Measurement and evaluation of teachers 'hand-on skillsin the context of STEM education

The aim of this thesis is to determine to what extent teachers familiar with hand tools, which are frequently used in STEM activities, to reveal hand skill levels in their use and to evaluate the findings obtained. Comparative research design, which is one of the descriptive research methods, was used in the study. Although the target audience is teachers, technicians and student groups have also been created for comparison. The sample size consisting of 4 groups is 48 people in total. The teacher candidates group consists of 10 people, the teacher group 12, the Vocational School student group 15 and the technician group 11 people. Original recognition / experience and skill tests were developed by the researcher to collect data. A question bookshop was created with 35 hand-held photographs, which are thought to be used frequently in STEM events. Data were collected by asking the participants how much they knew and experienced these tools through the question booklet. A circuit with similar dimensions and similar electronic components was developed and used in skill testing to represent the tools that are popular in STEM activities. The participants were asked to disassemble and reassemble this circuit for measurement of dexterity. Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient SPSS program has been verified in both tests. High reliability values such as 0,981 for Recognition / Experience Test and 0,881 for Hand Skill Test were calculated. According to the handpiece recognition test findings, the most successful group was technicians with 91% average recognition percentage. While Vocational School students were 81% and teachers 52%, the teacher candidates' recognition levels remained at 42%. According to the experience declaration test findings, it was determined that technicians experienced an average of 30 of the 35 hand tools questioned. It was understood that Vocational School students experienced 26 hand tools, 15 teachers and 15 pre-service teachers experienced tools. Hand skill levels are expressed as a ix percentage with the calculations made on the data of 6 different skill items measured for each participant. Accordingly, technicians were the group with the highest skill level with an average of 90%. Skill levels of 55% in vocational high school students, 56% in teachers and 44% in teacher candidates were found. Although the findings provide information about recognition / experience and skill levels, it is difficult to judge teachers in terms of competence or inadequacy. For this purpose, it is necessary to conduct more research on the accumulation and reliability of this pilot study and the results of the qualifications / deficiencies. However, some evaluations can be made based on the findings. It is meaningful that hand teachers recognition and experience declaration and hand skill tests show that teachers have a very low level of success compared to technicians in terms of pointing to a possible problem area. The presence of senior pre-service science teachers who have experienced only 5 of the 35 hand tools in the experience statement tests is a very thought-provoking result in terms of practical skill deprivation. Another important finding in the reverse sense is the presence of teachers who are not yet aware of high hand skills. If determined by such tests, teachers with high practical skills can be assigned active tasks in the STEM education system. On the other hand, the attitude of teachers with low level of practical knowledge and dexterity to resist doing activities with practical application in order not to face difficulties is an important source of problem. In the literature, it can be said that practical skills have been ignored in terms of STEM pedagogy. It is hoped that the selection of hand tools to know / experience and skillful use as the subject of this thesis will be an important gap in terms of STEM education pedagogy. Keywords: Practical skills, STEM Hand Tools, STEM Teacher, Teacher Hand Skill, Technician Hand Skill