The effect of stem based workshop held antalya science center on the 21st century skills of secondary school students

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-based workshop activities applied at the Antalya Science Center on middle school students' 21st-century skills. In the study, a mixed research method was used, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. A pre-test/post-test control groupless quasi-experimental design was applied to obtain quantitative data. To support the quantitative data, deepen the scope of the research, and capture different perspectives, student opinions were collected. The independent variable of the research was the STEM-based workshop activities, while the dependent variable was determined as the 21st-century skills. The research group consisted of 24 middle school students in the 7th grade, continuing their education in the 2024-2025 academic year at a public secondary school in the Kepez district of Antalya Province, affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. The students participated as a single group in the STEM-based workshop activities. To collect data, a semi-structured student interview form developed by the researcher and the Comprehensive 21st Century Skills Scale developed by Kalemkuş ve Özek (2022) were used. The study lasted for 4 weeks. The pre-test/post-test control groupless quasi-experimental design, a quantitative research method, was applied before the STEM-based workshop activities. At the beginning of the study, a pre-test was administered to the group. In the final week of the study, a post-test was conducted with the students, and to support the quantitative data and interpret the general information, a semi-structured interview was conducted using qualitative research methods. The Comprehensive 21st Century Skills Scale was used as a quantitative data collection tool in the study and is divided into sub-dimensions. The normality of the pre- and post-test scores of the Comprehensive 21st Century Skills Scale in the study was assessed graphically and through the Shapiro-Wilk test. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the pre- and post-test scores of the Comprehensive 21st Century Skills Scale between the experimental and control groups. The data obtained from the semi-structured form used in the study were analyzed using content analysis. The quantitative findings obtained from the students who participated in the STEM-based workshop activities revealed that STEM-based workshops had a positive effect on the critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills of the students in the experimental group. Many positive effects, such as students enjoying and being happy while applying the activities, were also observed. Based on these results, recommendations for future research have been provided.