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STEM education, with its interdisciplinary and innovative aspects, provides opportunities to be a part of a solution to complex problems. This study explored how 114 teachers from various STEM disciplines formulated Authentic Problems of Knowledge Society (APoKS) within their STEM instructional designs following a year-long professional development programme. The analysis revealed that while most teachers created original authentic contexts, integrated cognitive and social aspects, and incorporated realistic constraints, there were differences across disciplines, and they struggled to meaningfully incorporate STEM careers into their instructional designs. Interdisciplinarity was moderately addressed, with science and technology integration being more prevalent than mathematics. The flexibility for alternative solutions varied widely. These findings suggest a need for targeted professional development focusing on integrating realistic constraints, STEM professions, and true interdisciplinarity. To enhance the effectiveness of APoKS, the authors recommend fostering more interactive communication between STEM professionals, teachers, and students through mentorship programmes and collaborative workshop sessions.
Yabaş et al. (Sat,) studied this question.