Search

In this study, we examined STEAM education's reflections and implicit functions on children according to the views of early childhood and primary school teachers who applied STEAM education. We conducted the study within the scope of phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs. The participants were ten teachers who had previously received STEAM education and applied STEAM education in their classroom and were determined by the snowball sampling method. We collected the data with semi-structured interviews and analyzed them with content analysis. We explained our findings with three themes: 1) opportunities for collaborative learning with peers, 2) values, and 3) opportunities for skill development. According to the results, STEAM education encouraged children to make friends, work together, have fun, develop positive commitment, and take responsibility. STEAM education enabled children to cooperate, share, take responsibility, and develop friendships among children. In addition, STEAM education contributed to many skills of children, such as empathy, problem-solving, scientific process, analytical thinking, aggressiveness, self-control, and critical thinking. In this respect, the study provides evidence for the illusions of STEAM education for children.

The study aims at examining the effects of Engineering Design Process Based STEAM activities applied with tales on the creativity and problem-solving skills of 6-6.5 year-old students. The research was carried out with a pre-test, post-test, and quasi-experimental design with the control group. The research participants consisted of students studying in a public school located in the Gaziosmanpasa District of Istanbul Province. The research was carried out with the participation of 68 students. The research data were obtained through early childhood creativity scale (ECCS) and problem-solving skills scale (PSSS). The data were analyzed by t-test and pearson correlation analysis for dependent and independent samples. According to the results obtained in the research, the Engineering Design Process Based STEAM (EDP-STEAM) activities applied with tales improved the students' creativity and problem-solving skills. The findings point to the positive effects of EDP-based STEAM education conducted with tales on students' problem solving and creativity skills. In this aspect, the study provides recommendations for future research and educators.

Background: In the study conducted with primary school students, the differences between STEM and STEAM activities and environmental awareness and environmental aesthetics were examined. Purpose: This study aims to examine the effects of traditional methods, STEM, and STEAM-based activities on primary school fourth-grade students' environmental awareness. Besides, the extent to which an aesthetic view predicts environmental awareness was also examined. Sample: In the study, practices were carried out on six fourth grade classes located in the state primary schools in Basaksehir district of Istanbul province, which were selected using the random cluster sampling method. Design and methods: In the study, a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group was used. At the end of the applications, the Environmental Awareness Scale and the Aesthetic View Scale developed by the researchers were applied to the students. As a result of the research, it has been observed that STEM and STEAM-based applications are effective in gaining both environmental awareness and aesthetic perspective, but the traditional method is effective in gaining environmental awareness, but not in gaining an aesthetic view. Results: According to ANOVA results to determine which application is more effective in gaining environmental awareness and aesthetic perspective, STEM applications are more effective than traditional applications, and STEAM applications are more effective than both traditional and STEM applications. In the regression analysis, it was seen that the aesthetic view explained 22% of the variation in environmental awareness. Conclusions: According to the results of the study, conveying only environmental knowledge to the students in environmental education may be insufficient to reach the intended goal. To raise environmentally sensitive students, it can be said that in environmental education, attention should be paid to gaining affective behaviours and giving students an aesthetic view and cognitive behaviour.

The present study reports an Arduino-based STEM education material that resolves the kinematics of a moving object, specifically focusing on two dimensional motion of the object. Throughout the work, a sample application that can be prepared in a classroom where students are active and including the acquisitions of Technology, Engineering, Physics and Mathematics in a single educational environment. In the study, instantaneous time dependence of the displacements, namely "x(t)" and "y(t)" components and the resultant "R(t)" component, are experimentally measured on a vehicle by using an Arduino UNO, distance sensors and Bluetooth sensor prepared within the scope of a STEM education approach. The ratios between those measured physical quantities and theoretical estimations are found to be %13.1 for the position, %1.4 for the velocity and %7.8 for the acceleration. The error rate of the data was accepted to be reasonable considering highly economical teaching materials.

This study reports an Arduino based STEM education material that resolves large angle pendulum, alternatively anharmonic oscillator, both experimentally and theoretically, particularly focuses on the time dependence of the instantaneous displacement angles. Instantaneous time dependence of the angles is experimentally measured by using Arduino Nano microprocessor connected to a gyro sensor and a bluetooth transmitter/receiver structured as a STEM education material. Theoretical resolution of the large angle pendulum is also accomplished by considering the approximate solution taking into account the relevant frictional effects. The theoretical and experimental resolutions are managed for the initial angles of θ 0 = 1.40 rad and θ 0 = 2.61 rad , specifically focusing on the angular frequencies, frictional effects and anharmonicity of the motion. The relative errors concerning the angular frequency are found to be % 15.2 and % 6.5 for θ 0 = 2.61 rad and θ 0 = 1.40 rad , respectively. The exponential decrease due to the frictional effects are in perfect agreement with each other and providing a friction coefficient of γ = 0.015 kg m s − 1 for both experimental and theoretical results. The anharmonicity of the pendulum is also illustrated by comparing the experimental plots and relevant theoretical plots for the small angle approximations. This work offers a prototype teaching material which can create an education environment where students can feel dynamic and encompass the acquisitions of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education for Life / Yaşadıkça Eğitim Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Kultur Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Twenty first century expertise often requires high-level and cross-disciplinary skills that ought to be a part of todays' educational activities. Therefore, educational undertakings should be designed in such a way that students can gain the desired expertise and skills. The present work offers an Arduino-based STEM education material, specifically designed to teach the work–energy theorem. The designed physical system is experimentally resolved by directly measuring position-time trajectories which lead to instant velocities. Measured instant position values are employed to determine the amount of work and corresponding velocity values are used to determine the instant kinetic energies of the system. Experimental data, on average, lead to a ratio of 0.959 which is reasonable concerning the range of experimental error limits therefore smartly validating the work–energy theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work offers an experimental technique specially designed and employed to comprehend and teach the Newton's second law and to overcome certain instructional difficulties. The apparatus is mainly comprised of two specifically designed toy cars, two force sensors, one distance sensor, a pulley, two pieces of gut, an Arduino microprocessor and an ordinary computer. Newton's second law is experimentally validated by measuring, using the Arduino system, the accelerations from the distance–time graphs and by directly measuring the tension forces. The experimental results are also compared with theoretical calculations, indicating a reasonably good agreement. The designed apparatus can be employed as a Science Technology Engineering Mathematics teaching material within physics laboratories, to achieve enhanced understanding of Newton's second law and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]