Thematic STEM education in the 8th grade science lesson: An earthquake example

In the research, it is aimed to examine the impact of activities prepared on the basis of the STEM approach concerning the subject of earthquake, which is included in the unit of "Earthquake and Weather Events", on academic achievements, science-oriented motivations and STEM-oriented attitudes of the students. The research is a field research using qualitative and quantitative data together. In the quantitative section of the research, a quasi-experimental design was used. On the other hand, qualitative research method was used to evaluate the applications from the viewpoint of the student and researcher and to determine the student acquisitions. Study group of the research consisted of a total of 81 students; 41 students in the experimental group (21 girls, 20 boys) and 40 students in the control group (21 girls, 19 boys), receiving education in the 8th grade at a public secondary school in Adapazari district of Sakarya during the school year of 2017-2018. The application process was carried out within the frame of the STEM education module, which was designed to include acquisitions concerning the subject of earthquake, in seven weeks. Academic Achievement Test which was developed for quantitative data within the scope of the research, Science Education Motivation Scale (Yilmaz and Huyuguzel Cavas, 2007) and STEM Attitude Scale (Yildirim and Selvi, 2015) were used as data collection tools. At the end of the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with voluntary students in the experimental group in order to determine their opinions about the application. To carry out more detailed evaluations about the process; STEM education modules used by the students throughout the application process, student diaries and researcher diaries were evaluated. As a result of the research, it was determined that the curricula supported by STEM activities made positive contributions to academic achievements, science-oriented motivations and STEM-oriented attitudes of the students. Additionally, in the light of observation notes taken by the researcher, interviews conducted with the students and student diaries; it was determined that the students liked group work during STEM activities, found the activities entertaining and were able to understand the subject of earthquake better. In addition to these, it was determined that the studies which had been conducted throughout the process made contributions to the development of 21st century skills, such as collaboration, exchange of ideas, team work, problem solving, creative thinking and establishing communication.