Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics Education Research Articles

Preschool Teacher Candidates’ Ability to Design STEM-Focused Activities and Attitudes towards STEM

This study aimed to determine preschool teacher candidates’ ability to design Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-focused activities and their attitudes towards STEM. The research method of the study was determined as a case study. The study was carried out with 35 preschool teacher candidates in the 3rd grade of the Preschool Education program. In the study, it was seen that the preschool teacher candidates had prepared the STEM activities at the end of the 14-week STEM education given to them, and they were able to design a sufficient level of activity. In addition, it is seen that the 14-week training provided has a positive effect on their attitudes towards STEM. However, this period is not sufficient to develop attitudes. Therefore, it can be suggested to examine attitudes towards STEM in longer periods. Keywords: ability to design STEM-focused activities, attitude towards STEM, preschool teacher candidates, STEM-focused activity, STEM education

STEM Project Topics Relevant to the Physics Curriculum at High School Level

The scientific process is conducted through investigative activities ranging from simple investigations of the surrounding nature to more complicated investigations to predict natural phenomena and solve various problems. Science learning should be carried out with a scientific approach that emphasizes scientific processes in which interactions with technology, the environment, and other sciences fields could not be avoided. Science learning through a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education approach is among approaches that are world-widely suggested, including in Indonesia, as can be seen in the national curriculum focal points. Unfortunately, as far as our knowledge is concerned, there is no such guide for teachers in implementing STEM education, including suggestions on the real issues and topics of STEM projects related to those issues. In this paper, based on a study of the content of the physics curriculum at the high school level, we propose real problems related to physics contents and possible STEM project topics derived from these fundamental problems. We emphasize topics that are technologically simple and easy to implement nationally, including in remote areas, but pedagogically contain rich aspects of learning.

Gap in STEM Education: Why is there a decline in women participation?

A steady Gender gap is observed with the number of students enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields in higher education and universities. The underrepresentation of women in the field of STEM is world-wide. Numerous studies have contemplated different factors for this gap and studies on interests showing, that women's career decisions are often influenced by their interest which is inclined towards working ‘with people’ and deviates them from STEM. Men prefer to work with ‘material and gadgets’ which interests more men towards STEM. Increment in “enterprising and artistic interests” among the women, less awareness on the career and study opportunities, lesser female mentors, the duration to become an expert in STEM, lesser encouragement from the opposite sex, has an impact on the number of females in STEM. The gap was more prominent in egalitarian countries and termed as the “education gender-equality paradox”. The difference in early childhood spatial ability can also contribute to the emergence of gender differences in mathematics and science later. This article also suggests more research into making STEM attractive for both genders, providing early education that provides makes STEM attractive for both genders.

Effects of STEM-focused Arduino practical activities on problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills

In this study, the effects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focused Arduino practical activities on problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Also, the contribution of these activities to teacher candidates and their effects on the learning-teaching process were discussed by evaluating their views. The study group consisted of 31 final-year teacher candidates studying in the science teaching department of a university in Turkey. The quantitative findings reveal that STEM-focused Arduino practical activities have a positive effect on improving the problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills of teacher candidates. Their opinions also support these results. The teacher candidates stated that the practical activities contribute to their professional development, support the development of 21st-century skills such as problem-solving and creativity and positively affect the learning-teaching process. As a result, STEM-focused Arduino practical activities are of significance in terms of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to education following the requirements of the century and developing problem-solving, entrepreneurial and productive individuals. Implications for practice or policy: STEM educators should integrate Arduino into STEM education to increase STEM learning outcomes. STEM educators should attach importance to STEM-focused Arduino activities to develop students’ reflective thinking and entrepreneurial skills. Educators and researchers who want to use coding in STEM education may need to consider this article for example activities and implementation steps.

