scholarly journals Analysis of Postgraduate Theses Related to STEM Education in Turkey: A Meta-Synthesis Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Rabia SARICA

Abstract: Importance and prevalence of STEM, which is a holistic educational approach that includes science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has been increasing in recent years. It is stated that STEM is very important for countries to compete and stand out in the new world order and economy. In this study, postgraduate theses on STEM education in Turkey were investigated by meta-synthesis method. In this context, 58 theses, 9 of which were doctoral and 49 of them were master’s thesis were examined. Topics covered in the theses, research methods used, preferred sample groups, data collection tools and results presented in theses, similar and different aspects were examined in detail. It is understood that various skills, opinions, academic achievement, learning approaches, career, attitudes, and interest/perception are studied in the theses. In the studies, it was determined that mostly mixed, quantitative and qualitative methods were preferred respectively, middle school students and teacher candidates were frequently studied groups, and questionnaire/scale and interview (form) tools were frequently used as data collection tools. The results, similarities and differences of the theses were expressed with key statements and some suggestions were presented.

Author(s):  
Ryan G. Zonnefeld ◽  
Valorie L. Zonnefeld

Innovative teacher preparation programs for STEM education are essential for meeting the goal of ensuring that secondary school students receive instruction from a certified teacher. This exploratory workshop examines the role that interdisciplinary STEM and mathematics programs can have to increase the number of certified teachers prepared to teach STEM classes from an interdisciplinary approach.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Nezih Onal ◽  
Cennet Gologlu Demir

It is a great paradox that despite the great importance attached to mathematics education in Turkey, high failure rates are observed among Turkish students in mathematics. For this reason, new applications are implemented in the field of mathematics education in Turkey. One of these applications is the use of technology in mathematics education. Thus, this research aimed to determine the attitudes and opinions of the middle school students towards the use of the interactive whiteboard, which is among the technologies used in mathematics and mathematics lessons. The research is based on a mixed-method research design in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The quantitative part of the study was conducted with 726 students, selected via the convenience sampling method, in 4 different central schools affiliated to the Ministry of Education (MNE) in the Karabük province during the 2015-2016 academic year, while the qualitative part was carried out with 20 participants determined on a voluntary basis. The research data were obtained from the “Attitude Scale towards Mathematics”, the “Interactive Whiteboard Attitude Scale” and the semi-structured interviews. It was found that the participants in the survey had a positive attitude towards the use of the interactive whiteboard in mathematics lessons and that they were positively affected by the interactive whiteboard in learning mathematics. In addition, it was concluded that participants' attitudes towards mathematics and the use of the interactive whiteboard was above average. It was also found that the male students’ attitudes towards the interactive whiteboard were more positive than that of the female students, and the level of positive attitude towards mathematics decreases as the class level increases accordingly. Finally, a low positive correlation was found between students' attitudes towards mathematics and the interactive whiteboard.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 1085-1089
Author(s):  
Zarith Sofiah Othman ◽  
Nurhuda Ismail ◽  
Ahmad Khudzairi Khalid ◽  
Norbaiti Tukiman

STEM Education through the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 (PPPM 2013–2025) is an important agenda in the transformation of education to prepare the younger generation for the challenges of the 21st century. Over the years, STEM was carried out, but there are still some issues which contribute towards the failure in achieving a policy percentage set of 60% science and 40% literary studies in secondary schools. The target to increase the number of Science students was not achieved. Therefore, this study was conducted to produce a STEM@IDEAS module as an alternative to increase students’ interest and understanding in solving the synopsis of learning in science, technology and mathematics (STEM). The module STEM@IDEAS focuses in competition design and generating prototype products through a variety of synopsis statements. STEM practices provide students with various trainings such as application of knowledge, skills and assessment to solve synopsis. This study has five (5) STEM practice steps and a total of three (3) modules which will be applied using the STEM elements. Furthermore, the STEM@IDEAS module was tested on several groups of four secondary school students around Pasir Gudang, Johor. A questionnaire was used to evaluate if STEM@IDEAS modules are in line with STEM and its impact on students. This survey uses a Likert scale of 0 to 4 to evaluate starting from 0 (strongly disagree) up to 4 (strongly agree) for each question submitted in each section. The STEM@IDEAS module and the above study are expected to be a source of interest and an alternative way for schools to support the nation’s education policy in strengthening the education development plans towards the nation’s progress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Cennet GÖLOĞLU DEMİR ◽  
Nagihan TANIK ÖNAL ◽  
Nezih ÖNAL

The purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students’ attitudes towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and to determine the predictors of these attitudes. The study was designed according to the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research designs. The sample of the study is comprised of 408 middle school sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The data of the current study were collected by using a STEM-oriented attitude scale. In order to analyse the collected data, independent samples t-test, one-way variance analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used. As a result of these analyses, it was determined that the students’ attitudes towards STEM vary significantly depending on the students’ gender, grade level, participation in in-school and out-of-school social activities, science and mathematics achievement. The most effective three predictors of STEM were found to be science achievement, being a 6th grader and being female. The state of being female was found to be negatively correlated with the prediction of the attitudes towards STEM. As a conclusion of the study, suggestions were made to eliminate gender-based differences in the attitudes towards STEM, to increase STEM activities in upper grades and for career planning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Wright ◽  
Edward Reeves ◽  
John Williams ◽  
David Morrison-Love ◽  
Fiona Patrick ◽  
...  

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) areas are integral content disciplines in all economies. Although most countries have and continue to ensure quality science (S) and Mathematics (M) education for primary (elementary) and secondary school students, the technology (T) and engineering (E) content areas tend not to be regarded as core to national curricula in the same way that science and mathematics are regarded as essential. This article discusses efforts in various countries to better promote and integrate Technology and Engineering Education (TEE) in schools. This paper highlights common themes and argues that we can learn from each other’s efforts in TEE. We argue that dialogue across nations can help us to build international STEM education collaboration networks, better understand the nature of STEM and how to better engage pupils and students in STEM subjects, and work towards gaining inputs to national TEE policy that can leverage positive change.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 739-752
Author(s):  
Hanife Gamze Hastürk ◽  

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is an approach that develops 21st century skills such as career choice in science and engineering, entrepreneurship, innovation, creative and critical thinking. The acronym STEM stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. When looking from the past to the present, it has been observed that there has been an increase in STEM studies. However, there was no study which was conducted on STEM education in Turkey mostly consisted of studies which aimed at determining the interests, attitudes and achievements of students and prospective teachers, and there was no study on the relationship between students' tendencies to technology in STEM education and their STEM perceptions. It is necessary for societies that can rapidly keep up with developing technology and innovations Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between the perceptions of secondary school students towards STEM fields, determining their attitudes towards technology, students' attitudes towards technology and its use in lessons, and the total perception levels of STEM fields and sub-dimensions. The study was completed in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. The data of the study were analyzed by quantitative survey model. In the study, ‘Attitude towards Technology Scale’ and ‘STEM Perception Scale’ were used as data collection tools. In the tests applied, the data were analyzed using the Independent Sample t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Analysis and Regression Analysis. According to data analysis and findings, it was determined that there was a moderately significant negative relationship between the students' attitude level towards technology, and the STEM perception level. In the light of the findings, the importance of STEM education was emphasized and recommendations were made to program designers, researchers and practitioners on this subject.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasithep Pitiporntapin ◽  
Panuvit Chantara ◽  
Wachira Srikoom ◽  
Prasart Nuangchalerm ◽  
Lisa M. Hines

