Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics Education Research Articles

Towards a Socio-Constructivist Didactic Model for Integrated STEM Education

AbstractAs science education shifts toward integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approaches, guidelines for designing teaching and learning episodes that integrate curricular content and procedures from multiple disciplines become increasingly in demand. The existing plethora of conceptualizations of STEM makes difficult such an endeavor, leading to ill-defined lesson plans focused on only two –mainly science and technology or science and mathematics– out of the four STEM disciplines. The question addressed, therefore, is how the integrated STEM approach could be translated into classroom practices that integrate the four STEM disciplines in a way that is consistent and coherent with elementary education curricula. This manuscript advances a theoretically informed didactic model for the design and implementation of integrated STEM in elementary education. The article discusses how the model uses socio-constructivist principles to establish intentional and explicit connections between STEM disciplines via scientific inquiry, engineering design, and computational thinking practices. The model is rooted in learning theories developed by Piaget, Vygotsky, Ausubel, and Bruner and could serve as a roadmap for educators and researchers designing integrated STEM lessons. Future empirical research testing the model is warranted.

Мотивуємо учнів до успіху: огляд нових проєктів у викладанні на основі STEM-освіти

Motivation involves emotional, social and biological phenomenons, being a factor responsible for directing behaviors and achieving goals. It drives individuals to give their best, doing their best to achieve what they want, overcoming barriers. Student motivation has become a central point to achieve maximum satisfaction, performance and productivity. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education research provides compelling evidence that active-learning classes improve the overall learning of students. This study aims to understand thru a quantitative investigation how students see changes thru this new active learning students and how motivated are for this kind of changes.

STEMming the tide: New perspectives on careers and turnover

SummaryThe question of why so many people leave science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs continues to echo through social science research and Government policy. This is not surprising given the considerable investments into uptake and quality of STEM education and that STEM workers have a pivotal role to play in addressing current and future grand challenges. Yet, too many individuals with tertiary degrees in STEM—disproportionately women, racial minorities, and the underprivileged—leave or pursue careers in non‐STEM fields. While demand for employment in STEM continues to grow, such persistent STEM defections present a significant challenge. We offer an integrative special issue of eight empirical articles capturing current thinking and evidence on employee retention and turnover, both within and beyond the realm of STEM. Our thematic analysis of the articles reveals overarching themes around the fundamental question of why people choose to stay in their jobs and why they leave. From this, we provide a future research agenda recognizing the myriad work and nonwork factors influencing the desire and ability to stay in one's chosen profession, particularly in critical sectors where gender and minority attrition rates prevail.

Secondary School Students’ Interest in the Core Components of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): Implications for Instruction Readiness

The implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in secondary school has important role in scientific and technological advancement of a nation and students are the main receiver of the instruction. This study investigated the students’ interest as an implication of students’ readiness for STEM instruction in Gusau, Zamfara state. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 students of SS 2 from private and public schools making total of 200 students. An instrument title Senior Secondary School Readiness for STEM Instruction was used to collect data. The instrument was validated and pilot tested which yielded reliability coefficient of 0.86. Three research questions were raised and answered and two hypotheses were stated and tested at 0.05 level of significant. The result of the study showed that senior secondary school students in Gusau, Zamfara state are ready for STEM instruction. There was no significant different between the responses of students based on gender and school type. It was therefore recommended that education stakeholder should expedite the implementation of STEM in senior secondary school to harvest students’ readiness for better achievement.

Assessing higher education students' perception towards their engagement in pedagogical STEM approach

This study focuses on evaluating university students' views on their involvement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching methods. The aim was to explore the various factors that affect students' participation in these educational approaches. The research looked at how teaching methods, the use of technology, teamwork, interaction, motivation, and interest all play a role in engaging students with STEM education. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional study design, data were gathered from an online survey completed by 321 senior students from four universities in Mogadishu, selected through a non-random purposive sampling method. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS-4's structural equation modeling (SEM) and SPSS 22.0 software. The results showed significant links between teaching methods, technology use, teamwork, interaction, motivation, interest, and student involvement in STEM education. The study disproved the initial hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) with p-values of 0.006, 0.000, and 0.000, each below the standard threshold of 0.05. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest improving teaching methods, technology use, teamwork, interaction, motivation, and interest to boost student involvement in STEM education. These results are expected to help shape future STEM education strategies and offer important information for educators and policymakers to improve university settings and teaching methods to further increase student involvement in STEM subjects.

