Promoting STEM Interest through Empathy and Creative Thinking in a STEM-based Community Service Program

Abstract

Students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) tends to decline as they reach high school. Among the factors to which this decline is attributed are the perceptions about the lack of communality and creativity in STEM. To address this problem, we implemented an 8-week STEM-based community service program where high school students learned about STEM and community service. The students were asked to design possible solutions to problems faced by people from disadvantaged groups (e.g., visually impaired people). Using the post-test data from 275 high school students who participated in the program, we examined a model of empathy predicting STEM interest via creative thinking. Results of mediation analysis showed that empathy predicted STEM interest through creative thinking. The findings provided support for the important roles of empathy and creative thinking in the promotion of STEM interest. This information can be used as a basis for designing STEM-based community service programs for the enhancement of students’ interest in learning STEM.