Raising awareness for the lack of interest in STEM of primary school learners in Kazakhstan: experiences and perspectives

Abstract

The article deals with a specially developed program for the formation of STEM knowledge for primary schoolchildren in the system of additional education. The article listed the problems of the development of scientific and technical knowledge, emphasized the lack of interest and motivation of schoolchildren, lack of educational programs in the field of study. The article describes the experiences of foreign countries, the implementation of STEM in the educational process, which indicated the need to create a pedagogical system for the formation of scientific and technical knowledge. The purposes of this study is to identify the effectiveness of the model for the formation of knowledge in the field of STEM among students of junior classes in the system of additional education. The model of formation of knowledge in the field of STEM among younger schoolchildren in the system of additional education is described. Various methods of data collection were used during the three-year study with the participation of students of the experimental and control groups. Statistical significance of the obtained results was checked using Student's t-test. The comparative analysis of the data confirmed the differences in the dynamics of the formation of STEM competencies of junior schoolchildren in the experimental and control groups. The number of students experienced mental group, experiencing difficulties in scientific and technical activities, decreased to 53%. In the control group, improvement in each of the criteria averaged 6%, which is statistically insignificant. A model of the formation of STEM knowledge among younger schoolchildren in the system of additional education has been developed, which has confirmed its effectiveness for the development of students' ability to conduct scientific and technical activities, practical experiments in a game educational environment.

Methodological system for the formation of meta-subject skills of primary school students in the context of STEM education

“…A model is developed on the basis of the "Early STEM Integration" program aimed at enhancing the interest of primary school students in STEM (Ibrayeva and Shaushekova, 2023). This model, aimed at developing research capabilities in primary school students, encompasses topics such as Lego Duplo, Lego Mindstorm, Laser cutting, Basic circuitry, I create the world, I am an inventor, I am a scientist, etc.…”