The effect of STEM applications on the secondary school 7th grade students' science process skills and the attitude towards STEM

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of STEM applications made in science lessons of secondary school 7th-grade students on students' science process skills and attitudes towards STEM. The application process was carried out in the unit of "Pure Substances and Mixtures" in the 7th Grade Science lesson as 7 weeks and 28 lesson hours. The study group of the research consists of two different branches in the 7th grade of Kocatepe Secondary School in Afyonkarahisar. In the research, nested pattern was used in mixed method design. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used together. "Science Process Skills Scale" and "Secondary School Students' Attitude Scale towards STEM" scales were used to obtain quantitative data. Semi-structured interview forms and student diaries were used to collect qualitative data. While independent and dependent sample t-test, MANOVA and repeated ANOVA tests were used in the analysis of quantitative data, the content analysis method was used in the analysis of qualitative data. A statistically significant difference was found between the post-test average scores of the control and experimental group students in their science process skills and their attitudes toward STEM in favor of the experimental group. It was observed that the STEM application affected the experimental group students' attitudes toward STEM in a positive way. When the qualitative data were examined, it was seen that the student's interest in solving daily life problems, creating products, coding and doing group work increased. In addition, the students stated that the science lesson was very enjoyable and they had a lot of fun during the STEM applications.