STEM education advancements in African contexts: A comprehensive review

In the rapidly evolving global landscape, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education stands as a pivotal factor in driving economic growth and technological advancement, particularly in the African context, where it faces unique challenges and opportunities. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the advancements, challenges, and future prospects of STEM education in African contexts, exploring the historical evolution, current state, and key challenges of STEM education, along with the innovations, roles of government and non-governmental organizations, and comparative analysis with global trends. The paper methodically examines various facets of STEM education in Africa, including its historical background, current practices, challenges, and innovations. It delves into the role of digital technologies, gender dynamics, collaborative efforts, and international partnerships in STEM education. It employs a systematic literature review approach and focuses on peer-reviewed articles and scientific reports to comprehensively understand the subject. The study concludes that STEM education in Africa is marked by challenges such as resource limitations, gender disparities, and inadequate teacher training, but also highlights significant innovations and the potential for technological integration. The paper recommends policy reforms focusing on teacher training, curriculum development, resource allocation, and gender equity, emphasizing the need for leveraging technological innovations and fostering international collaborations for the advancement of STEM education in Africa.

Understanding STEM Outcomes for Autistic Middle Schoolers in an Interest-Based, Afterschool Program: A Qualitative Study

Current research underscores that there are only a few evidence-based programs that teach STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as part of their curriculum, especially for autistic students. Even fewer programs focus on engineering and design learning. Hence, we developed an informal afterschool maker program to develop autistic and non-autistic students’ interests in engineering to understand their experiences learning STEM concepts and values while applying the engineering mindset to develop projects. This qualitative study aimed to explore and understand students’ experiences participating in STEM activities in the maker club. We interviewed twenty-six students (seventeen autistic and nine non-autistic), nine teachers, and thirteen parents representing diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds across three public middle schools in a large urban metropolitan city between 2018 and 2019. Our thematic analysis yielded four themes: (1) active participation in STEM; (2) curiosity about STEM topics, concepts, and practices, (3) capacity-building to engage in STEM learning; and 4) understanding of the importance of STEM education in daily life. The results of this study enabled us to understand that students were deeply engaged with the content and curriculum of our program, expanded their knowledge base about scientific concepts, used engineering-specific scientific terminologies, and engaged with the engineering design process to conceptualize, test, improvise, and problem-solve. Furthermore, this afterschool engineering education program created a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for students to build engineering readiness skills.

Integrated STEM Education in Indonesia: What Do Science Teachers Know and Implement?

Integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has been a popular topic worldwide for the last few years. However, only a few studies have examined this topic in Indonesia. This literature review is to fill the gap by focusing on science teachers’ perspectives on the STEM education approach at the secondary school level, including what they know and what they implement in science classrooms. For this purpose, 48 research articles published in national and international journals and judged to be pertinent to the current study, were reviewed. The results emerging from most of the existing research indicated that Indonesian science teachers in general were familiar with the integrated STEM teaching approach. However, more than half of them never tried implementing it in their classes. In addition, the studies revealed that project-based learning was the most frequently used method in STEM-based science classes. Teachers in science classes mainly employed integrated STEM education approach to promote 21st century skills such as creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, and literacy.

