STEM Learning Research Articles

New Indonesian Science Curriculum for Junior High School: A Content Analysis to Support STEM SDGs

Recently, Indonesia has experienced changes in the school curriculum to be more in line with the development of globalization. The 2013 curriculum changed into the "Merdeka" curriculum in 2021. However, as the curriculum changes, there is still very little research on the relation of the new curriculum with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the learning approach to achieve these goals such as STEM learning. The method used in this research is content analysis. From the results, it appears that the engineering side of the new curriculum is more visible through kata kuncis in learning outcomes such as observing, questioning, predicting, planning, conducting investigations, processing, analyzing data, informing, reflecting, and communicating results. However, the relation new curriculum is still relatively low on the SDGs issue, which can be seen in several material aspects such as efforts to prevent and overcome pollution, climate change, and environmental conservation. Therefore, STEM SDGs learning must be further improved in order to prepare students for the future life.

Improving Mathematical Critical Thinking Skill through STEM-PjBL: A Systematic Literature Review

Critical thinking is one of the important competencies in the twenty-first century that should be acquired. Therefore, there is a need to facilitate the students with the teaching approach and learning model that could improve this skill. One of the learning approaches that provide the students with the opportunity to think creatively is STEM-PjBL. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to describe the application of STEM-PjBL able to increase the critical thinking skills of the student. The SLR or Systematic Literature Review method was chosen to present a comprehensive and balanced summary of primary research results. The literature review was conducted through Google Scholar, Crossref, and Scopus. From 100 works of literature, 15 articles showed that PjBL STEM learning was able to improve critical thinking skills. This study examined 15 articles that were analyzed based on research methods, and the findings revealed that the application of STEM-PjBL could enhance the critical thinking skills of the student with the literature review method. Based on the existing data collection, it is analyzed through case studies that are the subject of discussion. The findings of the study revealed that: 1) the use of STEM-PjBL had a positive and significant impact on the critical thinking skills of students in each educational unit, including primary school, secondary schools, and high school; 2) the use of STEM-PjBL can help students improve their mathematical critical thinking skills; 3) interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation are among the indicators recommended for use as a reference for students' mathematical critical thinking skills.

A systematic review of empirical studies using log data from open‐ended learning environments to measure science and engineering practices

AbstractTechnology‐based, open‐ended learning environments (OELEs) can capture detailed information of students' interactions as they work through a task or solve a problem embedded in the environment. This information, in the form of log data, has the potential to provide important insights about the practices adopted by students for scientific inquiry and problem solving. How to parse and analyse the log data to reveal evidence of multifaceted constructs like inquiry and problem solving holds the key to making interactive learning environments useful for assessing students' higher‐order competencies. In this paper, we present a systematic review of studies that used log data generated in OELEs to describe, model and assess scientific inquiry and problem solving. We identify and analyse 70 conference proceedings and journal papers published between 2012 and 2021. Our results reveal large variations in OELE and task characteristics, approaches used to extract features from log data and interpretation models used to link features to target constructs. While the educational data mining and learning analytics communities have made progress in leveraging log data to model inquiry and problem solving, multiple barriers still exist to hamper the production of representative, reproducible and generalizable results. Based on the trends identified, we lay out a set of recommendations pertaining to key aspects of the workflow that we believe will help the field develop more systematic approaches to designing and using OELEs for studying how students engage in inquiry and problem‐solving practices. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Research has shown that technology‐based, open‐ended learning environments (OELEs) that collect users' interaction data are potentially useful tools for engaging students in practice‐based STEM learning. More work is needed to identify generalizable principles of how to design OELE tasks to support student learning and how to analyse the log data to assess student performance. What this paper adds We identified multiple barriers to the production of sufficiently generalizable and robust results to inform practice, with respect to: (1) the design characteristics of the OELE‐based tasks, (2) the target competencies measured, (3) the approaches and techniques used to extract features from log files and (4) the models used to link features to the competencies. Based on this analysis, we can provide a series of specific recommendations to inform future research and facilitate the generalizability and interpretability of results: Making the data available in open‐access repositories, similar to the PISA tasks, for easy access and sharing. Defining target practices more precisely to better align task design with target practices and to facilitate between‐study comparisons. More systematic evaluation of OELE and task designs to improve the psychometric properties of OELE‐based measurement tasks and analysis processes. Focusing more on internal and external validation of both feature generation processes and statistical models, for example with data from different samples or by systematically varying the analysis methods. Implications for practice and/or policy Using the framework of evidence‐centered assessment design, we have identified relevant criteria for organizing and evaluating the diverse body of empirical studies on the topic and that policy makers and practitioners can use for their own further examinations. This paper identifies promising research and development areas on the measurement and assessment of higher‐order constructs with process data from OELE‐based tasks that government agencies and foundations can support. Researchers, technologists and assessment designers might find useful the insights and recommendations for how OELEs can enhance science assessment through thoughtful integration of learning theories, task design and data mining techniques.

