New Perspectives in Science Education

Several studies have analyzed the emotions experienced by students in the primary education stage (6-12 years), revealing positive results in students of this age. This is relevant to begin to build from these levels an effective STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, which allows a motivating and meaningful learning in the students. The general objective of this research is to implement and validate from a didactic point of view the use of STEM workshops in the primary classroom. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental research design has been followed with control groups, experimental groups, pre-test and post-test. Specifically, several parallel studies have been carried out in various schools. The control groups worked with a traditional methodology and the experimental groups with an active methodology with STEM workshops. In particular, a sample of 280 students between the ages of 9 and 12 has been used, divided into control groups and experimental groups. Questionnaires used as pre-test and post-test were designed as measuring instruments depending on the selected theme in each group. The results obtained in the pre-tests show the existence of low initial knowledge in the contents under study. However, after the execution of the different didactic interventions, there can be found an evolution both in the cognitive and affective domain in the students. In addition, an intergroup comparison has been carried out, which has revealed that the students who worked with STEM workshops scored better in the post-test than the students in the control group. These results allow us to conclude that this type of practical and hands-on experiences in the primary education classroom contribute to improving the teaching-learning of scientific areas in this group, both from the learning point of view and from the attitudinal and emotional point of view.

Keywords: Primary education, STEM, Workshops, active methodologies;