Pushing-in single-sex schools for enrichment of both enrolment and gender equity in STEM careers

BackgroundQuality education has been emphasized by the world Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) of the 17 goals the world set to achieve by 2030. According to the twenty-first century skills, quality education obliges to equip learners to compete in the twenty-first century job market. In addition to enriching enrolment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), leveraging of gender equity is indispensable.ObjectivesThis study revealed and processed data to guide education policy maker’s decisions that could ensure quality education. Thus, the study shall lead to shape educational practices leading to achieve SDG4 timelines.MethodologyThe authors studied results of the Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (CSEE) of 52 coeducations and six single-sex secondary schools in Mbeya city. Out of 52 co-education secondary schools, the researchers selected the best six secondary schools in performance and compared those to the six single-sex secondary schools.ResultsThe study revealed that, the six single-sex schools outperformed co-education schools. In addition, single-sex schools were richer of girls’ enrolment than coeducation schools in STEM education. Although, coeducation schools leveraged gender equity in STEM performance, but there was an acute drop of number of number of girls in coeducation schools.ConclusionThis study calls for awareness and seek for more insights into the acute girl’s school dropouts in best-performing coeducation schools, review of educational policies so that the world achieves SDG4 by 2030. Therefore, the study wide-opens that though challenged by many, single-sex schools are decent and remains an addition to achieve the SDG4.

The Assistance of Sukosari Bandongan Elementary School Teachers through STEM Education as a Provision for Learning Innovation

Background. This community service program is encouraged by the need for partners, which is the absence of specific activities related to the development of science and technology. Therefore, through the introduction of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in the learning, it is expected that this program can provide a lighter for the Sukosari Bandongan Elementary School teachers. STEM forms quality human resources to reason, think critically, logically, and systematically so that later they can be useful in facing global challenges and solving problems in everyday life.
 Purpose. This program aims to provide teachers with learning innovations through STEM education.
 Method. The activity consists of training in making simple products from the surrounding environment which can later be used as learning media. The training is carried out using lecture, discussion, practice, and mentoring methods.
 Results. The expected output is an increase in basic knowledge, especially in the field of science and technology which is manifested in simple STEM-based products. There are also some other products like training modules, posters, and publications of service results on social media. 
 Conclusion. STEM education is a form of assistance to Sukosari elementary school teachers in improving learning innovation. The teachers need assistance to explore learning materials that can be integrated with STEM. They have very good motivation in practicing simple STEM-based tools. This can be seen from those who actively participate in the training sessions, practice properly, and ask some questions about some matters they do not yet clearly understand. The created simple products can be simple demonstration examples in a STEM-nuanced learning.

CURRENT SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF TEACHING IN STEM EDUCATION IN GENERAL SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES OF VIETNAM

<p>The paper delves into the state and challenges of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in schools. By conducting an intensive survey, it offers insights into the current status of STEM education and highlights the perceptions and difficulties faced by educators in adopting STEM methodologies. The study reveals that while there's an increasing recognition of the importance of STEM in the natural sciences curriculum, several obstacles impede its full implementation. A significant challenge is the difficulty in correlating real-world issues with natural science subjects, making it tough for educators to make lessons engaging and relevant. Furthermore, the lack of appropriate educational tools and materials, combined with inadequate infrastructural facilities in schools, further hampers the quality of teaching. Moreover, the research identifies a gap in the training of educators. Many teachers are unfamiliar with STEM, lacking both understanding and confidence in the approach. This is exacerbated by time constraints in the classroom and insufficient support from parents. Additionally, the paper points out that only a limited number of natural science topics can be aptly integrated into STEM projects, creating a narrower scope for educators. To address these challenges, the paper suggests the need for better training for teachers specifically tailored to STEM requirements, more substantial institutional support, and fostering a closer relationship between STEM education and the broader natural sciences curriculum.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0601/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Exploring STEM Education for Real-World Climate Change Concerns to Empower Students as Change Agents

This article explores the application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum to real-world problems, with a focus on increasing the relevance and community involvement in climate change projects. Students are empowered to actively contribute to the resolution of problems in their communities when they are involved in community-based activities. This method encourages student involvement, critical thinking, and a sense of social responsibility. STEM projects must be aligned with suitable grade levels and selected major real-world problems to be successful and appropriate. Climate change was chosen as a real-world topic because of its urgency and far-reaching repercussions, which necessitate multidisciplinary approaches and innovative solutions. Students gain critical thinking skills, problem-solving ability, and a sense of environmental stewardship by immersing them in the subject of climate change. The article outlines a qualitative approach that involves literature review, group discussions, and educator observations to lay a solid theoretical foundation and ensure the strategy's success. The debate focuses on the significance of meaningful educational experiences, ways for preparing educators for community involvement, and the need to recognize and celebrate accomplishments. Students get a deeper knowledge of scientific principles while developing the skills and mindset to address global concerns as responsible global citizens by integrating STEM education, community involvement, and climate change.

