Examination of the Opinions of Middle School Students on STEM Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the opinions of the students on STEM practices used in teaching science course. 56 students studying in 7th grade formed the study group. This study, which is conducted as case study design, was completed in 8 weeks (4 hours per week) in fall semester of 2015-2016 academic year. The study was conducted through the focus group discussions from the qualitative research methods. In the context of the study, the data were collected through a semi-structured interview form generated by the researcher. The data were put through the content analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the STEM practices contributed to meaningful learning of the students and improved the 21st century skills. In accordance with the results, some recommendations were made on STEM practices.

Keywords

• STEM Practices,Student Opinions,Sciences

Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin STEM Uygulamalarına Yönelik Görüşlerinin İncelenmesi

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, fen bilimleri dersinin öğretilmesinde kullanılan STEM uygulamalarına yönelik öğrenci görüşlerini tespit etmektir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, 7. sınıflarda öğrenim görmekte olan 56 öğrenci oluşturmuştur. Durum çalışma deseni olarak yürütülen bu çalışma 2015-2016 eğitim-öğretim yılı güz döneminde 8 haftada (haftada 4 saat) tamamlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında veriler araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler, içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Analizler sonucunda, STEM uygulamalarının öğrencilerin anlamlı öğrenmelerine katkı sağladığı ve 21. yüzyıl becerilerini geliştirdiği anlaşılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda STEM uygulamaları üzerine önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fen Bilimleri,STEM Uygulamaları,Öğrenci Görüşleri

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