Effects of STEM Education Seminars on Teachers in the Schools of North Cyprus

Gülyüz Debeş

doi:10.29333/ejmste/91090

Abstract

In this study, Seminars were envisaged on the importance of stem education at secondary schools. Basicly these seminars were about to introduce STEM education to the teachers. Pre-test and post-tests were applied in the study. By this way, it was aimed to measure the effectiveness of the seminars on especially maths and technology related courses of teachers. Three scales are used to test the effectiveness of the seminars. As for the results it was found that teachers were positively effected by the mathematical self literacy but had no difference in their mathematical thinking ability and in terms of their technological use.

Highlights

In our changing world, accessing information, ways of research, questioning, critical thinking, being sensitive to social problems, having democratic values and the places where free, independent, respectful people grown up are called schools (Şişman, Güleş, & Dönmez, 2010; Widdowson et al, 2014)
STEM education is quite new concept for newly developing country of North Cyprus and this study aims to show the importance of seminars taken to have whether there was an impact on the teaching of maths, science, engineering and technology courses carried out by teachers
As a result of the study, it is concluded that STEM seminars had no influence on technology level of use of teachers

Summary

Introduction

In our changing world, accessing information, ways of research, questioning, critical thinking, being sensitive to social problems, having democratic values and the places where free, independent, respectful people grown up are called schools (Şişman, Güleş, & Dönmez, 2010; Widdowson et al, 2014). Research that investigates the impact of using emerging technologies to explore real-world problems using inquiry as the central pedagogical approach will become increasingly important This impact might include gains in students’ scientific knowledge, but it might positively influence students’ interest and dispositions with respect to STEM-related career paths (Crippen & Archambault, 2012). The importance of the social environment in learning stems from the work of theorists who frame learning as a social act: interaction between and among individuals plays a critical role in cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978) STEM Learning Environments are the new contemporary places for learning Learning in these environments contributes to the development of higher level cognitive skills and increases the responsibility for the students’ own learning. Den Brok, and Taconis (2018) notes how outreach learning environments created opportunities to increase students’ motivation in STEM and attitude towards STEM

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion