An Example of The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Activity: Anticoagulant Drugs

In this research, it is aimed to present the process of developing and implementation on science teacher candidates a STEM activity. For this, the process has been started with the determination of problem and topic first. Some issues such as the engineering design process can be operated with the STEM education approach in the content of the General Chemistry Laboratory II course, where relationship with daily life can be established, and safety, ethics and health precautions, have been taken into consideration when determining the topic of activity. In addition, attention has been paid to the suitability of this subject to allocated time in the lesson, to student level, and to the existing physical equipment. In this context, the experiment "obtaining Aspirin" conducted under the subject of ‘chemical reactions: change of matter’ was chosen as the subject. The contents and benefits of Aspirin have been investigated in order to establish a daily life context and the activity started to be prepared. In the process of preparing the activity, the engineering design processes are used. Prepared activity was presented to five experts who had been working in the field of STEM education and revised according to the opinions of experts. This activity implemented with 32 teacher candidates who enrolled in General Chemistry Laboratory II course in the department of science teacher of education faculty of a state university in Eastern Black Sea in the spring of 2015-2016 education year and volunteered to participate in the study. All teaching practice lasted a total of 10 lesson-hours--eight 50 minutes. As a result of this research, students have had the opportunity to experience an anticoagulant drug production to solve the excessive blood clotting problem which they may face in their real life and engineering design-based science education.