A longitudinal analysis of developing marine science identity in a place-based, undergraduate research experience

BackgroundStudents from historically excluded groups face many pedagogical, societal, and institutional barriers that lead to disproportionately lower levels of entering and higher levels of attrition from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) undergraduate programs. Student experiences within a STEM learning environment play a large role in influencing participation and persistence in science, and place-based education (PBE) is one pedagogical approach that aims to increase student engagement with science. By allowing students to engage with scientific concepts through their own knowledge systems, PBE can develop these students’ science identity and nurture a sense of belonging within the science community. This study examined student science identity in participants of a place-based, early-credit, Hawaiʻi undergraduate research experience, the Research Experiences in Marine Science (REMS) Program.ResultsStudent science identity was measured via responses from pre- and post-program Likert-type surveys before and after participation in the REMS program along the dimensions of Performance/Competence, Interest, and Recognition. The science identities of REMS alumni who returned to participate in the program as near-peer mentors and undergraduate researchers were also measured to explore whether repeated exposure to the program experience continued to promote shifts in identity construct metrics. Results indicate that all student groups who participated in REMS, including alumni, gained confidence in their science content understanding and research skills, increased their interest in science as a subject and as a career pathway, and recognized how science affects their communities. New students demonstrated the largest shifts in their science identity metrics, but alumni also indicated further development of their science identities.ConclusionsThe data from this study suggest that the timing of interventions which aim to influence student science identity and persistence in STEM pathways is an important factor when targeting student groups transitioning to undergraduate programs. Future educational efforts to increase the positive development of student science identity should consider the potential benefits of cumulative research experiences to support students through their early careers as undergraduates in STEM.

Gender Differences in Determinants of Students’ Interest in STEM Education

Despite the government’s call for students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the gender gap in STEM education is still of significant concern in South Africa. This study aimed to describe different push-pull factors that influenced male and female students when choosing STEM education at the TVET college level. This study used qualitative research methods and focus-group interviews with a sample of 20 students studying at a TVET college in a rural part of the Limpopo province. In addition, a thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The study revealed that the following factors: lucrative salary, graduate unemployment rate, aptitude for mathematics and science, parental education and autonomy and independence, and rejecting stereotypical feminine identities were push-pull factors that influenced both male and female TVET college students to choose STEM education. The policy implication of this study is that an Afrocentric approach should be infused into the teaching and learning of STEM at TVET colleges.

Exploring Teachers’ Perceptions of the Barriers to Teaching STEM in High Schools in Qatar

Understanding teachers’ attitudes and perceptions of STEM teaching is a key pathway to enhance effective STEM teaching. Inarguably, teachers are the cornerstone of educational quality and play a central role in students’ academic performance. Specifically, the pedagogical strategies teachers employ and their effective use in the classroom are strong determinants of students’ enrollment or retention in STEM fields of study and eventual careers. This study sought to explore the experiences of high school STEM teachers in Qatar, focusing on the pedagogical approaches they utilize and the challenges they encounter, with the aim of delving into how these approaches and barriers affect the teaching of STEM in the country’s high schools. The study’s design is observational, with data collected using a survey of 299 secondary high school STEM teachers (11th and 12th grades). To attain the goal of this study, we examined the barriers perceived to impede engagement in effective STEM teaching from high school teachers’ perspective. The study’s findings pointed to the influence of student- and school-related factors in shaping STEM teaching. Significant differences were detected based on teachers’ gender, grade level of teaching, age group, and university education. Logistic regressions revealed that teachers’ demographic attributes, including age group and university education, affect their likelihood to use STEM pedagogies in class. This likelihood was significantly affected by student-related barriers and the learning resources/materials employed in classrooms. These findings postulate critical evidence in directing the development of successful STEM learning practices within Qatar’s high schools.