First experiences of integrating computational thinking into a blended learning in‐service training program for STEM teachers

AbstractOver the last two decades, computational thinking (CT) has gained importance in discussions about competencies that students require to deal with complex problems in a world shaped by digitalization. Therefore, schools and teachers should integrate CT into their instructional practices. Particularly, the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects are seen as a meaningful context for embedding CT. Yet, there are only a few professional development programs that address STEM teachers and how to integrate CT. Thus, in our study, we redesigned an in‐service teacher training program. The redesigned program was offered in a blended‐learning format, consisting of alternating digital and face‐to‐face phases. As part of the digital phases, an interactive online self‐learning module on CT was introduced to foster transdisciplinary competencies in the field of STEM to solve complex problems. To identify the perceptions and development of the participants of the training program and the online module on CT a within‐subject design was used with a questionnaire survey, conducted with a pre‐post‐follow‐up design. The first results of the ongoing survey indicate high satisfaction with both the program itself and the online CT module. At the beginning of the program, about two‐thirds of the participating teachers were completely unfamiliar with the term CT, nevertheless, interest in the new topic was high. It was shown the program was able to create initial awareness of the meaning and importance of CT. In addition, teachers who have engaged with CT during the intervention seem to use CT‐related practices more often in the classroom afterward.

STEM Education Effect on Inquiry Perception and Engineering Knowledge

Despite the adoption of modern educational approaches such as activity-based, laboratory-based, technology enhanced science education, it is known that in most cases, students have difficulties in achieving desired learning goals such as developing inquiry skills and engineering knowledge. The efforts of science educators to ensure that students reach the desired learning goals have led to the development of new educational approaches. It is then necessary to put the emerging educational approaches into practice, to determine their effects in practice, and to determine the level of achieved learning goals. Therefore, the study intends to examine the effect of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) supported science teaching on the perception of inquiry learning skills and engineering knowledge level of 8th graders regarding Basic Machines unit. Quasi experimental research design was adopted. The study was conducted with 8th grade students. The participant students were recruited through easily accessible sampling method. This study was implemented during five weeks. The Inquiry Learning Level Perception Scale (ILSPS) and the Engineering Knowledge Level Scale (EKLS) were data collection tools. The data obtained revealed that STEM supported science teaching was effective on 8th graders inquiry learning skill perception and engineering knowledge levels. It is recommended to carry out comprehensive studies to reveal the effect of STEM-supported science teaching on students’ design skills in the 21st century.

Building STEM Inquiry-Based Teaching Proposal Through Collaborations Between Schools and Research Centres: Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions

<p style="text-align: justify;">This study presents an inquiry-based teaching approach using a rich methodology involving STEM (science-technology-engineering and mathematics) projects, developed using a cooperative way to work between schools and research centres. We describe the teaching pattern scenario with students, teachers, and scientists. We also illustrate the learning process, conducted through two inquiry-based problems in Biochemistry, the mutagenesis process and the transgenesis effects caused by inoculation of bacteria. The teaching sequence, as well as the scientific knowledge and students’ competencies involved, are shown. We then analyse the students' and teachers' perceptions in this scenario regarding the development of students' STEM learning through their inquiry skills promoted and concerning predictors to vocational careers involved (students’ identities as potential scientists, scientific attitudes, social implications towards science or students´ agency). Finally, we add some conclusions and contributions to teaching STEM education, related to factors of the design teaching scenario that bring connections with the interests and motivations of students, such as the relevance of the projects to evoke understanding of processes or causal relationships of content or the teacher's professionalisation supported by a proper allocation between scientists and teachers.</p>

A concept mapping-based self-regulated learning approach to promoting students’ learning achievement and self-regulation in STEM activities

ABSTRACT STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is attracting increasing attention, but how to improve students’ STEM learning achievement is still a big challenge. In the process of learning, students actively set learning goals, organize learning content, set learning standards, and independently adapt learning strategies and monitoring measures in order to achieve their own learning goals and to help them learn STEM knowledge and skills. Concept mapping is considered to be an effective visualized knowledge organizing tool that helps students to manage and organize their knowledge systematically and visually. This study proposes a concept mapping-based self-regulated learning approach. A quasi-experiment was conducted using a concept mapping-based self-regulated learning system in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. The experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly improved students’ STEM skills, but not their STEM knowledge compared to the conventional self-regulated learning approach. The proposed learning approach helped to improve students’ self-regulation compared to the conventional self-regulation learning approach. In short, the concept mapping-based self-regulation learning approach enhances students’ self-efficacy and self-regulation, which in turn helps students to learn STEM skills effectively.

