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

초록

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. © 2025 the Author(s), licensee by AIMS Press.

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