Abstract
The research is aimed to explore the effect of STEM education on the motivations and epistemological beliefs related to science among talented and gifted students. A mixed research method was employed in collecting the data of the research. The sample of the research consisted of 20 5th and 6th grade students who were diagnosed to be talented. Before the activities, the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire and the Motivation Scale for Science Learning were applied to the students. The reflective journals were asked to fill in reflective journals after each activity and individual interviews were conducted after all activities were completed. A significant difference was found between the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire and the Motivation Scale for Science Learning pre-test and post-test scores at the end of the research. With the conducted interviews and results from the journals, positive changes were observed in students’ self-confidence, motivation, and attitudes towards science lessons in training.
Highlights
In line with the needs that came into existence in the 21st century that we are in, the trends towards technology and scientific studies have increased
To determine the effect of each STEM activity on their epistemological beliefs, the questions “If you had the chance to change the materials you used for STEM Activities, how would you design the same activity?”, “What do you think you would do if you had the chance to improve our activity? You can show it with a drawing” and “What kind of idea did you have when you first saw the materials?”, “Have you thought about creating products from these materials at that moment? The purpose of asking these questions was to reveal the accuracy of knowledge, the development of knowledge, the source of knowledge, and the verification of knowledge are affected by these activities, which the epistemological beliefs scale tries to measure
The data, obtained with the Motivation Scale for Science Learning used to determine whether the opinions of the experimental group, whom the STEM education was held with, related to the Science Learning, were subjected to the paired samples t-test and the results reached are presented in the table below
Summary
In line with the needs that came into existence in the 21st century that we are in, the trends towards technology and scientific studies have increased. In STEM education, student analyses the situation determine the problem, collects information, produces authentic ideas, offers solutions to the problems and create and test models for the solution in the process, evaluate the situation (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1993; NAE & NRC, 2009; NGSS, 2013; NRC, 2012). In such an educational environment, it is
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