EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM APPROACH ON ENHANCING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

Developing critical thinking is a fundamental goal of effective education, which aims to cultivate informed citizens and a skilled workforce, ultimately contributing to a wiser nation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) approach in enhancing critical thinking skills among elementary school students. Utilizing an adapted Watson-Glaser critical thinking skills appraisal, this research examines a representative sample of eighth-grade public sector school students, acquired through simple random sampling. A 2x2 factorial experimental design, grounded in the Solomon Four-Group approach, was employed to rigorously evaluate the intervention, involving 184 students divided into control and experimental groups through random assignment. The experimental groups received STEM-based instruction, while the control groups continued with traditional teaching methods. Standardized critical thinking assessments were administered as pretests, posttests, and retention posttests. Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvements in critical thinking skills among students in the experimental groups. From the pretest (M = 45.32, SD = 4.15) to the posttest (M = 63.47, SD = 5.03), experimental groups exhibited marked increases in the critical thinking scores, and these gains were sustained in the retention posttest (M = 61.89, SD = 4.72). In contrast, there were hardly any changes in the control groups, with the pretest (M = 4.87, SD = 4.23) and posttest (M = 46.12, SD = 4.33). When compared to traditional approaches, the STEM approach, as evidence by the highly significant interaction effect F(1, 180) = 36.53, P <0.05) with the effect size (Cohen’s d – 1.52). Independent analysis of the main effects of the pretest and treatment was F(1, 180) = 40.28, P <0.05) and F(1, 180) = 576.21, P <0.05) respectively.