpose of this study is to synthesize the research on STEM Education Approach effected on students’ learning achievement in Thailand. There are two sets of variables. The first set is the description of research and the second set is the effect size of research. Data collection and analysis tools are the recording data form for research synthesis, frequency, percentage and meta-analysis. The results showed that (1) description of researches dated by 2009-2019, STEM Education research was mostly published in 2017 (68.18%), Rajabhat Mahasarakham University often produced STEM Education research (59.09%), Sciences Education major usually produced the STEM Education research (68.18%), researchers from the Office of the Basic Education Commission commonly produced the research (72.72%), most of the researchers were female (72.72%), common research objectives found was to compare (35.19%), research design most found was One group pretest-posttest design (77.27%), frequent sampling method found was purposive sampling (59.09%), sampling level of research was upper secondary school (68.18%) and analyzing method largely found was descriptive analysis (48.89%). (2) the effect size (d) from STEM Education on Learning Achievement = 0.445 which means STEM Education can affect the scores of the experimental group more than the control group.
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Sosyal bilimler alanında lisans ve lisans üstü düzeylerde “bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri” ile ilgili pek çok ders okutulmaktadır. Anayasa'da, eğitimle ilgili yasalarda, öğretim programlarında ve yönetmeliklerde okullar ile öğretmenlerin öğretim dışında bir başka temel görevinin araştırma olduğunun vurgulanmasına rağmen, eğitim fakültelerinin yeniden yapılandırıldığı 1997 yılından itibaren öğretmen yetiştiren lisans programlarının tamamına yakınında bu tür dersler programlardan çıkartılmıştır. Daha sonra yapılan pek çok yerel, ulusal ve uluslararası araştırmaların sonuçları ilköğretim ve ortaöğretim öğrencilerinin en başarısız oldukları alanlar içinde bilimsel süreç becerilerinin ve problem çözme becerilerinin olduğunu göstermiştir. Bilimsel araştırma sonuçlarını referans alan Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı ilköğretimden başlamak üzere tüm ders programlarını yapılandırmacı anlayışa dayalı olarak yeniden hazırlamaya başlamış ve ilköğretim 1-5 yeni ders programlarını 2004/2005 yılında uygulamaya koymuştur. Yeni ders programlarının dikkat çeken yanlarından biri, öğrencilere araştırma kültürünün kazandırılmasına vurgu yapmış olması ve okulları adeta birer proje, araştırma yuvaları olarak görmesidir. Tüm bu gelişmelere paralel olarak YÖK eğitim fakültelerinin programlarının geliştirilmesine karar vermiş ve bu konuda eğitim fakültelerinin de katılımını sağlayarak öğretmen yetiştiren lisans programlarını yeniden düzenlenmiştir. Yeni ders programlarında bilimsel araştırma yöntemleriyle ilgili derslere yer verilmiştir. Bu kitap, eğitimin yanı sıra sosyal bilimlerin diğer alanlarında lisans düzeyinde okutulan araştırma yöntemleriyle ilgili dersler için ders kitabı olarak hazırlanmıştır. Kitabın aynı zamanda sosyal bilimler alanında çalışma yapan tüm araştırmacılar için kaynak bir kitap olabileceği düşünülmüştür. Kitabın Birinci Bölümü'nü temel kavramları da içeren “Bilimsel Araştırmanın Temelleri” oluşturmaktadır. “Problemi Tanımlama” olarak isimlendirilen ikinci bölümde problemin seçimi ve tanımlanmasına ilişkin süreçlere yer verilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümü “Örnekleme Yöntemleri”, dördüncü bölümü “Veri Toplama Araçları”, beşinci bölümü “Nicel Araştırmalar” ve altıncı bölümü “Nitel Araştırmalar” oluşturmaktadır. Kitabın son bölümü, “Raporlaştırma” konusuna ayrılmıştır. Kitabın yararlı olması dileğiyle, kitabın hazırlanması sürecinde emeği geçen herkese şükranlarımızı sunarız.