Effect of STEM Learning Method on Students’ Mathematical Concepts Understanding in Social Arithmetics Topic

Mathematical concepts understanding is the main foundation for mastery of more complex material so that appropriate learning methods are needed to improve students' understanding of mathematical concepts. This study aims to determine the effect of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning method on the students' mathematical concepts understanding in social arithmetic topic. The research method used in this study was a quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. This research was conducted at a junior high school in Serang, Banten, using a probability sampling technique. The instrument used is a test of the mathematical concepts understanding. The test results of the mathematical concepts understanding were analyzed using the t-test and N-Gain to determine the increase in students' mathematical concepts understanding. The results showed that the STEM learning method had a significant influence on increasing students' mathematical concepts understanding in social arithmetic topic. However, the use of the STEM learning method to improve students' mathematical abilities in general in various mathematical materials still requires further research.

Searching for Pedagogical Answers to Support STEM Learning: Gender Perspective

This article analyzes the results of a study on the situation concerning the educational achievements of girls and boys in the STEM field in Latvia. The study was conducted at the compulsory education level to understand the conditions in the learning environment that can predictably affect the academic achievements of girls. For the purposes of the study, a survey questionnaire was developed, which was filled out by 1847 students from the 7th–12th grades. The obtained results show which factors affect learning achievement in STEM subjects for students with low and high learning achievements in groups divided into boys and girls and which pedagogical activities can predictably improve STEM learning achievements. The research data confirm that there are differences in predicted learning achievements in groups of boys and girls with high learning achievements, depending on the pedagogical strategy used. Additionally, the results of the study confirm that the most significant factor for a predictable increase in learning achievements in the STEM field is students liking mathematics and, in the case of high learning achievements, them liking chemistry. An indicator that has a significant negative impact on academic achievement in STEM subjects is a dislike of physics, which appeared in the group of girls with low academic achievements. Liking other STEM subjects to improve student achievement did not appear statistically significant in any of the analyzed groups. This study is essential to supplement the knowledge base on gender differences in learning achievements in STEM subjects and is also important for the educational space of Latvia because the learning achievements of girls in the STEM field are lower in this country than it is for boys. The obtained results show which methods of pedagogical work have a higher impact on increasing the predicted learning achievements and also show potential future research directions.

STEM Teaching and Learning in Rural Communities: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities

This special issue of Theory & Practice in Rural Education highlights STEM Teaching and Learning in Rural Communities. The articles selected represent both theory and practice and explore the complexities, practices, challenges, and opportunities facing rural schools and universities as they design and implement STEM teaching and learning. Articles from the field have related rural school success stories of how rural districts have overcome challenges to have effective and rich STEM teaching and learning in rural schools.

University-Community Partnership Model to Support Rural STEM Teaching and Student Engagement

Rural economically disadvantaged communities face unique challenges in engaging students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). School district administrators, teachers, and students do not have access to high-quality STEM opportunities compared to urban schools. This article describes a partnership between a small, private STEM university and a network of school districts scattered across the geographically isolated region of upstate New York. The partnership’s primary goal is to support the teaching and learning of STEM. This is achieved through actively engaging a range of university and community stakeholders in STEM enrichment and professional development. Programming includes summer camps and after-school activities, challenges and competitions that focus on inspiring students to pursue STEM careers, undergraduate and graduate student mentors, and a university curriculum designed to prepare teachers to work in high-need school districts. Activities are supported by the university’s Institute for STEM Education, which fosters collaborations for like-minded faculty and campus members to pursue grant opportunities and connect with community members. The paper describes various program components and how they work to support each other, discusses impacts of the program, and describes ways in which elements can be implemented elsewhere.

Building a virtual STEM professional learning network for rural teachers

This study explored the experiences of rural and suburban teachers as they engaged in virtual and hybrid STEM professional learning opportunities, analyzed through an ethnographic case study. Provided are two lenses through which to view the findings. First, from the rural teachers’ perspective, an exploration of the experiences while engaging in virtual and hybrid STEM professional learning, with findings indicating three major themes: 1) increased collaborations, 2) equitable access to resources and learning and 3) increased content and pedagogical content knowledge. The second perspective, from the project leadership, as collaborations across two IHE’s and with multiple district teachers and administrators, led to the design of a professional development model that was successful at initiating a network for rural teachers to engage in STEM learning through investigations, collaborations within and between districts, and coaching activities, aimed at increasing STEM content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

Student-Teacher Becomes the Teacher-Student: Educator Preparation for Post-Secondary Students to Enrich High School Student STEM Learning in the Discovery Educational Initiative