ChatGPT for STEM Education: A Working Framework

This paper sheds light on the possible use of most recent technology, ChatGPT in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Here we used the ChatGPT tool and explored how it can help teachers in STEM class. Our work first presented a literature work related to Chat GPT in terms of its use in education, explained generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ChatGPT. ChatGPT tool is used to generate responses to prompts given. We ask ChatGPT that how it can be used in class for teaching science, mathematics, and coding. After detailed analysis of the responses by ChatGPT we presented a theoretical framework for guiding the use of ChatGPT in STEM educational settings. Next, we presented limitations of using ChatGPT in educational context and highlighted the bottlenecks and ethical issues in using technologies like ChatGPT. Finally, we presented our future research directions and concluded that ChatGPT has a great potential in STEM education and can be used as an effective tool for STEM teachers. We also emphasized on the concerning ethical issues related to the technology.

РОЛЬ МАТЕМАТИКИ В РАЗВИТИИ STEM ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

In the last decade, increased attention has been paid to the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. It is important for a modern mathematics teacher in elementary and high school to understand the role of mathematics as an academic discipline in the development of STEM education. Practical, meaningful and varied learning strategies can help develop high-level thinking and 21st century skills in teaching and learning mathematics. Research towards integrating STEM is in its infancy. So far, there is no clear understanding of the role of individual subjects in integrated STEM. While it is widely accepted that mathematics is at the core of all other STEM disciplines, there is evidence that it plays an underestimated role in integrated STEM education. The article, based on contemporary publications, examines the role of mathematics in interdisciplinary STEM education, including a synthesis and analysis of research conducted over the past ten years; discusses the integration of STEM subjects with an emphasis on mathematics (integrated STEM); About the productive models of integrated STEM that are emerging as STEM education in general and mathematics education in particular can better prepare people for the challenges of the twenty-first century.

"It feels different when blindfolded": Developing social empathy through inclusive designs in STEM

<abstract> <p>Narratives about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education are strongly connected with conversations about developing learners' humanistic knowledge and their ability to listen with understanding and empathy. This is challenging because learners need to find resonance through first-hand contextual experiences with the issues at hand. In this paper, we describe and discuss an activity that was enacted to actively engage 74 teachers from Thailand in constructing a prototype cutting device for the blind to prepare food themselves. This activity underscores important considerations for inclusive design and offers affordances for teachers to develop their learners' inclusive mindsets. Findings were generated from voice recordings of reflections and written reflections collected after the activity. We highlight the importance of creating opportunities for learning to listen and resonate with others' experiences and argue that such STEM activities can offer a platform for learners to develop humanistic qualities such as social empathy.</p> </abstract>

Empowering Tomorrow A Systematic Approach to STEM Education Pedagogy for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Students' Conceptual Understanding

The purpose of this research was to compare three different approaches to STEM education in terms of their impact on students' retention of STEM concepts and their ability to apply those concepts in real-world contexts: project-based learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry-based learning. Sixty (60) students in 9th grade made up the study's research sample. A cooperative teacher assisted them in their education. Two groups were formed from the participants. In contrast to the experimental group, which received training based on STEM concepts, the control group received more conventional methods of instruction. A 2x3 factorial design was utilised in the quantitative and experimental studies. We used the conceptual understanding in STEM subjects test (CUSST) to quantify students' grasp of STEM concepts. The study's primary findings indicated that STEM instructional strategies increased students' conceptual comprehension. All three phases of teacher preparation (pre-service, induction, and in-service) should incorporate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) instructional practices into the science curriculum and training modules. The incorporation of STEM fields has the potential to enhance science education programmes, methodology, textbooks, and curricula. Stakeholders may be able to use this study as a springboard to investigate current teacher professional development programmes for gaps.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION ON CAREER CHOICES IN THE STEM SECTOR

