STEM Education for Disadvantaged Students: Teacher and Student Experiences

STEM education is based on interrelated and holistic teaching of the disciplines of science,technology, engineering and mathematics. It is important to ensure that STEM education doesnot address a certain category of society only but that it is also applied to disadvantagedsegments of society. The aim of the present study is to identify the opinions of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and their teachers about STEM education experience. Thestudy was planned according to the case study model. The participants of the research consistedof a teacher and 34 Grade-8 students studying in a regional boarding school (RBS) in a northernprovince of Turkey. In the study, a unit (Living Beings and Life) within the scope of 8th gradescience course was planned in accordance with STEM education. The data of the study werecollected through student diaries and the field notes taken by the teacher. The data obtainedfrom student diaries were subjected to content analysis, and the field notes were analysed withdescriptive analysis. It was determined that the RBS students evaluated STEM-focusedactivities and the related applications in terms of their contributions to their learning process,21st-century skills, their perceptions about STEM disciplines and the development of theircareer awareness on STEM fields. The results obtained from the teachers’ field notes showedthat the students’ participation and group work skills increased, that the students had fun andbecame motivated in the course, and that they experienced an improvement in their skills ofassociating what they learned with their daily life, solving problems and designing and in theirengineering awareness.

Dezavantajlı Öğrenciler için STEM Eğitimi: Öğretmen ve Öğrenci Deneyimleri

STEM Eğitimi, fen, teknoloji, mühendislik ve matematik disiplinlerinin birbiri ile ilişkili ve bütüncül öğretimini esas almaktadır. STEM eğitiminin toplumun yalnızca belirli bir kesimine hitap etmesinden kaçınılması ve toplumun dezavantajlı kesimlerine de uygulanması önem arz etmektedir. Araştırmanın amacı sosyo-ekonomik olarak dezavantajlı öğrencilerin ve öğretmenlerinin STEM eğitimi deneyimine yönelik görüşlerini ortaya koymaktır. Araştırma durum çalışması modelinde planlanmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu Türkiye’nin kuzeyinde bir ilde yatılı bölge okulunda öğrenim görmekte olan 34 sekizinci sınıf öğrencisi ve bir fen bilimleri öğretmeni oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada 8. sınıfı fen bilimleri dersi kapsamında bir ünite (Canlılar ve Hayat) STEM eğitimine uygun olarak planlanmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri öğrencilerin günlükleri ve uygulayıcı tarafından tutulan alan notları ile toplanmıştır. Öğrencilerin günlüklerinden elde edilen verilerin analizi içerik analizi ile, alan notları ise betimsel analiz ile çözümlenmiştir. Yatılı bölge okulu öğrencileri STEM odaklı etkinlikler ile yürütülen uygulamaları; öğrenme sürecine, 21. Yüzyıl becerilerine, STEM disiplinlerine yönelik algılarına ve STEM alanlarında kariyer farkındalığına olumlu etkisi olduğu şeklinde değerlendirmişlerdir. Uygulayıcı ise, uygulamaların öğrencilerin derse katılımını ve grup çalışması becerisinin arttığını, öğrencilerin derste eğlendiklerini ve motive olduklarını, günlük yaşam ile öğrendiklerini ilişkilendirme, problem çözme ve tasarım becerilerinin gelişimini sağladığı ve mühendisliğe yönelik farkındalıklarının gelişim gösterdiği şeklinde değerlendirmiştir.

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