The effect of argumentation based STEM education on 7th grade students academic achievements, attitude, and argumentation levels on unit of the force and energy

The aim of this research is to determine the difference between the students' academic achievements, their attitudes towards science and their argumentation levels on the subjects in the Force and Energy unit by comparing them with the approach proposed in the current program with the argumentation-based STEM education. In this study, it was carried out with 64 students studying in the 7th grade in a secondary school in the İpekyolu district of Van province in the 2018-2019 academic year. In the study, the control group consisted of 32 students and the experimental group consisted of 32 students. In the research, the lessons were taught according to the unit plan for the current teaching program with the control group, and STEM activities based on argumentation based on the experimental group. Since the academic success, attitude and argumentation levels are examined together in the study, the mixed method research model was used. The study lasted a total of 5 weeks, 4 hours per week. The data obtained in the application were analyzed with the SPSS (Statisticalpackape for the Social Sciences) program and t-test was used to test the validity of the hypotheses and to interpret the data. In the research, the Science Attitude Scale, which was previously adapted from the Ministry of National Education (MEB) textbooks, and the semi-structured interview form was used to evaluate their development at the level of argumentation, and the Activity and Energy Academic Achievement Test prepared by the researcher. It was determined that there was no significant difference between the groups according to the pretest results applied to determine the difference in knowledge levels between the experimental and control groups selected before starting the application. Academic achievement test and attitude scale towards science were applied to experimental and control groups as pre-test and post-test. As a result of the application, the achievement levels of the experimental group were higher than the control group according to the results obtained from the academic achievement test posttest applied to both groups. It was found that there was no difference in science attitudes towards post-test results. When the argumentation levels of the control group and the experimental group were examined, an increase was observed in the experimental group. According to the results of the research, it was concluded that the lessons taught with STEM education based on argumentation had more effect on the academic success and the level of argumentation than the lessons taught according to the approaches in the current program. When the applied attitude scale values were examined, it was observed that the method used in the lessons taught did not create a significant difference between the two groups in developing a positive attitude towards science.