The Effect of STEAM Learning on Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Students

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-489-1_73How to use a DOI?

Keywords

STEAM; Critical; Thinking; Elementary; School

Abstract

Critical thinking ability is an important skill that elementary school students must have to face the challenges of the 21st century. However, many students still have low critical thinking skills. STEAM-based learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is expected to improve this ability through a project-based approach that integrates various disciplines. This study aims to examine the effect of STEAM learning on critical thinking skills of elementary school students. This study used a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group design, involving 200 students who were divided into two groups: 100 experimental group students who followed STEAM learning and 100 control group students who followed conventional learning. The instrument used was a self-developed critical thinking skills test, validated by experts, and declared valid. The results showed that the experimental group experienced a significant improvement in critical thinking skills compared to the control group, with the average posttest score of the experimental group (82.90) higher than the control group (61.20). The discussion shows that STEAM learning is effective because it integrates five disciplines and provides project-based experiences that encourage students to think critically, creatively and analytically. The implication of this study is that STEAM can be widely applied in elementary schools to improve students’ critical thinking ability and support the development of 21st century skills in the context of Merdeka Curriculum.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Melva Zainil
AU  - Ary Kiswanto Kenedi
AU  - Asna Mardin
AU  - Refiona Andika
AU  - Zuryanty Zuryanty
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/24
TI  - The Effect of STEAM Learning on Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Students
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Educational Science and Teacher Education (ICESTE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 920
EP  - 929
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-489-1_73
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-489-1_73
ID  - Zainil2025
ER  -