National efforts in Thailand are currently focused on promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in order to better prepare the future generations to be an effective and productive workforce. In accordance with this mission, the goal of this research is to develop a tablet-based professional development (PD) program to enhance in-service teachers’ perceptions of STEM education, which will directly affect both their decision to incorporate STEM, as well as their ability to effectively do so in their own classroom. To assess the efficacy of the PD program, we recruited 240 STEM and non-STEM teachers from basic education schools in Thailand to participate in the program. The activities in this program were divided into three parts: 1) increasing knowledge about STEM education, 2) providing demonstrations of STEM teaching, and 3) developing STEM-based lessons. Data were collected throughout the tablet-based PD program from focus group discussion sessions, pre-post questionnaires, and informal interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that before participating in the tablet-based PD program, the majority of participants had limited knowledge on STEM education and were uncertain on how to integrate STEM into their instructional practices. They also had difficulty with connecting the different STEM disciplines in their activities. Although they were interested in implementing the STEM educational approach, they lacked confidence on how to accomplish this. After completing the tablet-based PD program, many participants had a much better understanding of STEM education and greater confidence with implementing STEM pedagogical approaches.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-253
Author(s):  
Mi Yeon Lee

This multipurpose activity can be used in STEM education with elementary school students to reinforce scientific concepts of such weather components as temperature, precipitation, clouds, and wind by integrating manipulation of online apps (technology), knowledge of graphing and data analysis (mathematics), and creation of a wind vane (engineering). iSTEM: Integrating Science Technology Engineering in the Mathematics authors share ideas and activities that stimulate student interest in the integrated fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in K—grade 6 classrooms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (40) ◽  
pp. 168-179
Author(s):  
Ahmad Khudzairi Khalid ◽  
Nurul Balqis Nor’rah ◽  
Norbaiti Tukiman ◽  
CT Munnirah Niesha Mohd Shafee

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world today, volunteering continues to be an important agenda in the country's development mission. The participation of the community, especially the younger generation in volunteer activities is very important in creating an empathetic community. Therefore, to produce a national group that has a clear and far-sighted goal, it is very appropriate if the youths can continue to engage in volunteer activities. Nowadays, volunteering in the field of STEM education is very rare we hear, especially its implementation among university students. Not only that, according to the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the number of students taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects is decreasing every year. Lack of interest and exposure about the enjoyment of learning STEM subjects is a major factor in the lack of student's number in the STEM stream. Thus, this study aims to propose create a team of STEM Volunteers known as iV-STEM@Volunteers STEM, produce an online STEM module that is the iV-STEM capsule module and apply it to among of primary school students. Descriptive statistical methods were used to evaluate the program through organized feedback. A closer approach is implemented through the online STEM program and several competitions to test the level of STEM mastery of students are organized. Each online STEM program organized makes full use of the iV-STEM capsule module developed using STEM elements. Analysis from the study shows that the efforts of the group iV-STEM@Volunteers STEM have a positive impact in efforts to strengthen STEM education until the enrollment of STEM field enrollment reaches 60% by i2023.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 805
Author(s):  
Jeanna R. Wieselmann ◽  
Gillian H. Roehrig ◽  
Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen ◽  
Thomas Meagher

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools and districts continue to emerge, and while some research highlights critical components to be included in STEM schools, there is a need to learn more about the process of becoming a STEM school or district. In this study, we investigated a rural United States school district’s development and expansion of its STEM education focus, which started in the years leading up to the district’s first STEM school opening in 2012. We addressed the research question: How is a district-wide STEM education vision developed, enacted, and sustained by various administrative stakeholders? We interviewed 11 participants, all of whom had some level of administrative responsibility related to the district’s STEM mission, coded interviews based on the critical components of STEM schools, and used narrative inquiry methods to describe the district’s STEM transition from these administrators’ perspectives. Our analysis revealed that several key critical components were central to this district’s STEM mission. These components included elements related to leadership, reform-based instructional strategies, and teachers’ professional learning. By focusing on different elements at different times and prioritizing several key components throughout, this district was able to achieve its goal of providing STEM instruction to all of the elementary and middle school students.


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