This study aims to analyse the influence of digital transformation on career aspirations in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) sector. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used to collect data from various educational institutions and technology companies. The results show that the adoption of digital technology in STEM education increases students' interest and competence in STEM subjects, which directly affects their career aspirations. The research also found that digital skills acquired through STEM education contribute significantly to job readiness in the STEM sector. In addition, the findings highlight the importance of project-based and collaborative learning enriched with digital technologies to prepare students for the changing work environment. This research contributes to the literature by providing insights into how STEM education, accompanied by digital transformation, can shape career aspirations in the STEM sector. Recommendations for education practitioners and policymakers include greater integration of digital technologies in STEM curricula and the development of teacher training programmes to teach with advanced technologies. Implications for career development in the STEM sector are also discussed, emphasising the importance of continuity between education and industry needs.

Development and assessment of an applied STEM camp in fashion and entrepreneurship to advance social mobility of high school students

ABSTRACT This study proposes and advocates for applied STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to solve a low interest and retention in STEM college majors among high school students, especially those from underserved backgrounds. Applied STEM emphasises the practical application of STEM concepts and principles to familiar subjects such as fashion and entrepreneurship to increase students’ interest and their intention to pursue college careers in STEM fields. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of an experiential Applied STEM Camp developed in this study and attended by 120 high school students. A series of paired sample t-tests show that participants’ knowledge, interest, and intentions to enrol in a STEM-related college major have increased after the camp. Analysis of participants’ reflections on the camp experiences further supports the statistical results. The research findings are important for recruiting high school students to pursue applied STEM college careers.

The Reduction of the Gender Gap Through Global Value Chains: Political Commitment or Perpetuation of Gender Roles?

The relationship between international trade and the gender gap is complex. On one hand, foreign insertion can generate economic opportunities for women in the export sector. On the other hand, it can also result in heightened competition and the relocation of jobs, especially in the context of global value chains (GVCs). The study on the gender gap through GVCs examines the mechanisms within production networks that contribute to enhance women's economic empowerment and gender equality. The paper analyzes the relationship between the gender gap, GVCs, technological intensity of exports, and female empowerment in the EU-27, investigating whether GVCs could reduce or worsen gender disparities. The aim of this paper is to expand the gender gap studies incorporating the effects of trade in value added in the European Union. The study used a panel of data from various sources, including Eurostat, Trade in Employment (TiM), and the World Bank. The results suggest that an increase in exports, regardless of the level of technological intensity, tends to exacerbate the gender gap in export sectors by increasing the proportion of male workers relative to female workers. However, a higher female participation rate in medium-low technology sectors could reduce the gender gap in export sectors. The study identified obstacles to female insertion in export markets, including the need to improve education and training for women in high-demand areas, promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and labor participation for women. This paper makes significant contributions to the literature by incorporating global value GVCs and considering the European context. Additionally, it provides an in-depth analysis of socioeconomic factors that are crucial for designing policies aimed at addressing gender inequality.

Research on Innovative Training of Localized STEM Teachers Grounded in Shared Commitment

The high-quality development of a country driven by talent necessitates comprehensive and practical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. The goal of localizing STEM education is to cultivate comprehensive innovative technology talents that meet the needs of the new era. STEM teachers play a core role in this concept, and the quality of teacher training directly determines the development trend of STEM education and the quality of future talents in the country. Therefore, based on the current situation and existing problems in STEM teacher training, the shared commitment to “high-quality STEM teacher training” is employed as a guiding principle, highlighting the role of various elements in the STEM teacher training process. The practical path for STEM teacher training is proposed from four aspects: top-level design goal orientation, resource integration to solve supply imbalance, curriculum construction to improve the teaching system, and sustainable development to enhance professional ability. This study hopes to provide guidelines for innovative training of localized STEM teachers in China.