Investigation of the effect of stem applications on achievement in force and energy unit and attitudes towards science course of 7th grade students

In this research, it was aimed to investigate the effect of using STEM applications in teaching 7th grade force and energy unit to students' academic achievements and attitudes towards science lessons. The research was conducted with 52 students who were studying at a Secondary School of Kastamonu city in the 2016-2017 education year. There are 26 students in the randomly assigned experimental and control groups. In the research, mixed research method in which quantitative and qualitative research designs are used together is used. A semi-experimental model with pre-test/post-test control group was used from the experimental models to determine to the students' academic achievement and attitudes towards science course of the STEM applications. Semi-structured interview form of qualitative research methods was used for the students in the experiment group to determine their opinions about teaching which designed with STEM applications. In the experiment group the courses were processed in STEM applications and in the control group in accordance with the current 2013 Science Curriculum. Before and after the research, Force and Energy Unit Achievement Test (FEUAT), Science Attitude Scale (SAS) were applied to experimental and control groups. At the end of the study, STEM Opinion Form (SOF) was applied only to the experimental group students and semi-structured interview was made with five students who determined as lower-middle-top according to the results of the achievement test. The quantitative data obtained in the study were analyzed by SPSS statistical package program. To determine the significance of the difference between pre-test ve post-test achievement test scores and attitude scale results obtained in experimental and control groups, parametric tests were used in the analysis of the data and analyzed with t-test and the findings were interpreted. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was determined that the students of the experimental group, in which the courses supported by the STEM applications were processed, had a significant difference in favor of the academic achievement and the attitudes towards the science lesson. Content analysis of the data of the SOF and semi-structured interviews applied only to the experimental group students was made and the STEM applications were integrated according to the findings to reach the conclusion that the lessons were fun and active, the interest and motivation of the lessons increased, the subjects were better understood and the concepts were learned in a concrete way.