Integrating Outdoor STEM Activities Into an Elective Course to Promote Students’ STEM Literacy

Abstract

Outdoor STEM is an instructional approach that connects the teaching of STEM subjects to the natural environmental context. This study aims to enhance students' STEM literacy through outdoor STEM activities within the elective course, and to evaluate students’ satisfaction with Outdoor STEM. This research employs a quasi-experimental design involving 29 Thai eighth-grade students enrolled in a secondary school. The primary instruments utilized in this study are the STEM literacy test, which consists of seven open-ended questions, and ‘The Student Satisfaction Survey Form,’ which uses a 13-item Likert scale. The findings indicate that the mean post-study score for STEM literacy (M = 14.62, SD = 3.40) significantly exceeds the pre-study score (M = 8.59, SD = 3.42). Furthermore, students exhibited growth in STEM literacy across all six components and expressed a high level of overall satisfaction with their learning experience. Consequently, it is recommended that outdoor STEM activities be integrated into the school curriculum as elective courses, as they effectively promote the development of STEM literacy and foster student interest in learning STEM subjects.