Secondary school curricula in Canada for subjects like science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) often focus on surface-level learning. While frequently believed to be a precursor for later complex and in-depth studies, such approaches to teaching and learning fail to adequately prepare students for life outside of the classroom, including for future studies in their field of choice. In response to demands for STEM programming that inspires critical thought over rote standardizable knowledge, in 2016, Discovery was created. An interdisciplinary program operated out of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, Discovery symbolizes a participatory partnership between the University of Toronto and local secondary schools to support inquiry-based learning for entire classrooms of high school students on a longitudinal basis. Discovery Instructors—consisting of multilevel post-secondary students—work alongside secondary school educators to devise problem-based projects that address key Ontario curriculum targets. Over the course of a semester, high school students are guided by university Instructors to engage in collaborative projects in biology, chemistry, and physics to expand their learning portfolios beyond the confines of a traditional classroom. However, while Discovery seeks to diversify learning for all involved, educator development for Discovery Instructors has remained largely implicit. In this study, we will introduce a teaching development course into Discovery’s Instructor preparation. Within a blended online learning environment across seven weekly modules, Instructor assessment will consist directly of discussion boards containing content- and reflection-based prompts using holistic rubrics and indirectly via mentored students’ performance. A pilot program is currently underway with a sample of enrolled Instructors with data to be collected as the program progresses.

Considerations for challenges with STEM standards alignment in the middle grades

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Transforming STEM outcomes: Results from a seven‐year follow‐up study of an after‐school robotics program's impacts on freshman students

AbstractOver the past two decades, educators and policymakers have expressed growing concerns over the low levels of math and science achievement among American students and the gradual decline in the numbers of young people moving into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. While interest in expanding the numbers of young people moving into science and technology fields has grown, a relatively small proportion of STEM education research has focused on the role that after‐school programs can play to reinforce STEM learning and help engage young people in educational pathways leading to STEM careers. This study examines the impacts of FIRST, an after‐school robotics program, upon students' interests in STEM, as well as the likelihood for participants to pursue STEM in their academic and professional careers. Data were collected in a 7‐year follow‐up study of intervention group participants and a matched comparison group. We find that FIRST college students reported significantly higher rates of STEM interests, attitudes, and college level behaviors than comparison students. These findings have implications for the role of after‐school programming in STEM education involving hands‐on learning experiences in science‐ and technology‐related fields, when considering young people's decision‐making regarding their STEM college and career choices.

Development of Application Based on Augmented Reality to Improve Student's Spatial Ability

Technology has become a crucial part of the learning process and a facilitator of the interaction between students and teachers. Spatial ability is a crucial ability in mathematics learning and success in STEM. In this case, Augmented Reality (AR) in mathematics learning can facilitate the abstraction of mathematics that represents a new representation of mathematics concept. The objectives of this study were to develop an application using AR which was further used to improve the spatial ability of Junior High School students. Meanwhile, the method used in this study was RD using the ADDIE model and quantitative approach through t-test. In this case, 64 students of 8th grade in Junior High School were involved as the research samples, where 32 students were in the control class and 32 students were in the experimental class. The results of this study were that the AR application was feasible to use in mathematics learning and its application enabled teacher and students to learn solid geometry using Augmented Reality with the object that can be manipulated, interact in real-time, and measure objects in the real world. It was also obtained that the learning outcomes of students who used the application were higher than the learning outcomes of students who did not use application, indicating that the application could increase stdudents spatial ability.

The DNA Methylation in Neurological Diseases.

DNA methylation is critical for the normal development and functioning of the human brain, such as the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, synaptic plasticity, neuronal reparation, learning, and memory. Despite the physical stability of DNA and methylated DNA compared to other epigenetic modifications, some DNA methylation-based biomarkers have translated into clinical practice. Increasing reports indicate a strong association between DNA methylation profiles and various clinical outcomes in neurological diseases, making DNA methylation profiles valuable as novel clinical markers. In this review, we aim to discuss the latest evidence concerning DNA methylation alterations in the development of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric diseases. We also highlighted the relationship of DNA methylation alterations with the disease progression and outcome in many neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and autism.

Kesiapan Belajar Siswa di Kelas Kimia dengan Kurikulum Prototipe

In 2022, the government offers three curriculum options to schools in Indonesia. The three curricula are the 2013 Curriculum, Kurikulum Darurat (Emergency Curriculum), and Prototype Curriculum. Students as subjects in learning must be ready with any curriculum used by their school. The Prototype Curriculum is new. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine students learning readiness in schools that implement the Prototype Curriculum. The research data was collected by surveying 98 students whom took chemistry class in one high school at Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra. The survey was conducted from April to May 2022. The survey data was collected using a questionnaire with 30 statements, on a scale of 1-5, consisting of components of physical, psychological, material, and cognitive readiness. This research instrument adopts what has been developed by Slameto (2013). The data is tabulated, calculated on the average per component of each student and all students, then calculated as the average of all data to categorize students learning readiness at the school. The average value of 1-2,5 means not ready, while the value of 2,6-5 means ready. The survey results showed that the average value of physical readiness was 4.33; psychic readiness was 4.00; material readiness was 4.20; and cognitive readiness was 3.23. Thus, students at one SMA in Ogan Komering Ilir Regency have good learning readiness in chemistry class with the Prototype Curriculum. Although the cognitive readiness of students is not optimal, teachers can improve it by designing integrative and fun learning such as the STEM learning model.

