Promoting Sustainability in University Classrooms Using a STEM Project with Mathematical Modeling

Heejoo Suh and Sunyoung Han
Additional contact information
Heejoo Suh: Department of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 03063, Korea
Sunyoung Han: Department of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 03063, Korea

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore how a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project with mathematical modeling influenced student competencies regarding sustainability in a university classroom. We used mixed methods with a convergent parallel design. Forty-two students participated in a STEM project during six consecutive sessions of an algebra class. Before and after the STEM project, the students completed surveys about their perceptions of the mathematical modeling approach. Semi-structured interviews and daily reflection sheets from 10 volunteers were used in qualitative analyses. According to the results of the quantitative analysis, after the completion of the STEM project students perceived that mathematical modeling is a useful tool for recognizing problem situations in the present, for predicting future societal changes, and identifying possible solutions to balance the needs of present and future generations. Our qualitative examination revealed that students’ modeling processes did not necessarily follow processes suggested by prior studies. In fact, students perceived more opportunities to practice modeling processes than we predicted. In addition, students indicated that their increased awareness of STEM projects provided opportunities to practice an interdisciplinary approach and to consider current and future real-world situations. We discuss the implications of our results for teaching sustainability using STEM projects and offer suggestions for future research.

Keywords: sustainable development; STEM education; higher education; teacher education; mixed methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3080/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3080/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3080-:d:235956

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().