Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics Education Research Articles

STEM Education in the Caribbean: Challenges, Goals, and Possibilities

In their seminal Caribbean Education Strategy Report, Jules, Miller, and Armstrong (2000) argued that in order to meet the developmental objectives of an internationally competitive labour force by the year 2020, the Caribbean region would need to be able to demonstrate “a 30% increase in persons with qualifications in science and technology at the postsecondary level” (p. xviii). These authors also noted their concern that “the region as a whole lags far behind in science and technology, and a more concerted effort is needed to bridge that gulf” (p. 27). Responding to similar concerns, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies indicated that by the year 2020, the institution should be training at least 50% of its students in science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) and STEM-related disciplines to meet science and technology infrastructure needs in the Caribbean (Jaipaul-O’Garro, 2016).

Preferences of Pre-service Teachers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education

<p style="text-align:justify">The aim of this study is to find out the preferences of students (150) in the first year of the study of the Preschool and Primary Education programme. The data was collected using a questionnaire in the first seminar focusing on science content (a course called Science Propaedeutics) to determine the preferences of pre-service teachers. The aim was to find out the (un)popularity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education covering the subjects of Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Technology and Chemistry in Slovakia. The results showed that students are interested in science education. The findings also showed that students prefer more biological topics (humans and plants) and less physics, chemistry, and mathematics. They also preferred topics that they knew from everyday life. The results revealed a negative correlation between students' concerns about teaching science in their future practice and their interest in science education. We found it necessary to connect the topics to everyday life and avoid mathematical calculations. So we can increase their interest in these areas/issues in the Science Propaedeutics course.</p>

The impact of watching science fiction on the creativity of individuals: The role of STEM background

This paper delves into the intersection of science fiction, creativity, and individuals' backgrounds, with a special emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. We investigate if individuals with a STEM background show a more pronounced creative impact from watching science fiction compared to their non-STEM counterparts. We conducted an experimental study involving 204 university students from various disciplines, both STEM and non-STEM, randomly assigned to one of two conditions—watching a science fiction TV episode or a non-science fiction episode—followed by a creative task. The solutions proposed by the students were assessed for their level of creativity. Our findings reveal that the students with a STEM background were more creatively impacted by the exposure to science fiction. These insights hold significant implications for educators, policy-makers, and professionals interested in fostering creativity, suggesting the need for tailored approaches based on an individual's background and a potential role for science fiction in stimulating creative thinking.

Instructors’ beliefs and practices regarding mathematical modelling at the periphery of STEM

This paper reports a study of 10 post-secondary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) instructors’ beliefs about mathematical modelling and the role of mathematics in STEM coursework. The participants were selected from STEM disciplines that are atypical to the literature base (e.g. anthropology and geography), in order to extend what is known about STEM instructors’ beliefs to other disciplines. We conducted episodic narrative interviews to hypothesise the genesis of participants’ most salient beliefs. We then conducted a cross-case synthesis to reflect on the similarities between our participants’ beliefs and findings previously reported in STEM education literature. Our participants held many beliefs in common with typical STEM instructors with regards to how they define modelling, the role of modelling in STE (Science, Technology, Engineering) courses, and their views of students as learners of mathematics and modelling. Our analysis suggests participants’ commitments within these categories are interdependent and arise from lived experiences. Additionally, participants within the same field held competing beliefs about modelling, suggesting that constituting ‘major’ as an independent variable in future research may not be straightforward.

The role of information technology in STEM education

The ubiquity of IT (Information technology) for teaching at large is a reality that can be observed, including STEM education, which is the field of study of this research. In view of this situation, this work is intended to determine the role of IT in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. It was decided to conduct a systematic review based on PRISMA model and adding information obtained from the analysis of fugitive literature. The literature review was carried out on a total of 16 articles. The main inclusion criteria were a temporal selection from 2015 to March 2023, the inclusion of the terms IT and STEM in the title, abstract or keywords of the articles. The main results show an increasing tendency of this topic, especially in English research. Most relevant conclusions of the systematic review evidence a positive relationship between IT and STEM education, although some negative aspects are also highlighted as there is still a lack of resources and teacher training, leading to ineffective application of IT in STEM classes. The research results have important practical implications, it motivates teachers to research, propose and implement measures to enhance the role of IT in STEM education, while minimizing the limitations that have been identified.

