The Effect of Context-Based STEM Activities on Secondary School Students' Scientific Literacy and STEM Motivation

The importance of this research is to determine the effect of integrating the REACT strategy, which is a practice of the context-based learning method, with STEM education on students' scientific literacy and STEM motivation. The research was conducted with 82 seventh-grade students. A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group was used. The study group of the research consists of three seventh-grade classrooms selected by simple random sampling method. Scientific literacy scale and STEM motivation scale were used as data collection tools in the research. Before the implementation, these scales were administered to all three groups as a pre-test. Then, context-based REACT strategy-supported STEM activities were administered to the experimental-I group, context-based REACT strategy-supported activities to the experimental-II group, and science practicing teaching program to the control group. After practicing, the scales were applied to the groups as a post-test. ANCOVA test was used in the analysis of the data. According to the data obtained from the research, it has been found that the experimental-I group, in which context-based STEM activities were implemented, showed a higher level of positive impact on scientific literacy and STEM motivation compared to the control groups, which received context-based learning activities in experiment-II and science practice curriculum.