Steam-Powered Boat Engineering in Elementary STEM Learning

This research develops instructional media in the form of steam-powered boats in STEM learning in elementary schools to support thematic learning in Indonesia. This development aims to help students acquire the skills that match the science and technology of the twenty-first century. The STEM approach is applied so that students can learn and explore various types of integrated interdisciplinary learning. This research aims to: (1) describe the urgency of using the steam-powered boat instructional media in STEM learning, (2) develop and describe the final products of the instructional media, and (3) describe the results of the instructional media trials. The research design used was education-based research with the generic model of Educational Design Research (EDR), which involved students and teachers in the trial process. The data collection techniques used were interviews with teachers and students regarding the need for instructional media in STEM learning, observations of the learning process, and student questionnaires about the use of the instructional media. The data obtained were then analyzed descriptively. The findings of this study include the following: (1) it is necessary to use steam-powered boats as instructional media in STEM learning, (2) the design of the instructional media can be implemented by students independently, and (3) the final products of the instructional media could support STEM learning. Therefore, it can be concluded that the development of the steam-powered boat media with the generic model of EDR can produce instructional media designs and products that can support STEM learning.