Development of STEAM activity “Eco-Friendly Straw” based science learning kit to examine students’ basic science process skills

Abstract

To response the calls of reducing single-use plastic consumption, scientists are increasingly interested in exploring alternatives to plastic for making drinking straws. Many commercial eco-friendly drinking straws are made using several raw materials namely paper, wheat, or rice. These involve complex machinery process and advanced technology that are too complicate for students to learn applying skills and knowledge in implementation. One of alternatives is the straw from nature innovation of Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University (SNRU). It uses flours as raw materials and relies on basic science knowledge of polymer. The innovation has been simplified as an affordable science learning kit for students learning science through making edible drinking straws without using machine and chemical contained. This study developed a STEAM activity “Eco-Friendly Straw” based the science learning kit to examine students’ basic science process skills (BSPS). The STEAM activity consisted of four sections corresponding to six-procedure engineering design process (EDP). The samples were 120 students from secondary school and high school levels with 60 people per level. The students’ group worksheets and produced drinking straws were analyzed and revealed that BSPS performance of the high school students was higher. The art discipline of the STEAM activity was found fostering learning engagement of the students whose BSPS scores were low. The change of pre-test to post-test on polymer of both student levels was found a significant difference. The satisfaction of the secondary school students was higher. Guidance for teachers interested applying this STEAM activity to their classrooms is provided.