Addressing the challenges of online and blended STEM learning with grounded design

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning became a major alternative to college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in postsecondary education. Faculty members, although subject matter experts, often lack pedagogical knowledge and training on how to effectively teach new generations of students online, or incorporate appropriate technologies. Faculty teaching online courses needed a new guiding framework to balance domain goals and emerging technologies. We present grounded design for STEM courses to align domain goals and instructional methods and technologies while reflecting instructors’ pedagogical beliefs and addressing cultural and pragmatic issues. It is critical to provide students with aligned STEM learning experience and engagement via defensible theories and research-evidenced pedagogy in online and blended courses while technological, cultural, and pragmatic considerations are also addressed. We suggest grounded design as the conceptual and design framework for designing online and blended courses and discuss the assumptions, approaches, and examples. We provide practical guidelines to apply grounded design to online and blended learning environments and suggest future research. This article can assist both novice and seasoned STEM faculty to connect theory and research to teaching practices and optimise their online and blended courses. Implications for practice University STEM instructors can use grounded design framework for online, blended, and technology-enhanced teaching. Instructors should begin the course design by aligning the domain goals with optimal psychological and pedagogical foundations. When choosing technology to support online learning, instructors should align it with learning goals and needs of students, and consider cultural and pragmatic foundations.

New Curriculum Development Model for Improving Undergraduate Students’ Data Literacy and Self-Efficacy in Online Astronomy Classrooms

There is a critical need for research-based active learning instructional materials for the teaching and learning of STEM in online courses. Every year, hundreds of thousands of undergraduate non-science majors enroll in general education astronomy courses to fulfill their institution’s liberal arts requirements. When designing instructional materials for this population of learners, a central focus must be to help learners become more scientifically and data literate. As such, we developed a new, three-part, curricular model that was used to inform the creation of active-learning instructional materials designed for use in online courses to help introductory astronomy students improve their ability to make evidence-based conclusions when presented with a variety of data representations, while increasing their self-efficacy with respect to engaging meaningfully in science. We conducted a pilot study of these instructional materials at nine different colleges and universities to better understand whether students’ engagement with these materials lead to increases in self-efficacy, and whether faculty who implemented the materials were able to easily incorporate our active learning materials into their existing online astronomy courses. Overall, we found a statistically significant improvement in students' self-efficacy after engaging with our instructional materials in their online courses. The results of the item-by-item analysis indicated that students’ beliefs improved most on the questions that assessed their ability to make meaningful contributions to scientific research, and their confidence using data representations to interpret an array of scientific questions. The instructor feedback emphasized that our curriculum development model could successfully inform the creation of instructional materials that were easy to implement in existing online astronomy classes, and supported course learning objectives, creating the potential for widespread dissemination and use at the undergraduate level.

Design Principles for Considering the Participatory Relationship of Students, Teachers, Curriculum, and Place in Project-Based STEM Units

Historically, STEM learning spaces and curriculum have overlooked the strengths and agency of students, teachers, and their communities. Project-based STEM units about environmental issues like water quality offer the possibility to create more expansive, equitable learning experiences. These units can leverage local problems and resources while also including the global dimensions of the issue to provide meaningful opportunities for diverse student sensemaking. However, even project-based STEM learning requires explicit attention to the agency of teachers, students, and place. In order to identify a set of design principles for supporting equitable learning in a project-based STEM curriculum, this manuscript brings together a set of empirical and theoretical frameworks including teacher participatory relationship with the curriculum, culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical pedagogy of place, and equitable sensemaking. The authors use these frameworks to describe a conceptual model of Participatory Relationship of Students, Communities, Teachers, Curriculum and Place. Then, the manuscript outlines a set of seven design principles that connect to the theoretical frameworks to the conceptual model and provide implementation strategies with examples of how we apply these design principles to a project-based STEM unit for 4–8 grade students. The design principles have implications for design of future project-based units and learning opportunities for teachers and students.