Recent reports call for reformed education policies in Turkey in accordance with the need to develop students' knowledge and skills about STEM education and improving STEM workforce in the country. This research implemented an integrated out-of-school STEM education program for 6th grade students who come from disadvantaged areas in a large urban city in Turkey. The study investigated students' perceptions about the STEM activities implemented in the program. Forty 6th grade students (15 female) studying in public schools participated in the study. The data source used in this study was the activity evaluation forms completed by the students at the end of each activity. The evaluation forms were qualitatively analyzed to identify students' perceptions on the content and skills gained, the challenges and limitations faced and suggestions for improvement. The results present recommendations on the implementation of integrated out-of-school STEM education programs.
There is an increasing awareness of out-of-school program value in enhancing student interest and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined the impact of an out-of-school STEM education program on student attitudes toward STEM disciplines and STEM careers. A STEM education program implemented at a public research university was designed to integrate STEM disciplines with hands-on problem-based activities. Design features included authentic learning contexts, engineering design processes, and content integration. Data sources included an attitude survey and interviews conducted with forty sixth grade middle school student participants. The analysis revealed significant differences between pre and posttests on student attitudes toward personal and social implications of STEM, science and engineering learning, and their relationship to STEM. Findings showed that the program contributed to students' developing interest in STEM fields, and helped them make connections between schoolwork and daily lives. Recommendations for future research on out-of-school STEM education programs were discussed.
K E Y W O R D Sattitudes, mixed methods, out-of-school, STEM careers, STEM education 224 | BARAN et Al.
The goals of this study were to investigate technical and vocational education (TVET) teachers’ progress in their knowledge, perceptions, and competencies related to Industry 4.0 components and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) within the context of a professional development program. A case study design was followed to reveal in-depth information on teacher improvement. Data sources included the Teacher Knowledge Survey, Teacher Perceptions Survey, and Industry 4.0 and STEM Competencies Survey. Results indicated significant improvement in teachers’ Industry 4.0 competencies and their content knowledge of Industry 4.0 components and STEM. Teachers reported a culture of collaboration in their school, increased teacher and student motivation, and positive attitudes toward TVET with implementation of the STEM PD program. The results point to the need to help teachers in designing certain aspects of STEM lesson plans including the integration of mobile programming, robotic programming and virtual reality meaningfully into the lesson content. Further implications for research and practice are presented in light of the findings.
Modular approach in education provides the advantages of student self-pacing, autonomy, and receiving frequent feedback from the instructor. In 2021, the project; CMODE-Up (an Upscaling of the earlier undertaken project Challenge-based Modular On-demand Digital Education) provided evidence-based design principles and an accompanying teacher guide for modular courses in engineering education. A next step towards actually implementing the design framework, is piloting it. In this pilot, we will ask teachers from our university to work with the framework to redesign their course into one or more challenge-based modules. We started off with a short workshop to get teachers motivated to work with us. Teachers were recruited based on willingness and experience with modular courses. During the workshop, the teachers engaged in course design exercises using the design framework. Transcibed audiotapes of the workshop discussions constituted the data for this study. To further improve the framework, the results from the workshop data were combined with results of a descriptive literature review. Relevant articles and conference preceedings were located that can shed light on issues such as design of a course with elective modules. Results collectively will lead to an adapted version of the design framework.
Conceptually grounded curricular materials in the context of professional development programs facilitate teachers’ adoption of new pedagogies. Even though science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development opportunities for early grade level teachers continue to receive attention, one existing challenge is to support teachers further in implementing well-defined integrated STEM curricula. The earlySTEM program supports K–4 teachers with the systematically developed earlySTEM curriculum, its associated curricular materials, and year-long mentoring. The program was implemented in 26 schools. This mid-evaluation investigated teacher perceptions of the earlySTEM program with a focus on contributions and challenges. A total of 134 teachers from the 26 schools responded to a survey with open-ended questions. Survey data were analyzed using a descriptive approach. The findings indicated that the teachers had positive experiences with the earlySTEM program. The results revealed that the earlySTEM program is perceived to have contributed to (a) teachers’ STEM teaching skills and STEM conceptualizations and (b) students’ skills development and awareness on the connection of the curriculum content to real-world problems. The results also document the perceived challenge in implementing the earlySTEM curriculum: need for more classroom time. The conclusions offer insights for similar program designs.
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