The Impact of STEM Activities on 4th Grade Students’ STEM Attitudes and Mathematics Achievements
Thesis Type: Postgraduate
Institution Of The Thesis: Yıldız Technical University, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Basic Education, Turkey
Approval Date: 2024
Thesis Language: Turkish
Student: ÜMRAN ATAY
Supervisor: Zeynep Yıldız
Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
Abstract:The aim of this study is to examine the effects of STEM applications on 4th-grade elementary school students' STEM attitudes and mathematics achievements. Quantitative research methods were utilized, and a pre-test - post-test control group quasi-experimental design was determined as the research design. The study group of the research consists of a total of 60 students studying in the 4th grade at a state school in Istanbul province during the 2023-2024 academic year. Thirty of these students are in the experimental group, and thirty are in the control group. STEM Attitude Scale (STAS) and the Mathematics Achievement Test developed by the researcher were used as data collection tools. STEM Attitude Scale is a Likert-type scale consisting of 28 items, which includes sub-dimensions such as personal and social applications related to STEM, learning science and engineering, learning mathematics and its relation to STEM, and the use and learning of technology. The Mathematics Achievement Test is a multiple-choice test consisting of 17 items. The validity and reliability of this test developed within the scope of the research have been ensured. In the research, instructional practices determined by the Ministry of Education (MEB) regarding addition and subtraction operations were conducted for the control group students, and no intervention was made. For the experimental group students, STEM activities focused on addition-subtraction were conducted during the application process. The experimental application process was conducted for 3 weeks, with 2 class hours per week. Two practices related to addition and subtraction topics within the scope of the research were conducted in each class hour. In the analysis of the data, whether there is a significant difference between the mean scores of the students in the experimental and control groups from the data collection tools was examined. During this process, statistical analysis methods such as T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation analysis were used. According to the analysis results, the mean scores of the students in the experimental and control groups on the STEM Attitude Scale, each sub-dimension of the scale, and the mathematics achievement test were compared in the pre-test and post-test applications. According to this comparison, it was observed that there was an increase in the mean scores of the experimental group students, and this increase was significant. In the comparison of mean scores in the control group, no significant difference was found. When the mean scores of the experimental and control groups for each variable were compared in terms of gender, it was determined that gender did not have a significant effect on the mean scores. As a result, it was revealed that STEM activities significantly affected students' academic achievements and STEM attitudes. However, it was observed that it did not have a significant effect in terms of gender. Keywords: Academic Achievement, Attitude Mathematics, STEM