New Perspectives in Science Education

Science and technology are considered a fundamental cornerstone for citizens, which is why various institutions have highlighted the growing need for human resources with the psychomotor skills and cognitive domains required by these progressive scientific-technological advances [1]. Many students lose interest in these subjects because they consider them irrelevant to their personal goals and they are not aware of the usefulness of this knowledge in everyday life [2]. In this line, the present research aims to develop an intervention in the primary education classroom for the improvement of cognitive and emotional domain in learning STEM areas. The methodology used has been experimental with a pre-test and two post-tests. The sampling process carried out was non-probabilistic, obtaining the participation of 144 students in the 5^th and 6^th grade of primary education. As a measuring instrument, three questionnaires were designed based on previous research. The first questionnaire was used as a pre-test with the purpose of assessing the level of initial knowledge of the students in relation to the chosen contents. The second questionnaire was used as a post-test after the didactic intervention, in order to assess its effectiveness in the classroom. In addition, a second post-test was used to analyse the persistence over time of the STEM contents learned. The results obtained reveal a significant improvement in learning after the didactic intervention developed. The average grade obtained in the post test is significantly higher (Sig. < 0.001) than that obtained by the sample in the pre-test. Likewise, statistically significant differences are observed between the average scores of the pre-test and the second post-test, being significantly favourable the score obtained in the latter. Likewise, with respect to the difference between academic levels, the results seem to reveal that there is a positive cognitive evolution, since statistically significant differences are found in the level of knowledge between academic courses (Sig. < 0.05). With regard to the affective-emotional dimension, it should be noted that the participating sample mostly expressed positive emotions such as fun or curiosity during the development of the didactic intervention. In addition, 64% of the sample admitted that they would not have learned the contents had it not been for the workshop implemented and 86% of the sample considered that the experience facilitated the learning of the proposed contents. To help students believe that they can understand STEM areas, schools can offer these STEM projects to students in order to provide them with more information about STEM disciplines, greater confidence in their theoretical and procedural capacity, and greater academic and employment opportunities [2].

Keywords: STEM, Primary education, Meaningful learning.

References:
[1] DeCoito I., Steele A., Goodnough, K. “Introduction to the Special Issue on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education”, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. 2019, pp. 109–113.
[2] Aschbacher P. R., Ing M., Tsai S. M. “Is science me? Exploring middle school students’ STEM career aspirations”, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2014, pp. 735–743