Barriers to collecting student participation and completion data for a national STEM education grant program in the United States: a multiple case study

BackgroundBillions of dollars are spent annually on grant-funded STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs. These programs help students stay on track toward STEM careers when standard educational practices do not adequately prepare them for these careers. It is important to know that reliable and accurate student participation and completion data are being collected about these programs. This multiple case study investigates how student data are collected and reported for a national STEM education program in the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. Our overall aim is to provide insights to funding agencies, STEM education faculty, and others who are interested in addressing issues related to the collection and reporting of student participation and completion data within their own contexts. Emphasis is placed on the barriers encountered in collecting participation and completion data, particularly with regard to unduplicated participation counts and marketable credential data. The ATE program was selected for this study because there is already a mechanism (known as the ATE Survey) in place for annually collecting systematic data across all projects within the program.ResultsA multiple case study, including interviews of primary investigators, allowed for in-depth analysis of the ATE Survey’s point-in-time data on project-level participation in various activities, and for identification of the following barriers to tracking student-level data: lack of time and help to gather these data, lack of a consistent system for tracking students across different institutions, and a perceived lack of guidance from the funding agency about what data to track. We also saw that different data are needed from different projects to determine a project’s true impact. Defining “success” the same way across all projects is inadequate.ConclusionsAlthough, due to the limited sample size, these findings cannot be generalized to the larger ATE population, they provide specific insights into the various barriers that projects encounter in collecting participation and completion data.

Are Robots stealing jobs? Empirical evidence from 10 developing countries

ABSTRACT This research study aims, therefore, to examine the impacts of the adoption of new technology on jobs and employment in developing countries. Using ordered-probit regression model estimations from a survey of multinational firms in 22 industrial sectors from 10 selected developing countries, our results show that the probability of employment is found to decrease if a firm considers it important to adopt new technology. A relationship between the introduction of robots and the disappearance of jobs was found among firms in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey. Sector-wise, information technology (IT) seems to be the only sector in which a positive relationship was found between higher employment within firms and new technology adoption. Other sectors exhibited an opposite relationship (higher technology adoption causes a decrease in employment). This indicates that talented and highly skilled labourers seem less likely to be replaced by robots and automation. Therefore, governments in developing countries should act to enhance the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to support workers in learning and using new technology and to provide upskill/reskill training programmes for workers so that they can work in tandem with new technology.

Humanities and Social Sciences in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals and STEM Education

This article explores the question: How can the humanities and social sciences become key elements for the implementation of quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, providing students with the competencies required for a sustainable development agenda? To answer this question, the article seeks to (1) understand the elements that are common in STEM education, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, (2) analyze these relationships in higher education, and (3) evaluate how to integrate them in a classroom. The article presents the experience of a course that explicitly seeks to integrate humanities and social sciences in a STEM-oriented institution of higher education. This discussion will be complemented by the analysis of survey data from two semesters, taken at the beginning and at the end of a course. This will help to discuss how the students shaped their perceptions about these topics and to what extent these perceptions were or were not changed by the course. Finally, the article proposes that the specific analysis of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their targets are educational tools to help achieve interdisciplinarity in the classroom, but only if we help the students to see the relationship of these SDGs to their own lives and with their own careers.

Science and representation: examining the role of supplementary STEM education in elementary school student science identity

The last several years has seen numerous initiatives rise to increase representation of under-represented minority groups (URMs) in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professions. Yet despite these efforts, disparities between students educated in the sciences and professionals in these fields persist. One significant contributor to these disparities is a lack of funding and support for science educational resources, particularly in low-income communities and school districts. The following paper evaluates the efficacy of an elementary school STEM educational program, known as the Young Scientists Program (YSP), which serves over 1400 elementary school students in seven Title I schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The specific aim of this project was to determine whether targeting a younger student population is more effective at promoting a greater sense of self-efficacy within science, ultimately encouraging students to see themselves as potential future scientists regardless of their socioeconomic status and cultural background. Students who participated in the program completed a pre- and post-program “Draw A Scientist Test” (DAST) and general Science Interest Survey. Statistical analysis of the quantitative data from these instruments showed a significant increase in the number of students who drew scientists that represented themselves and/or members of their community, and more positive attitudes toward STEM after participating in the YSP. These findings provide a model for continued program evaluation and comparison of previous years’ data for the YSP, as well as for evaluation of similar elementary school science programs.

