Exploring a STEM-integrated instructional approach and its preliminary contextual assessments of problem-solving and motivation in Oman

Key findings from this study

• The study found that culturally contextualized STEM instruction using the Engineering Design Process improved problem identification, planning, and production in fourth-grade students from Oman.
• The researchers demonstrate that motivational factors including responsibility and engagement strengthened through locally meaningful, hands-on STEM tasks.
• The study found that self-efficacy and peer collaboration did not show significant gains, suggesting targeted instructional enhancement in these dimensions.

Overview

This quasi-experimental study examined how the Engineering Design Process (EDP) integrated with culturally contextualized STEM instruction affects problem-solving skills and motivation in fourth-grade students from Oman. The intervention deployed hands-on, inquiry-driven tasks grounded in students' local environmental and cultural experiences, including weather-resistant shelter construction, floating boat design, climate-adapted chocolate molds, and oil-spill remediation using local materials. The research compared outcomes between 118 students receiving the STEM-based intervention and those in traditional science curricula, with analyses stratified by gender.

Methods and approach

The researchers employed a quasi-experimental design with 118 fourth-grade participants assigned to either a STEM-based instructional intervention or traditional science curriculum. The intervention centered on the Engineering Design Process applied to culturally meaningful, performance-based tasks reflecting regional realities in Oman. Assessment mechanisms included contextualized, performance-based measures of problem-solving dimensions and motivational factors. Gender-stratified analyses examined differential outcomes between male and female participants.

Results

The intervention yielded preliminary evidence of improvement in specific problem-solving dimensions: problem identification, planning, and production. Motivational gains emerged in responsibility and engagement measures. These improvements were detected through performance-based assessments aligned with the culturally contextualized tasks delivered during instruction.

However, significant gains did not materialize in self-efficacy or peer collaboration, indicating incomplete impact across all targeted outcomes. The differential effects by gender, if present, remain insufficiently detailed in the abstract to characterize specific patterns. These mixed findings suggest that while the EDP-based, culturally grounded approach enhanced certain cognitive and motivational dimensions, other constructs require instructional refinement.

Implications

The preliminary evidence supports adoption of culturally responsive, practice-based STEM pedagogy that anchors global competencies in regional contexts and student lived experience. Authentic alignment between disciplinary competencies and local realities appears instrumental for advancing problem-solving capabilities and motivational dimensions in primary STEM education. Institutions implementing similar interventions should prioritize performance-based assessment methods capable of capturing both cognitive and affective development in contextualized learning environments.

The absence of gains in self-efficacy and peer collaboration points to specific areas requiring instructional redesign or enhanced pedagogical scaffolding. Future research should investigate mechanisms underlying differential effects in collaborative and self-belief dimensions. Longitudinal designs would clarify whether preliminary improvements persist and extend to broader STEM competencies beyond the immediate intervention period.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.