Abstract
The main goal of this study was to improve students’ outcomes and perception in Mathematics. For this, 12 out of 34 voluntary students were involved in an international contest: European Space Agency (ESA) Mission Space Lab. The experience was organized as STEM, under a guided PjBL. Students identified an environmental problem, executed a way to monitor it from the International Space Station (ISS) and interpreted the data received. Students’ final report was awarded by ESA. Additionally, participants increased their performance in their math final exams compared to the control group. Furthermore, the perception of students and their families about the usefulness of mathematics was very positive. The only drawback detected was the increase of workload. Thus, Green STEM, using direct instruction and guide in PjBL, may be a good tool to improve students’ grades and opinion about the importance of mathematics.
Highlights
The appropriateness of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of nature is widely acknowledged [1,2]
One reason is because the action was fully guided [84] in contrast with Dewey’s philosophy [85]; the former relies on teacher guidance and direct instruction of key concepts [86], while the latter is based on students’ self-learning, i.e., through research-based learning [87] (RBL)
Teacher guidance may be key for such a two-way trip
Summary
The appropriateness of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of nature is widely acknowledged [1,2]. Mathematical concepts are beyond the scope for which they were created [3]. There are many students in secondary or high schools that do not get involved in math classes and they may spawn a persistent rejection of mathematics [4,5]. Many students do not understand the importance of mathematics and they just want to pass their math tests [6,7]. That is why it is important to look for alternatives that help them to understand the importance of mathematics. This is the real challenge if the intention is to democratize math education.
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