The Preliminary Study of an Integrated STEM Education with Design Thinking Module for Preschoolers

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-060-2_47How to use a DOI?

Keywords

STEM education; integrated STEM; design thinking; problem-based learning; preschool; preschoolers; teaching and learning module; science process skills; engineering practices

Abstract

There has been a growing emphasis by educators, academicians, and policy makers on the importance of foundational scientific literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills. Many studies have shown positive learning outcomes when STEM education was implemented in the preschool context. The preschoolers have demonstrated the capabilities in performing higher order thinking skills and engineering practices. However, most preschool teachers lack skills and competencies to plan and facilitate integrated STEM learning. In order to help these teachers, an integrated STEM with Design Thinking (iSTEM-DT) module was developed to develop the preschoolers’ science process skills and engineering practices. This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the research procedures, the usability of the iSTEM-DT module and identify modifications needed prior to module implementation. A preschool teacher, six preschoolers and two parents from a private preschool were selected based on purposive sampling, and informed consent was obtained from the participants. This preliminary study was conducted over two different Saturdays, lasting about 5 h each. Classroom observation was carried out, with video recordings, photos and field notes captured. Interviews with the preschoolers were conducted. Data collection tools, namely the ECE STEM Classroom Observation Protocol (COP), guides for interview with teachers and parents, were tested. This study managed to identify instructional tasks that are not practical to implement in the classrooms, and more effective use of the tools to collect rich and useful data. It ascertained aspects that could be improved to develop the preschoolers’ science process skills and engineering practices through the iSTEM-DT module.

Copyright

© 2023 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Teh Eng Ho
AU  - Vincent Pang
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/05/29
TI  - The Preliminary Study of an Integrated STEM Education with Design Thinking Module for Preschoolers
BT  - Proceedings of the  4th International Conference on Progressive Education 2022 (ICOPE 2022)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 503
EP  - 515
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-060-2_47
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-060-2_47
ID  - Ho2023
ER  -