Stem applications for supporting integrated teacher knowledge of science teacher candidates

The effects of STEM education practices on the support of integrated teacher information of science teacher candidates, the tendency of teacher candidates towards STEM education and the effect of STEM education on the academic achievements on Renewable Energy are examined. In the study, a parallel pattern was used that approximated mixed method patterns. The study made with a total of 65 science teachers, 32 experiments and 33 control groups who is studying of Fırat Univercity in 2016 - 2017 education year. Within the scope of the General Biology Laboratory course, STEM education practices were carried out for a period of time with science teachers in the experimental group. Teacher candidates in the experimental group are in order of; designing models using educational lego sets integrated with renewable energy, developed on the models designed with the applied STEM, designed their own models in group work and have created and submitted their projects as a result of evaluations under the guidance of researchers. Structured activities related to renewable energy have been carried out with teacher candidates in the control group. Quantitative data of the study collected using with developed by Lin and Williams (2015) and adapted to Turkish by Hacıömeroğlu and Bulut (2016) Integrated STEM Instructional Tendency Scale. Also, quantitative data were collected using the renewable energy achievement test prepared by the researcher, in the study. Qualitative data of the study is obtained with using, experimental group of science teachers candidates and the diaries they kept throughout the process and interviews with teachers candidates. The SPSS program is used for the quantitative analysis. T-test analysis is used to search for answers to research questions. While the experimental group was assessed by descriptive analysis of semi-structured interviews with science teacher candidates, the logs maintained throughout the process were evaluated by content analysis. According to the t-test results, The experimental group in which the STEM applications were conducted showed that the science teacher candidates were more effective in the academic achievement and STEM teaching orientation than the control group science teachers who did not have STEM applications. The qualitative data of the study emphasize that teacher candidates are developing in the skills of designing, observing, estimating, attractiveness, ease of design, responding to tender, solving encountered problems, finding new ideas and applying them in the field of renewable energy applied with STEM training throughout the process. Throughout the study, they found that they encountered many problems and developed new ideas by taking advantage of group work and developed solutions for these problems. Teacher candidates stated that the educational lego sets for integration of the STEM master disciplines were a good tool and provided a great deal of convenience to implement their ideas but were bothered by the widespread use of these sets due to their cost. In the opinions of the teacher candidates regarding STEM education; it is necessary and important for this teacher not only for them but for all teachers, that they leave much better products by using more than one discipline by using more than one discipline, that they respond to new ideas and increase their creativity levels and their susceptibility to 21st century skills but the integration of the four disciplines is not easy a process is required for.