A meta-analysis of STEM project-based learning on creativity

Hyunkyung Kwon; Yujin Lee; Hyunkyung Kwon; Yujin Lee

doi:10.3934/steme.2025014

STEM Education

2025, Volume 5, Issue 2: 275-290. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025014

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Research article

A meta-analysis of STEM project-based learning on creativity

Hyunkyung Kwon ¹,
Yujin Lee ^{2
,
,}

1.
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University; jesskwon0429@gmail.com
2.
Department of Mathematics Education, Kangwon National University; ylee@kangwon.ac.kr

Academic Editor: Muhammad Younas

Received: 27 August 2024 Revised: 10 January 2025 Accepted: 26 February 2025 Published: 13 March 2025

Creativity has emerged as a cornerstone of education, highlighting its growing significance in leading students to navigate a complex and rapidly evolving world. Creativity not only enhances critical thinking and conceptual understanding but also contributes to academic achievement. Many mathematics educators have actively sought effective instructional methods to cultivate students' creativity, with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning (STEM PBL) emerging as one such method. The current study investigated the impact of STEM PBL on students' creativity. In total, eight studies comprising 13 effect sizes were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed a substantial overall effect size of 3.888 (95% confidence interval (CI) = [3.609, 4.166]), indicating a statistically significant influence of STEM PBL on students' creativity. Regarding heterogeneity, Cochran's Q statistic was calculated as 34.691 (degrees of freedom (df) = 12, p < 0.001), and the I² statistic indicated 65% variability across the studies. The results demonstrate that the implementation of STEM PBL positively influences students' creativity. These findings offer valuable insights for educators, policymakers, or researchers regarding the impact of STEM PBL on fostering creativity.
- meta-analysis,
- science,
- technology,
- engineering,
- and mathematics (STEM),
- STEM project-based learning (PBL),
- creativity,
- mathematics education
Citation: Hyunkyung Kwon, Yujin Lee. A meta-analysis of STEM project-based learning on creativity[J]. STEM Education, 2025, 5(2): 275-290. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025014

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Abstract

Creativity has emerged as a cornerstone of education, highlighting its growing significance in leading students to navigate a complex and rapidly evolving world. Creativity not only enhances critical thinking and conceptual understanding but also contributes to academic achievement. Many mathematics educators have actively sought effective instructional methods to cultivate students' creativity, with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning (STEM PBL) emerging as one such method. The current study investigated the impact of STEM PBL on students' creativity. In total, eight studies comprising 13 effect sizes were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed a substantial overall effect size of 3.888 (95% confidence interval (CI) = [3.609, 4.166]), indicating a statistically significant influence of STEM PBL on students' creativity. Regarding heterogeneity, Cochran's Q statistic was calculated as 34.691 (degrees of freedom (df) = 12, p < 0.001), and the I² statistic indicated 65% variability across the studies. The results demonstrate that the implementation of STEM PBL positively influences students' creativity. These findings offer valuable insights for educators, policymakers, or researchers regarding the impact of STEM PBL on fostering creativity.

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Author's biography Dr. Hyunkyung Kwon earned a degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M University, and her research focuses on reform-based instruction and problem solving in mathematics, as well as on creativity and affect in STEM education; Dr. Yujin Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics Education at Kangwon National University in South Korea. She holds a degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and her research interests include mathematics education and STE(A)M education—with a particular emphasis on affective engagement, creativity, and STEM identity

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