The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education

Abstract

Abstract
 This research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of Integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving, and permanence in learning in science education. This study, which used pre-test-post-test and semi-experimental model with permanence test, control group as a research model, was conducted with 44 students attending to the 6th grade of a public school in 2015-2016 academic year in the "force and motion", "light and sound", "matter and heat" and "electrical conduction" units. Working groups of the study consisted of the Control group with constructivist teaching and the experimental group with integrated STEM education. Academic achievement test, reflective thinking scale towards problem solving were applied to determine the students' academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their effects on permanence of integrated STEM education. In SPSS 24 package program, analysis of quantitative data was performed t-Test and Mann Whitney U test. In conclusion, it has been seen that integrated STEM education does not significantly increase success, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their effects on permanence according to constructivist teaching. However, it has become clear that integrated STEM education provides positive contributions to academic achievement.
 Keywords: Integrated STEM education, science education, academic achievement, problem solving, reflective thinking skills