PIXEL: Challenges of Designing a Professional Board Game for Astronomy Education

PIXEL - Picture (of) the Universe is a board game developed by INAF - Italian National Institute for Astrophysics in collaboration with GAME Science Research Center. The game simulates the astrophysics research environment, particularly emphasising the observation and study of cosmic bodies at different resolutions. ​​Image resolution is a crucial element in astrophysics, but the intrinsic complexity and challenges of making high-resolution images of the distant Universe are not easily and generally perceivable. We envisioned PIXEL driven by this challenge. Games intended to engage students with science either concentrate on the contents to foster the learning process or focus on life skills solicited by scientific practices. Game mechanics are then either a leverage of scientific knowledge or a science-like behavioural model, depending on the expected outcome of the game-based learning process. In addition to that, game-based learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) generally is designed by science practitioners and science communication and education experts. The design process of PIXEL has been a novel joint effort between scientists, science communicators, professional game designers, and game-market and award advisors. We produced a game in which the mechanics are the core of scientific learning, implicitly telling about science while making the player experience it. The innovation of this process is to obtain a game that encountered positive feedback both from the community of game experts and the educational context. The final output is a professional board game suitable for STEM education that promotes scientific citizenship in the audience.In this work, we discuss the game design process and describe how we included our scientific educational messages of image resolution and research dynamics as processes within the game mechanics without making them explicit during the gameplay. We also present a preliminary engagement evaluation of PIXEL and its efficacy in delivering implicit scientific messages through its mechanics.

Exploring a framework for integrated STEM: challenges and benefits for promoting engagement in learning mathematics

Advocacy of STEM curricular approaches is based on a concern to engage students in authentic disciplinary and interdisciplinary practices in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines, and the need to promote participation in STEM pathways. The STEM Academy professional learning program was developed to support teachers to engage and motivate students by creating real-world, challenging problems. The initiative involved interdisciplinary teams of secondary STEM teachers attending workshops and working with university experts to design, implement and evaluate STEM curricular experiences. This paper focuses on case studies undertaken in two of the twelve schools involved in the initiative, using interview data from teachers and students, to explore the nature of their programs and their experiences. We investigate key features of these two schools’ approaches, using a conceptual framework for integrated STEM, and explore the challenges and benefits of different features of integrated STEM that promote different dimensions of engagement in learning mathematics. We explore how the framework characteristics can be reframed into four dimensions that promote mathematics engagement in integrated STEM education - design thinking in authentic contexts, content integration, STEM practices and 21st Century skills, and exposure to professional practice.

Research Progress of STEM Education Based on Visual Bibliometric Analysis

Nowadays, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) education has been developed and implemented in many countries. To better understand the research progress in STEM education worldwide, we analyzed 1910 publications collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database. This bibliometric study was performed through software VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Results showed that the research on STEM education will remain thriving in the following years. The USA is the most active country in the research field of STEM education, and the whole world cooperated closely. The majorities of significant institutions in this field belong to the USA. International Journal of STEM Education, Journal of Science Education and Technology and Science Education are the main publications. According to the cluster results of keywords, STEM, STEM education, self-efficacy, technology constitute the knowledge base for STEM education studies. Based the analysis results of keywords and burst detection, STEM achievements, different approaches to discipline integration, educational equality, and teacher education will be the research hotspot in the future. The results give a comprehensive overview on STEM education for scholars quickly understanding the overall progress.

A qualitative comparison of the intended curriculum ideologies of STEM subjects in South Africa

AbstractThe democratically elected government of South Africa has enacted several curricular reforms which sought to promote citizenship education. By instituting citizenship education, the government intended to promote student engagement in decision-making, rebuilding, and emancipation of society. The curriculum would facilitate the training of students to become logical thinkers and informed citizens who actively participate in rectifying the injustices and inequalities of the apartheid state. However, a curriculum ideology foregrounding citizenship education has not been extensively understood, especially in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education. In the current study, we investigated the intended ideologies foregrounding the curriculum of three purposively selected subjects: Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences. While Life Sciences and Physical Sciences are taught in grades 10 to 12, Natural Sciences is compulsory and taught in grades 7 to 9. We used structured document analysis to analyze the curriculum documents qualitatively. We discovered evidence of a combination of citizenship-centered, service-centered, discipline-centered, and student-centered ideologies in the subjects to varying degrees. We found neither a single dominant ideology nor evidence of coherence and integration of these ideologies. Given the lack of a dominant curriculum ideology, we argue that teachers and other educational stakeholders may interpret and use the curriculum differently, leading to an “ideological war.” We conclude that these science subjects are unlikely to promote citizenship education as the South African government intends.

An Experience Mapping Method for Delayed Understanding in STEM Education

This study introduces a novel experience-mapping methodology designed to alleviate the challenge of delayed comprehension in education. Education often entails a delayed understanding of its content and value. This comprehension lag often results in discrepancies between learners and educational content, potentially leading to setbacks in the learning process. In response, we present a mapping model that delineates the essential structure of educational content and positioning between the learner and the content. This model serves as a guiding roadmap, enabling learners to navigate the complexities of educational content through a pair of constructed semantic networks. These networks reflect insights from recent brain science and educational experience studies. This study delves into the application of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of experience mapping within the spheres of curriculum design and faculty development. Through these applications, this research contributes to the development of educational.

