The STEM Education Instructional Method for Developing Creative Thinking Abilities and Attitudes toward Science of Secondary Students

Abstract

The aims of this research study were to analyze of the processing performances and the performance results (E₁/E₂) efficiency at the determining criteria as 75/75, to compare students’ learning achievements of their pretest and posttest assessments, to assess students’ responses of their creative thinking abilities, to assess students’ perceptions of their science related attitudes, to associated between students’ post learning achievements and their creative thinking abilities with the STEME,  and to associate between students’ post learning achievements and their science related attitudes. The target group consisted of 72 secondary students in two physics classes from Borabu Wittayakhan School in the academic year of 2/2016. Using the instructional innovative lesson plans of the STEME on Eclectic and Magnetics Issue in 14 hours was administered, the 30-item Learning Achievement Test (LAT), the 24-item Creative Thinking Ability Assessment (CTAA); and the 8-item Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) were assessed. The results of these research findings have found that: Students were evaluated to determine performance criteria with the efficiency of the processing performance and the performance results (E₁/E₂) of 80.32/75.77 for the STEME innovation lesson plans, which was higher than standardized criteria of 75/75. Students’ learning achievements of their pretest were differentiated evidence at the 0.001 level, significantly. Students’ responses of their critical thinking abilities for the CTAA in fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration abilities, respectively, as a whole indicated at the high level, and the α-reliability = 0.87. Students’ perceptions of their attitudes toward science with the TOSRA indicated that α – reliability = 0.78, all on their average scores ranged from 3.31 to 3.90, as a whole indicated that a high level for their perceptions. Associations between students’ learning achievements of their post-test assessment indicated that 59% of the coefficient predictive value (R²) of the variance in students’ creative thinking abilities was attributable to their perceptions for the CTAA and the relationship between students' statistical achievements at the .001 level.