The investigation of the development processes of pre-service science teachers in STEM implementations

In this study, it was aimed to provide cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills towards STEM implementations to pre-service science teachers (PSTs) who participated in theresearch process and to examine the developments of participants in this process. This study was carried out with PSTs who were studying in the third grade in the science education department of the faculty of education of a public university. The sample of the study was determined by criterion-based method which is one of the purposeful sampling of non-random sampling types. The sampling criteria of this study were determined as studying at the third grade level of the science education department of the chosen university, successfully completing courses termed as Computer-I and Computer-II and participating in the study on a voluntary basis. The research process was carried out with the participation of a total of 50 PSTs meeting these criteria and 41 of them were female and 9 of them were male. The convergent parallel desing which is one of the mixed method designs formed by the simultaneous implementations of quantitative and qualitative stages was used in the research process. In the quantitative phase of the research, the survey model which is a descriptive research method and in the qualitative phase, the case study model which is one of the qualitative research types were used. "STEM Awareness Scale" developed by Çevik (2017) and consisting of 15 items was used to collect quantitative data. In addition, semi- structured interview form which consisted of seven questions and developed by the researcher and five scenarios designed to determine the roles of PSTs in STEM disciplines were used. Within the scope of the six-week implementation process, the Scratch program was introduced, coding studies were made and "Basic STEM Maker Design" activities were organized. The obtained data was analyzed separately by quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, and the quantitative and qualitative results obtained at the last stage were correlated since convergent parallel design was used in this study. In the quantitative analysis, descriptive analysis, Man Whitney-U Test and Kruskall Wallis Test which are among the difference tests in the Nonparametric Tests category were used. Also, the analysis of qualitative data was carried out with content analysis. According to the results of the study, most of the PSTs stated that they had taken coding courses with their own opportunities. Some of the participants determined that they didn't have coding experiences before and that they gained coding experience for the first time when they were included in this study process. While most of the female PSTs participating in this study had coding experiences, it was identified that the majority of the male PSTs didn't have coding experiences. More than one-third (38%) of the PSTs stated that they preferred to work only individually. However, the number of PSTs who discovered their interest in the profession of science teaching at an early age was quite low. According to the results of the research, PSTs stated that collaborative activities should be increased, teachers should take an active role in STEM implementations, teachers can easily plan STEM education both in and outside of the classroom, STEM education doesn't negatively affect classroom authority and doesn't cause loss of time in the lesson. It has been concluded that there is an undecided judgment regarding the inclusion of STEM activities in curricula and the need for high-level material in reflecting STEM education to daily life. PSTs reported that they needed to improve their engineering skills not only in design-based STEM studies, but also in all kinds of experiments and teaching materials they would design for their lesson plans. When the views of PSTs on Scratch and Basic STEM Maker Designs (BSMD) were examined, it was concluded that it would be efficient to include STEM education in the curriculum and to carry out the lessons practically rather than theoretical.However, all PSTs stated that STEM education should exist in educational life with quality materials. The PSTs identified that the Basic STEM Maker Designs (TSMT) process was funny, exciting, pleasing, enjoyable, increasing sense of wonder and encouraging productivity. In addition, they reached the views that STEM education provides convenience, increases experience, enables problem solving and generating new ideas. When the results of PSTs regarding 21st century skills were examined, it was seen that they stated that STEM contributed to their development in critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, communication, cooperation, curiosity, entrepreneurship and patience. PSTs who stated that they were partially dissatisfied expressed their views based on factors such as materials. When the PSTs interest in science and the results of choosing the science department were examined, it was seen that they stated that they chose the department where the university entrance score was sufficient rather than their wishes. In addition, it is remarkable that the PSTs identified that they noticed their interest in engineering at an early age, not at a young age. In the light of the results of this study, it is recommended to plan STEM implementations in the form of long-term studies that include both coding and design, and to allow pre-service teachers to gain first-hand experience in robotic coding and STEM activities.