The effects of STEM applications on secondary school students' attitude to science and technology, entrepreneurship and problem-solving skills

In this study, the effect of STEM applications carried out with middle school 7th grade students on students' attitudes towards science and technology, entrepreneurship and problem solving skills were examined. The study was conducted within the framework of the convergent parallel design, one of the mixed method research methods. The study was carried out with a total of 40 middle school students, including 21 experimental group and 19 control group, studying in the 7th grade of Elazig 'Ozel Yontemim Okullari' Schools in the 2019-2020 academic year. STEM applications were carried out with the students in the experimental group in the study, which was carried out for 6 weeks. In the control group, the current curriculum was implemented without STEM applications. The quantitative data of the study; The Problem Solving Inventory was collected by Science-Based Entrepreneurship Scale, Science and technology attitude scale Qualitative data, on the other hand, were carried out with the semi-structured interviews with the experimental group students, student diaries and activity worksheets. SPSS 22 package program was used in the quantitative analysis of the data. ANCOVA analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses of the study. Interviews were evaluated with content analysis, student diaries with descriptive analysis, while activity worksheets were evaluated with thematic content analysis. According to the ANCOVA results, it was observed that the STEM applications performed were effective in the development of science-based entrepreneurship skills and problem solving skills of the 7th grade students in the experimental group compared to the 7th grade students in the control group, and there was no significant difference in their attitudes towards science and technology. According to the qualitative data of the study, during the activity period, the students embraced teamwork and cooperation, and at the same time, the students actively observed as a scientist, using numbers and measuring skills and making an inference from the activities and the process. As a result of the students' diaries, it is seen that they feel the professions in the fields of science-technology, engineering-mathematics that STEM fields contain. In some activities, students created designs by using science and mathematics knowledge and using technology to think creatively and felt like an engineer. They stated that they had fun and liked the activities during the activities. Having goals to target from an early age will enable students to look at their future more clearly. Ensuring that students see whether they have abilities and interest in the goals they choose will help them make healthier decisions and be successful in the professions they choose.