The effect of STEM applications on the STEM perceptions of the students and the success of the success in the "Triangles" unit

In this study, it was aimed to determine the students' opinions about STEM approach and the effect of mathematics-oriented STEM activities on the STEM awareness and achievement of students in the "Triangles" unit of high school 9th grade mathematics course. In the research, mixed method was used. The quantitative part of the research consists of two groups of pretest-posttest experimental-control group quasi-experimental design and the qualitative part consists of case study design. Research was made in the second term of the 2018-2019 academic year and conducted with 33 9th grade students in two different classes in a high school, located in a province in northeastern Turkey, attached to the Ministry of Education. At the beginning of the study, Triangle Achievement Test (TAT) was applied to the experimental and control groups, and STEM Awareness Scale (SAS) was applied to the experimental group. In the research, while the experimental group students continued their education with STEM activities for 5 weeks, the lessons were conducted according to the current mathematics curriculum in the control group. The experimental and control groups were administered "TAT" both to examine their academic achievement at the end of the application and to examine the permanence of achievement five weeks after the end of the application. In addition, SAS posttest was applied to the experimental group to determine the change in STEM awareness. 6 volunteer students from the experimental group were interviewed. Data obtained from TST and SAS were analyzed in SPSS.18 program. As a result of the research, it was seen that STEM activities increased students' academic achievement and provided a permanence of the achievement. The content analysis of the interviews with the students was conducted and it was concluded that STEM activities had a positive effect on the students' academic achievement and the permanence of the achievement.