A New Application in Biology Education: Development and Implementation of Arduino-Supported STEM Activities

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 6; p. 506
• Main Authors: Görgülü Arı, Aslı, Meço, Gülsüm
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.06.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: 21st century skills/thinking skills; Arduino; Classrooms; computational thinking; critical thinking; data collection; Design; education; Educational technology; empirical research; humans; Knowledge; Learning; Mathematics education; occupations; Science education; Sensors; STEM; STEM education; Students; Teachers; Teaching methods; Technology education; computational thinking; critical thinking; 21st century skills/thinking skills; Arduino; STEM
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology10060506

Considering that generations that have grown up in the 21st-century have grown alongside technology, it is thought that integrating technology into lessons helps students learn the subject. This study aims to develop five STEM activities for the lesson of the human body systems by integrating the coding-based Arduino into STEM education. The activities were implemented to 6th-grade students for seven weeks and the effects on students’ skills of establishing a cause-effect relationship. The study method was pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design, and the cause-effect relationship scale and semi-structured view form were used as data collection tools. As a result of the study, a significant difference was found between the Arduino-supported STEM activities developed and the students’ skills of establishing a cause-effect relationship. The students who received the Arduino-supported STEM education found the course to be entertaining and educational, and the future goals of these students were affected. In order to bring individuals who love their profession into the future, Arduino-supported STEM education should be applied and expanded in other branches and class levels.