Providing STEM Opportunities Skill Through Making Biodegradable Plastic Projects in Extracurricular Activities

Abstract

The students are prepared to face the global challenges and have a strong desire to act with striving and excellent character values, nowadays. Providing STEM during extracurricular activities can offer the opportunity for students to gain skills that are needed to address the challenges. STEM as a part of the science learning process contributes to increasing the experimental learning skill for the students’ academics. Thus, we implemented STEM learning through making a biodegradable plastic project that involved students and teachers during extracurricular activity. To achieve our goal in providing STEM learning, we used nonexperimental and experimental activities. Nonexperimental activities were done by study literate, and discussion and experimental activities were done by students experiment in the laboratory to design, construct, and test the project that students made. We used students post-activity survey and students perspectives in STEM participating learning during extracurricular as the STEM success indicator. They agreed that STEM learning can increase knowledge of post-schooling opportunities and it can develop students’ interest and talent in STEM competitions.
 Keywords: STEM, biodegradable plastic, extracurricular activities