The effects of student education on the problem solving and critical thinking skills of science teachers

The purpose of this research; Examining the effect of STEM education on science teacher candidates on problem solving and critical thinking skills and contributing to the individual development of candidates will enable qualified individuals to be trained in our country. Explanatory mixed method research model has been used in this research carried out with teacher candidates who are studying in 3rd grade of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University Faculty of Education Department of Elementary Science Science Education. Applications involving STEM education were conducted with 30 teacher candidates in the same group. In the study, a single group pretest posttest order was set up to determine the change of teacher candidates in problem solving and critical thinking skills. The analysis of the quantitative data obtained during the research was made by SPSS 22.0 package program and the analysis of qualitative data by content analysis. The qualitative data prepared by the researcher supporting the quantitative data consists of the open ended semi-structured interview form and applied to the candidates at once with focus group interview technique. It was determined that problem solving and critical thinking skills of teacher candidates were improved by STEM education in the research. In addition, it has been determined that prospective teachers have the opinion that STEM education can develop many high level skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. Teacher candidates have also been identified by their expressions of positive development. In addition, STEM's multifaceted structure has contributed to a wide variety of new developments in individuals.