Abstract
Sports has the potential to integrate with different scientific subjects, including materials science and engineering, making it an ideal approach to enhance the students’ affinity toward sustainable education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Amid gradual educational reformations in the state of Qatar, a distinctive STEM program titled, “Science in Sports” (SIS) was launched to investigate STEM integrated learning in secondary school students. The participant students, 248 students (112 females and 136 males) from 15 different government-operated (public) secondary schools, from rural and urban areas, were given STEM workshops on one of the sports materials, during this pilot study, resultantly challenging them to engineer a sports product. The study employed a mixed-method study in which quantitative approaches were applied to analyze the program effectiveness, with a t-test statistical analysis performed over data collected from a period of five continuous years from 2012 to 2017 in five different cycles. A more dominant data collection included pre and post surveys, substantiating observations of the program facilitator and their schoolteachers were included in this research and development (R&D) study to review the student learning behavior for a qualitative approach. Moreover, the results of the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis provided an overview of the program’s effectiveness in implicating the engagement of the students in exhibiting their prototypical skills in engineering sports products along with STEM literacy. Apart from understanding the scientific concepts/principles applied in simple sports applications, student attitudes toward STEM fields augmented, as witnessed by the student productivity.
Highlights
Sports can promote social integration, economic development, develop teamwork capabilities, and improve physical and mental health
We lay out findings that include summaries of the journey of the students with each sports product based on the observation made by the facilitator during each session with the student
The students elaborated on their project journey and the number of trials and failures, providing the examiners the opportunity to picture the complete journey in the PowerPoint presentations
Summary
Sports can promote social integration, economic development, develop teamwork capabilities, and improve physical and mental health. The coverage and discussions on the event and the wide-spread enthusiasm for the sports is a well-timed opportunity for the educational community to emphasize the positive impact of sports on students of all ages. In this context, trends show a growing inclination in youth toward sports and its related disciplines [1]. Educators believe sports as paramount while providing a wholesome educational experience [2]. They are inspired by successful programs that use sports to empower the youth and educate them. Several case studies have been performed on working with youth who were hooked to formal education through sports, changing their lives for the better and paving the way to better
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