On the shrimp skin chitosan STEM education research-based learning activities: obtaining an alternative natural preservative for processed meat

Abstract

Elaborating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in learning activities is now getting important, especially to improve the STEM literacy of the students of school age or higher. For the higher age students, elaborating the STEM education should encourage them to raise their higher-order thinking skills. Thus the implementation of research-based learning together with a STEM education will be a good model in designing learning activities. Meanwhile, in STEM education, integrating some social real-life problems becomes the main issue. In this study, we will focus on the preservation process of food or meat. The biggest problem, in this case, some preservatives, however, contain harmful substances, like formalin and borax. Under STEM education, we will guide students in research-based learning activities to use chitosan made from shrimp skin to be a natural preservative substance. The objective of this study is to design the research-based learning activities under the STEM approach on the use of chitosan preservatives for processed meat.