Investigation of the effect of STEM-supported activities on the students' academic success, attitudes and motivations in the simple machines unit

This study was carried out on the simple machines unit, which is one of the subjects that secondary school 8th grade students approach with prejudice. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of STEM-supported activities on students' academic achievement, attitudes and motivations in the simple machines unit. The research was carried out with 140 secondary school eighth grade students in a secondary school located in the city center of Ağrı, which was selected through convenient sampling. In the study, quasi-experimental research method with pre-test and post-test applied was used. Quantitative data in the research were obtained by using the Simple Machines Unit Achievement test, the Science and Technology Attitude Scale for Secondary School Students, and the Motivation Scale for Learning Science. Qualitative data of the study were collected using a semi-structured interview form. In the research, quantitative data were analyzed with the descriptive analysis method using the SPSS package program, while the qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis method by creating codes and themes from the information obtained from semi-structured interview forms. As a result of the findings, it was determined that STEM-supported activities were more effective in increasing the academic achievement, attitudes and motivations of 8th grade students in secondary school. In addition, as a result of the findings obtained from the interview forms, it was observed that STEM activities increased the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the students.