The Effects of Learning Management Based on STEM Education Approach in the Topic of Force and Motion on Learning Achievement and Scientific Creative Thinking of Vocational Certificate Students at Wang Klai Kangwon Industrial and Community Education College in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

          The objectives of this research were to (1) compare the learning achievement in the topic of Force and Motion of vocational certificate students who learned by using STEM education approach with that of students who learned under the traditional learning management; (2) compare scientific creative thinking of the students who learned by using STEM education approach with that of students who learned under the traditional learning management; and (3) compare the pre-learning scientific creative thinking of the students who learned by STEM education with their post-learning counterpart thinking. The research samples consisted of 72 vocational certificate students of Wang Klai Kangwon Industrial and Community Education College in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in two heterogeneous intact classrooms obtained by cluster random sampling. Then, one class was randomly assigned as the experimental group; while the other class, the control group. The instruments used in this research were (1) learning management plans for learning by using STEM education approach in the topic of Force and Motion and learning management plans for the traditional learning management; (2) the science learning achievement test in the topic of Force and Motion; and (3) scientific creative thinking scale. Statistics employed for data analysis were the mean, standard deviation, and t-test. The research findings revealed that (1) the learning achievement in the topic of Force and Motion of the students who learned by using STEM education approach and the counterpart learning achievement of the students who learned under the traditional learning management showed no difference because both types of learning management aimed to provide students with knowledge of the same content;
(2) scientific creative thinking level of the students who learned by using STEM education approach was significantly higher than the counterpart thinking level of the students who learned under the traditional learning management at the .05 level of statistical significance; and; (3) the post- learning scientific creative thinking level of the students who learned by using STEM education approach was significantly higher than their pre-learning counterpart level at the .05 level of statistical significance.