Abstract
Multidisciplinarity and the enrichment of science and mathematics education toward the so-called STEAM-approach where the A stands for art, has raised a lot of academic interest in the past decade. In this study, 5th and 6th graders from the greater Helsinki area (N = 390) participated in a several months long, Mars-colonization themed STEAM-learning intervention. Testing the students’ science knowledge using pre- and post-tests, their learning outcomes were compared to those of 5th and 6th graders from a control school (N = 119), who during the same period studied STEM-subjects in a more traditional manner. The main factors that were taken into account during the comparisons were gender and academic achievement level. Based on only whether there was any improvement between the pre- and post-test scores, girls were found to have benefitted from the Mars-module more than boys did. While also considering the magnitude of the said improvement, no significant difference in the effectiveness of the learning module was found between genders. The group of academically highest-achieving students improved their test scores the most after participating in the STEAM-learning module. This is an important, somewhat surprising finding, as often informal, outside of school learning has been found to benefit especially students with lower grade point averages.
Highlights
The Sputnik phenomenon in 1950s’ and the Apollo Moon Program in 1960s had a huge impact on science education [1,2]
The skewness of the results based on both pre- and post-questionnaires and the students’ grade point averages was studied separately for the students who remain in the study and the ones who got left out, and it was found that the groups do not differ from each other significantly
Academic performance was measured using grade point average (GPA) calculated from all subjects for which the students were graded, because in terms of STEAM learning it stands to reason to include subjects that are not strictly academic
Summary
The Sputnik phenomenon in 1950s’ and the Apollo Moon Program in 1960s had a huge impact on science education [1,2]. The pupils and the teachers used and applied especially informal learning and out-of-school education such as visits to planetarium, museum and science centre exhibition, study trips, environmental education, and workshops These are activities that have often been found to increase the level of interest and motivation of students experience towards STEM-subject, making it more likely for them to later enroll in related studies and to pursue careers in related fields [6]. We attempt to find out whether a Mars-colonialization themed, multidisciplinary learning module helped students develop their 21st century skills (learning to learn and thinking skills, group work, leadership etc.,) or the way they approach problem solving Due to their important role in helping students study science and mathematics in a manner that enables much deeper level of learning, this article focuses mainly on thinking skills and learning to learn. (3) Is there a difference in effectiveness of the Mars-module between academically lowand high-achieving students?
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