Abstract:

The purpose of the research is to determine the views of the teachers of science in terms of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) activities, the interests of students in the field of science and the thinking skills. The research work group consists of 22 teachers of science, graduated from different educational faculty, who work in public schools and private schools in different provinces of Turkey during the 2018-2019 year period. Teachers are selected by sample method. The reason that science teachers are selected as a working group in research is that STEM practices are frequently applied by science teachers. In the study, the qualitative research was applied in order to determine the opinions of the teachers of science, the semi-configured interview (interview/interview) technique was used as a method of data collection. In the interview, two open-end questions were addressed, which were prepared by receiving expert opinion to the participants, and the voice was recorded during the interview. The audio recordings are analyzed and tables are created, categories are determined in the tables, and teachers’ opinions are expressed with codes. According to the findings obtained, the view of the teachers of science that STEM develops their interests in the field of science and their thinking skills in a positive direction has come to the forefront. Scientific teachers have expressed their view that STEM activities will develop students' thinking skills in creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, communication skills, and self-management skills. The teachers also pointed out that through STEM, students learn to use their existing knowledge in new situations, and their motivation increases and their creativity is also improved. The results of the study have been evaluated and discussed in literature.

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