Teaching gravitational waves in the lower secondary school. Part III. Monitoring the effect of a STEM intervention on students' attitude, self-efficacy and achievement

摘要

This paper evaluates the extent to which a gravitational waves based STEM enrichment club impacted upon students' enjoyment of physics and engendered a positive change in their perception of scientists. It also explores the short-term impact upon their academic performance relative to that of their peers. Mixed methods of data collection included a pre/post participation questionnaire and tracking of the students' scores in science exams. The pre/ post questionnaire results indicated a statistically significant improvement in the students' attitude towards science with a small effect size. Similarly, there was a statistically significant improvement in their performance in science curriculum tests relative to that of their peers, despite the questions being unrelated to the theoretical content within their projects. The majority of students reported being encouraged by the project to either start considering or to continue considering a STEM career.