The effect of classroom teacher candidates for engineering design process activities on Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) awareness and engineer perceptions

The aim of the current research was to improve the STEM awareness and engineering perceptions of pre-service teachers through activities related to the Engineering Design Process (EDP), one of the STEM applications, and to elicit the views of prospective classroom teachers about these activities. This study was designed as a mixed model and implemented in the autumn term of the 2018-2019 academic year. The participants of the study consisted of 39 prospective teachers (28 female, 11 male) attending the second year of a classroom teaching program in a university located in the Central Anatolian Region in Turkey. The research was carried out and data was collected within the scope of the Science and Technology Laboratory I course using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, namely STEM Awareness Scale (SAS) and Draw an Engineer Test (DAET). In addition, at the end of the implementation, the students were asked to offer an opinion regarding the activities that were performed. The application took a total of 9 weeks and covered 7 activities related to EDP. The quantitative data was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and the qualitative data by content analysis. On completion of the implementation, a positive change was observed in the prospective total STEM awareness scores and the subscores in STEM's effect on the students, the course and the teacher. Furthermore, in the post-test DAET, there was an increase in the number of pre-service teachers who drew female engineers. In addition, in the last DAET, the participants offered more views concerning the characteristics that an engineer should possess. The results of this research will guide educators and researchers. Keywords: Prospective Classroom Teachers, STEM Awareness, Engineer Perceptions, Engineering Design Process