ATS-STEM: Global Teaching Methodology to Improve Competences of Secondary Education Students

Abstract

Previous studies agree on the benefits of improving the relevant competences in students by applying globalized learning methodologies and projects in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). However, few studies have focused on whether including other subjects in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) in these projects improves high school students’ perceptions on improvement in these skills. The objective of this work was to study the effect of participation in interdisciplinary teaching projects (STEM and HASS), which promote globalized and project-based learning, on the perception of self-efficacy of secondary school students in basic competences for learning. It also analyzes the modulating role of gender on said perception. High school students from Galicia participated in this study. Both before and after participating in teaching projects according to the MODEL of the ATS-STEM project, they completed a questionnaire on self-efficacy in the eight key competences for STEM learning defined in the model: disciplinary STEM competences, problem solving, innovation and creativity, communication, critical thinking, metacognitive skills, collaboration and self-regulation. The results showed an improvement in all the competences evaluated (although only the men showed an increase in collaboration). Nevertheless, there was a lower perception of competence in women than in men in discipline competences, problem solving and metacognitive skills. Therefore, the benefits of interdisciplinary ATS-STEM learning experiences on the self-efficacy perceived by high school students were confirmed, although the results continue to show a gender gap.

Not just for decoration: How the arts complement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning.

“…Thus, we predicted that students would demonstrate greater learning motivation after the courses, especially in the experimental group (Hypothesis 2). Fernández-Morante et al (2022) confirmed the effects of incorporating various art strategies into STEM learning on a large number of learners’ STEM efficacy. Hence, we predicted that diverse students would demonstrate better STEAM efficacy after the completion of the courses, especially in the experimental group (Hypothesis 3).…”

“…Several studies have incorporated arts into STEM courses and examined their effects on student performance (Arce et al, 2022; Chen et al, 2022; Cheng et al, 2022; Erol et al, 2023; Fernández-Morante et al, 2022; Ju et al, 2022; Khamhaengpol et al, 2022; Timotheou & Ioannou, 2021; Weng et al, 2023). In these studies, the arts were not merely used as decoration; rather, they were presented through strategies, including arts/esthetic, contextual understanding, creativity, and combinations of these.…”

“…Contextual understanding strategies in STEM courses refer to encouraging the consideration of sociocultural contexts or personal circumstances within scientific topics (Arce et al, 2022; Fernández-Morante et al, 2022; Ju et al, 2022). In line with sustainable development, Fernández-Morante et al (2022) examined the effects of infusing the humanities, arts, and social sciences into STEM fields.…”

“…Contextual understanding strategies in STEM courses refer to encouraging the consideration of sociocultural contexts or personal circumstances within scientific topics (Arce et al, 2022; Fernández-Morante et al, 2022; Ju et al, 2022). In line with sustainable development, Fernández-Morante et al (2022) examined the effects of infusing the humanities, arts, and social sciences into STEM fields. A STEM efficacy questionnaire was used for 835 high school students to rate whether they had acquired the eight general competencies (e.g., collaboration) after the classes, and the results indicated their improvement.…”

“…The abbreviation “A” in STEAM is not merely a decoration; it serves various meanings (Clapp & Jimenez, 2016; Liu et al, 2021). Numerous studies have incorporated art meanings into STEM courses through strategies such as arts/esthetic (Cheng et al, 2022), contextual understanding (Fernández-Morante et al, 2022), creativity (Timotheou & Ioannou, 2021), or a combination of these (Weng et al, 2023). However, most studies either primarily focused on learners’ creativity, which they measured through tests and graded using a Likert scale, or followed a one-group pretest–posttest design, which may have been influenced by maturation and testing effects.…”