Biofuel cell learning based on STEM education in high school

Biofuel cells are the devices that convert chemical energy of various biofuels in an efficient way intoelectrical energy through catalytic process of electrochemical reactions. The construction andapplication of biofuel cell involves many scientific concepts. These concepts are difficult tounderstand, making the construction and application of biofuel cells attractive for electrochemistrylearning. Curriculum planners must consider holistic approaches to instructional design to meet newneeds arising from the interests of students, the labor market, and society. One of the new approachesin science education is STEM. In STEM education, the aim is for learners to acquire science andmathematics during the problem-solving process of engineering design. Also, learners acquire skillssuch as critical thinking, decision-making, collaboration and entrepreneurship in the design process. InSTEM-based biofuel cell education, students play a significant role in the teaching and learning process,and due to their participation in solving problems, students' motivation and interest in understandingscientific concepts increases. This has contributed to their participation in learning and solvingproblems better, as well as increasing academic achievement. In the present study, the design ofeducational content for biofuel cell education was carried out with the STEM approach, to teach theconcepts of electrochemistry in the context of bio fuel cells. For this purpose, the ۵E method in inquiryand the ۵-step method in engineering were used. In the design of the content, this issue was emphasizedso that with simple and accessible activities, electrochemical concepts related to biofuel cell technologywill be taught first, and then students will build a biofuel cell based on the learned concepts byengineering method based. The validity of the designed content was confirmed based on the opinion ofexperts. Educational content designed based on the STEM approach can have a positive effect onstudents' academic achievement and the acquisition of ۲۱st century skills.

Keywords:

Biofuel cell , Learning , STEM , Science education