For SW-STEAM Education to continue to affect learners positively in the educational field, various aspects and variables that influence the classroom environment should be analyzed. There has been an increase of research attempts that have analyzed le...
For SW-STEAM Education to continue to affect learners positively in the educational field, various aspects and variables that influence the classroom environment should be analyzed. There has been an increase of research attempts that have analyzed learning effects through the development and application of specific programs on SW-STEAM Education in an effort to advance learners’ learning effects by designing classes by integrating SW-STEAM Education and other subjects (Chae Jung-Hwa, 2011; Choi Soo-Hee, 2015; Kim Myung-In, 2018; Lee Sung-Hee, 2019; Lee Yu-Ra, 2020). However, it is difficult to generalize the results due to differences in the educational contexts studied by each research. Moreover, the analysis of the research trends on SW-STEAM Education may be considered valid as preceding research, yet it is hard to state that it synthesizes the research results (Bae Yoon-Hee, 2019). On the other hand, meta-analysis presents the effect size of a research through statistical synthesis, thereby enabling researchers to deduce a comprehensive conclusion through the estimated value of the effect size drawn from individual research results (Leary & Walker, 2018).
With the restructuring of the contents related to SW-Education in the 2015 revised school curriculum, more researches aim to cultivate creative and STEAM talent through education that blends other studies with software training (Ministry of Education, 2015). Thus, the purpose of this study is to present, at this point, a guideline for the future educational scene that designs and practices the teaching of SW-STEAM Education by implementing a meta-analysis that synthesizes research on Korea’s SW-STEAM Education conducted from 2015 to April, 2020. The study further proposes ways for successful application and effective introduction as well as the future direction of SW-STEAM Education.
The reasons as to why a meta-analysis on the learning effect of SW-STEAM Education is necessary are as follows: First, since researches have arrived at conflicting conclusions on the effectiveness of SW-STEAM Education, a comprehensive and valid conclusion needs to be deduced. Even though researches have designed lessons on the identical school subjects by applying the identical software tools, they have arrived at conflicting conclusions, calling for grounds to be proposed regarding this matter. Second, a systematic and comprehensive understanding is needed. There is a problem of inefficiency by the increase in the number of researches that analyze the same subject matter in a similar way and the limitations in looking into the actual size of influence make it difficult to analyze SW-STEAM Education from different theoretical frames and perspectives. Therefore, it is necessary to inquire a comprehensive conclusion on how much effect SW-STEAM Education, compared to the traditional instructor-led training, has on learners’ cognitive and affective learning domains. Third, it is possible to analyze the areas that can affect effectiveness of SW-STEAM Education: the influence of moderator variables. By calculating the effect size caused by moderator variables and reflecting it to the conclusion, future researchers can apply more effective educational programs for learners.
Thus, this study aims to statistically synthesize the learning effect and related research of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners in Korea and examine the effectiveness of SW-STEAM Education caused by moderator variables. The specific research questions are as follows:
1. What is the overall effect size of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners that affects in Korea on learning?
2. What is the mean effect size and the mean effect size per component of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners on the effect of learning in Korea on each learning domain (cognitive domain, affective domain)?
3. Is there a difference in the mean effect size of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners in Korea caused by moderator variables?
3-1. What is the mean effect size caused by the general characteristics of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners in Korea?
3-2. What is the mean effect size caused by the design factors of SW-STEAM Education for elementary school learners in Korea?
After classifying the pretest-posttest control group designs and single-subject designs among the last five year’s domestic research, the study targeted, for the research of the control group designs, 29 dissertations and academic journals that meet the criteria for the study. A total of 60 effect sizes were produced and results were deduced through the utilization of the R Program.
Research results and discussions regarding the research questions are as follows:
First, the total effect size of SW-STEAM Education was a medium effect of .35. This result is higher than the learning effect of the conventional lecture method and indicates that the total effect size of SW-STEAM Education is significant. Accordingly, it can be inferred that SW-STEAM Education is yielding educational gains in the field.
Second, the effect size of SW-STEAM Education revealed statistically significant effect on the cognitive and affective domains. The affective domain (0.39) and the cognitive domain (0.33) showed medium effect sizes; within the cognitive domain, creativity(.58), logical reasoning(.34), computing thinking(.30), creative problem solving skills(.30), integrated thinking (0.26). academic achievement (0.15), concept of subject (.09) showed effect sizes in decreasing order of magnitude. Within the affective domain, SW-self-efficacy(.82), creative disposition(.47), interest in learning (0.37), collaboration skills(.34), academic motivation(.34), inquiry skill (0.11) showed effect sizes in decreasing order of magnitude. Therefore, an active enforcement is needed on SW-STEAM Education class design in order to enhance the effects in learners’ cognitive, affective domains.
Third, there were variables that provided a significant explanation for the differences in SW-STEAM Education’s effect sizes. Among SW-STEAM Education’s general factors, type of publication, year of publication, school year, type of education, and main subject of each curriculum were moderator variables. As for SW-STEAM Education’s design factors, class hour and the software tool adopted were the moderator variable that explained the difference in the effect sizes between researches.
Based on these results, it can be concluded that SW-STEAM Education has a positive effect on learning. However, there were difficulties in presenting an in-depth discussion due to the insufficient of the previous research of meta-analysis on the effectiveness of SW-STEAM Education. Furthermore, the exclusion of education course of kindergarten, middle school, high school, university and adult education from the subject of the study limits generalization of the result. Moreover, due to the characteristics of the conventional method of meta-analysis, there were limitations on calculating the effect sizes while simultaneously considering various variables that could affect learning effectiveness (Cho, 2018). Lastly, the spectrum of analyzed study is limited to domestic research only.