Perusing the Past to Propel the Future: A Systematic Review of STEM Learning Activity Based on Activity Theory

Abstract

Education is the road to sustainability, creating the appropriate environment for learners to socialize and acquire knowledge and skills for the 21st century. This study reviews 53 studies on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning activities from 2011 to 2020. In the past last 10 years, STEM education has gained attention, and little is known about how researchers designed and implemented learning activities. This systematic review based on activity theory reveals that STEM learning activities mostly involved elementary students in all STEM disciplines, with a sample size from 1 to 50. STEM learning activities emphasize mixed tasks, evaluating mixed learning outcomes with three STEM disciplines. Researchers mostly preferred project-based learning and problem-based learning methods, lasting from 9 to 24 weeks under teacher guidance with no rewards. This study revealed that most STEM activities were implemented in the classroom. Finally, the most often-used tools were mixed hardware. The quiz is the most often utilized in STEM activity. Major understudied areas that can be investigated by future studies are also revealed in depth. The results and implications for future studies are also discussed in detail.

Reflecting on the Past to Shape the Future: A Systematic Review on Cross-Cultural Collaborative Learning from 2011 to 2020

“…According to the findings, a small sample size was most preferred by researchers when designing cross-cultural collaborative learning. This confirms that a small sample size is easy to manage [45], although another reason could be that the number of students who registered in courses in which the published papers were used as a context was few. It should be noted that researchers began to show less interest in the medium to large sample sizes from 2016 to 2020.…”

“…The collaborative learning strategies include interaction methods, collaborative learning methods, interaction tools, collaborative learning task types, interaction types, interaction tools, teacher involvement, intervention strategies, duration, and communication language; • Research designs adopted for cross-cultural collaborative studies include research purpose, experimental design, and data analysis methods. Table 1 shows the developed coding scheme based on previous studies [6,18,45,46]. Furthermore, the statistical analysis of the extracted data is presented in a table format which displays the proportion of studies.…”

Study of STEM for Sustainability in Design Education: Framework for Student Learning and Outcomes with Design for a Disaster Project

“…Gyasi et al mention that the main goals of STEM activities are achieved through frameworks, such as project-based, inquiry-based, and problembased learning. The more STEM activity designers integrate the disciplines, the more likely they will adopt different tasks and investigate learning outcomes [8]. Therefore, the Framework for Innovation investigation contributes to not just design education but other disciplines as well.…”

“…Since the United Nations initiated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 [5], the roles of higher education institutions need clarification for adapting the necessary changes [6]. Defining how to include the SDGs into higher education is still in an early stage [7], thus requiring evaluation of different disciplinary education and methods [8]. The concept of STEM Education for Sustainability (STEM4S) expands the STEM interdisciplinary education scope for problem-solving to a multidisciplinary critical-thinking method and sustainability mindsets [9].…”

“…Due to the complexity of the STEM education system, the activities are conducted through project-based, inquiry-based, and problem-based learning. However, these activities require frameworks, which challenge instructors in preparing materials [8]. Design-based tasks play a significant role in STEM education by encouraging students' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities [16].…”