The Development and Application of STEAM Education Program based on Systems Thinking for High School Students

Abstract

In the 21st century, in a Knowledge-Based Information Society, systems thinking is a very important human resources skill in science and technology, which is required in STEAM education in order to understand and solve complex problems. The purposes of this study are: (1) to develop a STEAM education program based on systems thinking; (2) to investigate the effects of the program on students' systems thinking. The systems thinking-based STEAM education program was developed on the basis of 'ADBAS' model (Park & Lee, 2013), and focused on the theme of watermill. A total of 60 high school students participated in this study. The results of this study showed that quantitatively as well as qualitatively, systems thinking skills improved after the treatment. In conclusion, the program we developed in this study can contribute in improving high school students' systems thinking skills and creative problem-solving abilities. The findings of this study may provide useful insights into cultivating human resources with systems thinking skills and creative problem-solving abilities.