STEM Education and the Water Management. An Entrepreneurship Initiative

The aim of the paper is to establish the current state of a new STEM (Science – Technology – Engineering - Mathematics) learning method concerning entrepreneurship towards different ages of students by evaluating the situation of water sustainability. Based on the findings of the study, the new and the old one, we could be able to develop a motivational program taking into consideration all the key findings and suggest policies and initiatives that could empower and enhance them to keep clean water. The analysis will be fundamental to develop entrepreneurial competences taking into consideration exchange of good practices project also.

İlköğretim Matematik Öğretmen Adaylarının STEM Eğitimine Yönelik Tutumları ile 21. Yüzyıl Becerileri Yeterlilik Algıları Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

This study aimed to determine the relationship between elementary mathematics teacher candidates' attitudes towards STEM education and proficiency perceptions of 21st-century skills. The relational screening model, which is used to determine the relationship between two or more variables, was used from quantitative research methods. The sample of the study consists of 71 elementary mathematics teachers. The data were collected with two measurement tools, “STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) Education Attitude Scale” and “21st Century Skills and Competences Scale Directed at Teaching Candidates”. In the study, it was investigated whether there is a significant difference in the attitudes of elementary school mathematics teacher candidates towards STEM education according to grade level and gender, whether there is a significant difference in 21st-century skills proficiency perceptions according to grade level and gender, and whether there is a significant relationship between their attitudes towards STEM education and 21st-century skills. As a result of the analyses conducted, it has been determined that there is a significant difference in 21st-century skills proficiency perceptions according to grade levels. It was concluded that there is no significant relationship between their attitudes towards STEM education and their perceptions of 21st-century skills competence.

Differences of Natural Science and Social Science Pre-service Student’s Perceptions for Biotechnology

The study aims to investigate the importance of infusing SSI (Socioscientific Issue) into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)-based Biotechnology learning by capturing the perceptions of students in Natural Science and Social Science. This is intended to make learning more effective because it helps students to achieve the comprehension of the material being taught. The research apply mix methods by capturing quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data are collected from the percentage of answers from 291 students who have filled out quizzes through online surveys. While qualitative data is collected from garnering students’ answers through unstructured interviews. The results showed that students of Natural Science discussed biotechnology more technically and normatively resulting in product effects, while students of Social Science focused more on the policy and risk aspects of biotech products. It is the difference in perception between the two majors that requires the SSI approach to be infused into the STEM approach. The benefits of such infusionare improved students' HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills), which is in line with the current learning trend of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
 
 Keywords: SSI, Biotechnology, STEM education, HOTS

Urgency of Religion and Culture in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Based Learning Models: Meta Data Analysis

The aims of this research is to synthesize literature studies in order to answer the following questions: How important is religion? knowledge and cultural studies in studying science and the relationship between religion, culture and STEM education. This type of research is a literature study. The research method was to synthesize this literature following several steps to ensure the validity of the results. The results obtained indicate that the development of scientific literacy skills in education needs to be based on ethnographic-religious study-based learning. When students are invited to see the natural surroundings of phenomena including local culture, indirectly students will be invited to think literally about science. Various studies have proven that ethnoscience-based learning can help students to improve students' scientific literacy skills and this is an update in this research. The urgency of religious and cultural studies in education is of concern to educators and researchers

Toward a Framework of Integrating Ability: Conceptualization and Design of an Integrated Physics and Mathematics Test

The awareness that many problems in our society are interdisciplinary in nature and require the integration of multiple STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) concepts to solve them has given rise to a new instructional approach, called “integrated STEM education”. Integrated STEM education aims to remove the barriers from the STEM fields and has the potential to increase students’ interest and motivation for learning, as well as to lead to improved achievement. It is important to assess the effectiveness of educational STEM initiatives in terms of students’ integrating ability, but to date, no such instruments are available. This study provides a definition of “integrating ability” and establishes a framework for understanding its components. Based on this definition and framework, a multiple-choice instrument for testing integrated physics and mathematics in the ninth grade (IPM9) was developed and validated. The definition and framework for integrating ability and the construction guidelines for an integrated test, can be used by researchers to assess students’ ability to integrate STEM subjects.

METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHING LABORATORY CLASSES IN PHYSICS THROUGH THE STEM METHOD

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is designed to explore what information is available to mechanical engineering students in higher education institutions and what work is being done there. Nowadays, modern teaching methods are used in educational institutions, and one of such methods is the STEM method. Based on global experience, we know that this method is an interdisciplinary approach used to provide students with a broad and deep education in the sciences. The widespread use of information and communication technologies in the field of science education has led to the emergence of a new type of educational experiment - a virtual experiment. This is considered a form of virtual simulation of STEM technologies. The implementation of virtual laboratories using computer programs that simulate physical processes virtually on a computer and allow changing its operating conditions and parameters is a type of STEM method. Such a program creates a unique situation for the implementation of interactive learning. We reviewed scientific literature published in peer-reviewed, high-ranking journals on the development of problem-solving abilities in STEM-rich physics teaching. Based on STEM education, mechanical engineering students were given stages of teaching specific content topics related to curriculum concepts. In order to increase the effectiveness of teaching the STEM method in laboratory classes of the Faculty of Mechanics, an article devoted to this issue discusses ways to use interactive modeling PhET, Algodoo - a digital programming language for 2D physical modeling, computer modeling "Open Physics". programs. One of the main principles of STEM education is to teach future physicists to acquire industrial experience and methodologically sophisticated research methods. The second important issue is the development of industrial business, that is, access to new ideas in response to production problems. It can be seen that the results obtained during the study of the STEM method of teaching in laboratory classes at the Department of Mechanics show great interest in providing students with teaching aids. The information obtained as a result of the study is recommended for use in higher and secondary educational organizations, and these results are the basis for new directions of research in the field of physics education.

Experience of Turkey in STEM education

The article considers the practical experience of implementing STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education in Turkey. The study was based on a report on STEM education by the Department of Innovation and Educational Technologies of the Ministry of Education of Turkey and the work of local scientists. Analytical review and analysis were used as research methods. The Turkish state is doing a lot of work in the areas of defining the role of the STEM method in education and training for the development of the economy. Concrete measures and steps to develop the STEM educational program and introduce it into the educational process have been quickly implemented since Turkey became a member of the European Union's "Scientix" project. Currently, within the framework of STEM education, research and methodological work is being carried out on integrated teaching in the subjects of the natural sciences. In addition, the universities are creating a platform for all stakeholders, which will publish general recommendations for teachers and students, information about organized courses and seminars, new resources, guidelines and the latest news in this area. Currently, it is planned to introduce STEM education technology into the curriculum.

DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING MATERIALS BASED ON STEM EDUCATION TO IMPROVE STUDENT'S KNOWLEDGE, DATA LITERATURE, AND TECHNOLOGY

In the 4.0 industrial revolution, it demands to have literacy skills in the 4.0 era which includes data literacy and technological literacy. There is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education, students can improve skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in accordance with the demands of the industrial revolution 4.0. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of STEM-based ICT-based teaching materials to improve students' data and technology literacy. This type of research is research and development. The instrument used in this study was a validity sheet. The results showed that the five assessment indicators had a validation value of 0.84 which were in the valid criteria. Therefore, STEM education ICT-based teaching materials to improve data literacy and technology are feasible to be used and tested for students.

Opportunities for integrated education in STEM

Teachers in STEM (Science + Technology + Engineering + Mathematics = Science + Technology + Engineering + Mathematics) have a unique role in motivating and attracting their students' professions for which science, technology, engineering or mathematics degrees are required. However, STEM teachers do not acquire such interdisciplinary, interrelated in-depth knowledge sufficient for education during their training. Interdisciplinary STEM education requires teachers to have a good understanding and understanding of the concept of integrated STEM education (C. C. Johnson et al., 2020). In primary and secondary education, teachers in science and mathematics should be trained interdisciplinary in parallel with discipline-specific pedagogical studies. (Holik - Sanda, 2021).

Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin STEM Yaklaşımına Yönelik Farkındalık Düzeyleri ve Tutumları

The aim of this study is to determine the primary school teacher' awareness levels and attitudes towards STEM education and to determine the relationship between them. It was tried to determine whether the gender and professional seniority years of primary school teacher affect their awareness and attitudes towards STEM education. The research is in a survey model and the participants were determined by simple random sampling method. The research population consists of 401 primary school teachers working in the Sinop in the 2019-2020 academic year. The scale was sent to all of the primary school teachers, 203 of them returned. The appropriately filled 190 scales were evaluated. STEM Awareness Scale (STEM) developed by Buyruk and Korkmaz (2016) and STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) Education Attitude Scale developed by Derin et al. (2017) were used in the study. The data were analyzed in SPSS 22 program. In the analysis of data; arithmetic mean, standard deviation, ANOVA test, t-test, correlation analysis statistical techniques were used. It was determined that the STEM education awareness level of primary school teachers was at the level of "I agree" and their attitude towards STEM education was at the level of "I am undecided". There was no significant relationship between the level of awareness and attitudes of primary school teachers towards STEM education and the gender variable. However, there is a significant relationship between the professional seniority of primary school teachers and their STEM awareness and attitude levels. It has been determined that there is a positive relationship between primary school teacher' awareness levels and attitudes towards STEM education. It was observed that as the level of awareness of primary school teacher towards STEM education increased, the level of significance among the attitude sub-dimensions increased, but their attitudes towards the feasibility sub-dimension.