Integration of STEM education in history learning

<p><span>The 21st century needs pupils with learning ability and necessary skills, particularly critical thinking skills instead of content focused. The study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education approach can lead teachers to a new teaching approach in history learning. Through this approach, the teachers can create a new way of teaching history integrated with STEM. This study used a qualitative approach. Data collection in this research using pupil’s work samples, interview, and the teacher journal. This research was conducted in two high school and two vocational school in the urban area. The findings showed that the teachers integrated one of the historical thinking skills and understanding history. The skills are still in the lower level of historical thinking skills. For historical teaching skills to be effectively integrated in history learning, teachers need to be trained so the pupil's historical thinking skills can be enhanced through the integrated history learning with the STEM approach.</span></p>

Use of Robotic Platforms as a Tool to Support STEM and Physical Education in Developed Countries: A Descriptive Analysis.

The lack of interest of children at school is one of the biggest problems that Mexican education faces. Two important factors causing this lack of interest are the predominant methodology used in Mexican schools and the technology as a barrier for attention. The methodology that institutions have followed has become an issue because of its very traditional approach, with the professor giving all the theoretical material to the students while they listen and memorize the contents, and, if we add the issue of the growing access to technological devices for students, children carrying a phone are more likely to be distracted. This study aims to integrate technology through assistive robots as a beneficial tool for educators, in order to improve the attention span of students by making the learning process in multiple areas of the Mexican curriculum more dynamic, therefore obtaining better results. To prove this, four different approaches were implemented; three in elementary schools and one in higher education: the LEGO® robotic kit and the NAO robot for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching, the NAO robot for physical education (PE), and the PhantomX Hexapod, respectively. Each of these technological approaches was applied by considering both control and experimental groups, in order to compare the data and provide conclusions. Finally, this study proves that the attention span is indeed improved as a result of implementing robotic platforms during the teaching process, allowing the children to become more motivated during their PE class and become more proactive and retain more information during their STEM classes.

Reaching out to the hard-to-reach: mixed methods reflections of a pilot Welsh STEM engagement project

Despite years of targeted interventions, young people experiencing socio-economic deprivation are still under-represented in those studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects post-16 and in higher education STEM pathways. We surveyed 61 young people who had participated in the S4 programme in South Wales, UK, and interviewed three of their teachers. Using the theoretical lens of science capital, we asked them about the S4 programme, and their views of science and education in terms of aspirations, attainment, and social obstacles. Whilst widely outdated, a ‘deficit model’ of aspiration raising still guides STEM outreach policy in Wales and we consider the answers to our survey in light of this. Broadly, our participants are enthusiastic and ambitious, and confident in their abilities in both science and wider skill areas. However, we found certain aspects of ambition were linked to socio-economic status. For example, whilst most young people we surveyed aspire to go university, those who do not cite different reasons depending on their socio-economic status. Despite high aspirations around science and education, teachers cited low literacy and numeracy, household poverty, entrenched generational unemployment, rural isolation, disabilities, caring responsibilities, and teenage pregnancy as barriers to higher education for their pupils. Importantly, S4's intervention had the greatest impact with those in the extremes of socio-economic deprivation, particularly in terms of bolstering existing science and education aspirations and increasing the ‘thinkability’ of attending university. Our findings contradict accepted thinking on science and education aspirations in that rather than participation in higher education being motivated by a lack of science and education aspiration or the discourse of family habitus ("people like us"), young people seem to be starkly aware of the very real socio-economic obstacles. We found no poverty of science and education aspiration in the participants we surveyed, and encourage a policy move away from the deficit model of raising science and education aspirations that will take a more nuanced view of widening access to STEM education and higher education in general in Wales.

The effects of STEM activities on students’ STEM career interests, motivation, science process skills, science achievement and views

This research aimed to determine the effects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities on seventh grade secondary school students’ STEM career interests, motivation, science process skills, science achievement, and their views on STEM education. The sample of research consisted of 44 students. The sample was divided into two groups, 22 students in experimental group and 22 students in control group at the seventh grade of a secondary school. Mixed research approach was used in this research. The results showed that STEM activities improved experimental group students’ science process skills, STEM career interests and motivation for STEM fields compared to the students in the control group. The qualitative findings revealed that STEM activities developed positive views towards interdisciplinary education and 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Findings suggested that STEM activities can be implemented to improve students’ science process skills, STEM career interests and motivation and views about STEM education.

PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS STEM (SCIENCE ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE) UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN TEKNIK SISWA

The purpose of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in education is in line with the demands of the 21st century education, that is so that students have scientific and technological literacy seen from reading, writing, observing, and doing science, as well as being able to develop the competencies it has to apply in dealing with problems in daily life related to the science STEM (National STEM Education Center, 2014). Many STEM integration efforts revolve around engineering and design engineering as an impetus for learning science, mathematics, and technological content. The National Research Council Framework for Science Education K-12 (2012) articulates and discusses the role of engineering as a mechanism by which students can learn meaningful scientific concepts (Moore, et all 2014). This study aims to improve students' engineering ability. Explanatory survey method was used in this study to detect their conception deeply. The respondense or participants of this study was eleven graders from public vocational school in Lembang in Agribusiness course. The results of this study indicate that Lembang vocational school students experience an increase in students’ engineering ability in plant agribusiness subjects.

A Robot-Sumo student competition at UNICAL as a learning-by-doing strategy for STEM education

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>The continuous growth of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education has set intense pressure on well-established engineering subjects, with a trend of replacing them with less demanding theoretical contents. This paper describes a recent activity with bachelor students to stimulate STEM education via a Robot-Sumo Competition. Students are grouped in teams to design, build and program their robot sumo robots. This course was implemented for the first time at University of Calabria (UNICAL). As a first attempt has been made with six teams each made of six students. Some seminars are delivered to the students to let them understand the assignment and its basic requirements. Then, they are expected to start developing a concept design and competition strategy. Then, they work on a 3D CAD modelling to design their own robot, whose main components will be later 3D printed and assembled. In parallel, the team selects the required sensors and electronic components as based on an Arduino architecture. The robots are completed and programmed for the competition where teams fight to find the most competitive solutions. The competition proves to be highly effective to learn multiple skills with a very practical and stimulating approach.</p>

Social Capital Leveraging Knowledge-Sharing Ties and Learning Performance in Higher Education: Evidence From Social Network Analysis in an Engineering Classroom

With the growing attention to the effective use of social network analysis in explaining student learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, the authors explore why college students share knowledge and how they achieve their learning in a laboratory class. In particular, the authors investigate how the social capital each student builds influences individual knowledge sharing and its related learning. The authors establish a research model derived from social capital theory that explains the relational, structural, and cognitive capital the class builds. Network data from 120 students in a lab class in a mechanical engineering department in the United States were collected and analyzed to test the research model and hypotheses using the multiple regression quadratic assignment procedure and UCINET. The findings show that the knowledge sharing mechanism and student learning outcomes can be explained in terms of their social capital within social networks. Last, the authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications for college student learning in a laboratory class in STEM education.

The effect of STEM activities on students’ academic achievement and problem solving skills: Matter and heat unit

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of instructional design applications prepared in accordance with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) approach based on the 5E model in the subject of “Matter and Heat” unit on the academic achievement and problem-solving skills of sixth grade students. The research was carried out with a mixed research design. In the quantitative dimension of the study, quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group was used. The study group consists of sixth grade students in a secondary school located in the district center of a metropolitan city in the Mediterranean region. The “Matter and Heat” unit was explained through the STEM education course plan integrated in 5E learning model in the experimental group and through the current course plans as required by the curriculum in the control group. As a data collection tool, the “Matter and Heat Achievement Test” and the “Problem Solving Inventory” were applied to both groups before and after STEM education. In order to support the qualitative dimension of the mixed research, the “Semi-Structured Interview Form” was filled in to get the opinions of the students in the experimental group about STEM education and it was analyzed using descriptive statistics. As a result, it was determined that STEM education did not make a statistical difference in students’ academic performance and problem-solving skills. However, the opinions of the students revealed that STEM education increased student engagement in the course that classes were more fun with STEM education, and that using this education in classes would be better for student learning.