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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), fen bilimleri ve matematik gibi temel bilimlerin, mühendislik ve teknolojinin tasarım ve uygulamaları ile entegre edilmesini sağlayan bir yaklaşımdır. Literatür incelendiğinde STEM eğitiminin üstün/özel yeteneklilere uygulanması ile ilgili araştırmaların yetersiz olduğu görülmüştür. Bundan dolayı bu araştırma, üstün/özel yetenekli öğrenciler için yapılan STEM eğitimi ile öğrencilerin elde ettikleri kazanımları değerlendirmek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma modellerinden durum çalışması kullanılmıştır. Araştırma, daha önceden STEM eğitimi almamış ve üstün/özel yetenekli tanısı konulmuş 12 erkek ve 13 kız olmak üzere toplam 25 öğrencinin katılımıyla 2 haftada 32 saat olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak Aktivite Değerlendirme Formları kullanılmıştır. Aktivite değerlendirme formunda öğrencilerin neler öğrendiği, hangi becerileri elde ettiği, etkinlikten öğrendiklerini nasıl kullanacağı vb. sorular yöneltilmiştir. Yapılan her aktivite için STEM eğitimine yönelik ders planı oluşturulmuş, uygulamada mühendislik tasarım süreci izlenmiş ve aktivite sonrasında öğrencilerin aktivite formlarını doldurmaları sağlanmıştır. Elde edilen nitel veriler betimsel analiz tekniği ile değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuç olarak üstün/özel yetenekli öğrenciler için yapılan STEM eğitiminin öğrencilerin fen ve matematik kazanımları ile yaratıcılık, eleştirel düşünme, işbirliği yapma ve iletişim kurma gibi 21. Yüzyıl becerileri elde etmesini sağladığı tespit edilmiştir. Evaluation of Gifted/Talented Students’ Out-of-School STEM Education
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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), one of the mostly emphasized concepts in the world, is a paradigm that creates interdisciplinary learning and provides achievement of the outcomes of science, mathematics, engineering and technology while doing this. This research was carried out to investigate the STEM fields’ placement of the top thousand students placed in science and mathematics fields in universities, the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) university placement data as a basis. This is a quantitative research and descriptive analysis techniques have been used. In the study, which has examined university placement of 17135 students, it was determined that as the students’ interest in STEM fields decreased between the years 2000-2014, the interest in faculties of medicine increased, that there is a major difference between male and female students in favor of the males, that the students were placed mostly in engineering departments among STEM fields and that placement in education faculties and fundamental sciences was rather low. eywords: STEM, STEM education, University STEM placement, STEM fields
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There have been strong calls to action in recent years to promote both school choice and the learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This has led to the burgeoning development of STEM-focused schools. Nine STEM-focused charter and 2 STEM-focused magnet schools that serve elementary-aged students were examined to assess the achievement of students who transfer to these schools, as compared to students transferring to non-STEM schools, in the content areas of mathematics, language arts, and reading. The achievement of students transferring to STEM-focused elementary schools was also evaluated after 3years at their new school and compared both to students' own prior achievement at their old school and to achievement of students comprising comparison groups. Results generally indicated no effect of STEM-focused magnet schools, but did indicate some positive effects of STEM-focused charter schools.
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Bu kitap, Üniversitelerde eğitim gören lisans ve lisansüstü öğrencilerinin araştırma metotları ile ilgili kaynak ihtiyaçlarının karşılanmasına yardımcı olmak amacı ile hazırlanmıştır. Üzerinde durulan konular mümkün olduğunca basit bir anlatım dili kullanılarak sunulmaya çalışılmıştır. Araştırma metotları ile ilintili hazırlanan birçok kitap, kısaca bilim ve özelliklerinden sonra veri toplama ve istatistik metotların uygulaması yörüngesinde yoğunlaşmıştır. Yenilik olarak bu kitapta örnekler verilerek insanlığın karşılaştığı temel sorunlar ve bunların çözümünde bilimin etkinliği vurgulanmıştır. Bilim tarihine kısaca değinilmiş ve bilim insanlarının topluma karşı sorumlulukları üzerinde durulmuştur. Kitap, hem sosyal bilimler, hem de fen ve sağlık bilimlerinde çalışan araştırıcıların kullanabileceği niteliktedir. Kitabı orijinal kılan hususlardan birisi de insan, varlık ve olayların araştırılmasını kapsayan bilim anlayışında, bilimi anlama ve kavramada maddenin metafizik boyutunun da vurgulanmasıdır. Teknolojik olarak gelişmiş toplumların göze çarpan en önemli özellikleri bilgi üretimi, kullanımı ve bunu teknolojiye dönüştürmedeki araştırma kararlılığı ve ciddiyetleridir. Bilimsel bilgi üretme sürecinin belli bir sistematik ile yapılması gereklidir. Araştırma sırasında bazı sorunlar çıkabilir. Ortaya çıkabilecek sorunların azaltılması, önceden tahmin edilmesi veya bu sırada çözülmesi veyahut da etkisinin en aza indirgenmesi gereklidir. Bu sistematik kurallar çerçevesinde elde edilen bilginin tez, makale, rapor veya sunum şeklinde yazıya dökülmesiyle hatalar azalacaktır. Üretilen bilginin güvenilirliği daha çok bu bilginin hangi metotlarla elde edildiği ve test edildiği ile ilgilidir. Kitabın öğrencilerimize, öncelikle bilimsel düşünme ihtiyacı hissettirmesi, sonrasında da araştırma isteği uyandırması ve her seviyede araştırmaya yönlendirmesi oranında amacına ulaşacağını ümit ediyoruz.
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A major goal of science education reform is to produce curricula that improve the learning of all students. In this study, the authors explore the use of design-based learning (DBL) to achieve this end. They examined two middle school science classes taught by a teacher who switched for the first time from a standard, scripted inquiry approach to a DBL approach. The researchers were particularly interested in two questions. First, will students previously labeled high and low-achievers become equally engaged by DBL? Second, will the traditional gaps in science achievement associated with race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status be increased or reduced? The findings presented two aspects of learning: engagement and achievement. Engagement has the potential to highlight students' performance in a way that standardized assessment methods do not reveal. The findings of this study suggest that DBL has the potential to increase students' desire to learn, enhance students' success in science class, and increase students' interest in science topics.