The effect of STEM activities in nature on 7th grade students' environmental attitudes, scientific creativity, reflective thinking skills, STEM occupational interests and attitudes

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of STEM activities in nature on 7th grade students' environmental attitudes, scientific creativity, reflective thinking skills, and STEM occupational interests and attitudes. In the study, one of the quasi-experimental research designs, "pretest-posttest unequaled control group research design" was used. The research was carried out in a secondary school affiliated to the Alanya District National Education Directorate in the spring term of the 2018-2019 academic year. At the school where the research was conducted, students were asked to use the Environmental Attitude Scale (CTQ), the Scientific Creativity Scale (SCI), the Reflective Thinking Skills Scale for Problem Solving (PÇYDBÖ), the STEM Professional Fields Interest Scale (SMAIÖ) and the Engineering and Science Attitude Scale and What Does an Engineer Do? What is Scale and Engineering? and What is Technology? With the scale, concept tests applied before and after the activity were applied. A total of 74 students participated in the study. One of the randomly formed 2 classes among the students who chose the elective science applications course was determined as the control group and STEM applications were made in nature in the other class. STEM applications in nature covered a 13-week period. In the first week of the 13-week process, pre-tests were applied to the control and experimental groups, STEM activities were carried out in a natural environment outside the school in 11 weeks, and post-tests were applied to both groups in the 13th week. As the findings obtained at the end of the study were evaluated, it was determined that STEM activities in nature positively affected students' STEM occupational interests, STEM attitudes, environmental attitudes, scientific creativity and problem solving skills for reflective thinking. Keywords: STEM in Nature, Environmental Attitude, Scientific Creativity, Problem Solving