Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices
Abstract Background Given that limited well-developed instruments are available to assess students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices (T-STEMP), this study aims to develop and validate an instrument for examining secondary students’ T-STEMP competence. According to the T-STEMP assessment framework pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2025-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of STEM Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00529-3 |
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| author | Kai-Lin Yang Su-Chi Fang Szu-Chun Fan |
| author_facet | Kai-Lin Yang Su-Chi Fang Szu-Chun Fan |
| author_sort | Kai-Lin Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Given that limited well-developed instruments are available to assess students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices (T-STEMP), this study aims to develop and validate an instrument for examining secondary students’ T-STEMP competence. According to the T-STEMP assessment framework proposed in our previous study, we developed items and validated the items using Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) and item response theory (IRT). Results First, the structure of T-STEMP has been justified, that the four design phases are related to a common third-order factor: knowledge-based reasoning and each design phase is composed of three key design challenges. The goodness of fit indices indicated that a two-parameter logistic (2PL) graded response model could fit the data well. The discrimination parameters indicated that most of the items for different grades performed well in distinguishing between students with various ability levels. The Cronbach’s alpha also indicated that the instrument had good reliability in terms of internal consistency. Conclusions The model of one third-order factor with four second-order factors and 12 first-order factors was justified as the fitted model representing the structure of the T-STEMP instrument. It means that the four design phases are related to knowledge-based reasoning and each design phase is composed of three key design challenges. The IRT findings show that Taiwanese students may have basic T-STEMP competence, but the breadth and depth of their responses to the key design challenges need to be advanced. Implications for further studies and suggestions for STEM teaching are also provided. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-35c4394e64ab4dcc97b082563041fd84 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2196-7822 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of STEM Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-35c4394e64ab4dcc97b082563041fd842025-02-02T12:41:27ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of STEM Education2196-78222025-02-0112111610.1186/s40594-025-00529-3Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practicesKai-Lin Yang0Su-Chi Fang1Szu-Chun Fan2Department of Mathematics, National Taiwan Normal UniversityGraduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal UniversityDepartment of Industrial Technology Education, National Kaohsiung Normal UniversityAbstract Background Given that limited well-developed instruments are available to assess students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices (T-STEMP), this study aims to develop and validate an instrument for examining secondary students’ T-STEMP competence. According to the T-STEMP assessment framework proposed in our previous study, we developed items and validated the items using Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) and item response theory (IRT). Results First, the structure of T-STEMP has been justified, that the four design phases are related to a common third-order factor: knowledge-based reasoning and each design phase is composed of three key design challenges. The goodness of fit indices indicated that a two-parameter logistic (2PL) graded response model could fit the data well. The discrimination parameters indicated that most of the items for different grades performed well in distinguishing between students with various ability levels. The Cronbach’s alpha also indicated that the instrument had good reliability in terms of internal consistency. Conclusions The model of one third-order factor with four second-order factors and 12 first-order factors was justified as the fitted model representing the structure of the T-STEMP instrument. It means that the four design phases are related to knowledge-based reasoning and each design phase is composed of three key design challenges. The IRT findings show that Taiwanese students may have basic T-STEMP competence, but the breadth and depth of their responses to the key design challenges need to be advanced. Implications for further studies and suggestions for STEM teaching are also provided.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00529-3Bayesian structural equation modelingInstrument validationIntegrated STEMItem response theoryTransdisciplinary STEM practices |
| spellingShingle | Kai-Lin Yang Su-Chi Fang Szu-Chun Fan Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices International Journal of STEM Education Bayesian structural equation modeling Instrument validation Integrated STEM Item response theory Transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title | Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title_full | Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title_fullStr | Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title_short | Development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students’ transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| title_sort | development and validation of an instrument for assessing secondary students transdisciplinary stem practices |
| topic | Bayesian structural equation modeling Instrument validation Integrated STEM Item response theory Transdisciplinary STEM practices |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00529-3 |
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