Attention is increasingly being paid to integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education as a way to increase the workforce for STEM-related careers as well as to promote STEM literacy among citizens. This means that all students, including those who are educationally disadvantaged, are expected to not only acquire STEM knowledge but also to apply it to relevant situations in the future. Among the various approaches to STEM education, the design-based approach is promising. Although a significant amount of research has investigated students’ STEM learning as a result of the design-based approach, little research has addressed the transfer of such learning, especially in the case of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. This mixed-methods research with an embedded design examines whether 18 ninth-grade students, who are from low-income families and attend an underfunded school, developed an understanding of torque and examines their ability to apply such understanding to new situations. Data were collected using a multiple-choice test comprising both conceptual and application questions (i.e., quantitative data) with prompts for students to write the reasons for their answers (i.e., qualitative data). Based on Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, a non-parametric statistical method, the quantitative results indicate that the students’ scientific understanding significantly improved, but they struggled to apply that understanding to new situations. These quantitative results are augmented by an information-rich student and discussed based on a theory of learning transfer. Recommendations are proposed for improving the design-based activity to ensure STEM education is inclusive.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, as an educational policy, provides opportunities for students to learn these disciplines in more integrated ways than traditional methods. This can be pedagogically accomplished via a design-based approach where students engage collaboratively in solving engineering problems using various domains of knowledge and skills. In this pedagogical process, design thinking is vital. However, little is known about whether students develop this kind of thinking and its mindset when engaging in design-based activities. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of a design-based activity on design thinking. Participants included 18 ninth-grade students in a small rural school. The data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire before and after the design-based activity, in combination with classroom observations and focus group interviews with the students. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyse the quantitative data and a thematic analysis method was utilised for the qualitative data. The results indicate that the students were significantly more comfortable with solving engineering problems, even though other aspects of design thinking mindset (e.g., user empathy, collaboratively working with diversity, orientation toward learning, and creative confidence) were not significantly different. These results are discussed based on the enacted nature of the activity.
This paper proposes a design-based activity for students to learn about the concept of torque using everyday materials and equipment.
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