Development and Effectiveness Study of a STEAM Program for High School Students Utilizing Drone Autonomous Driving Technology

Objectives In this study, we aimed to develop and implement a high school-centered STEAM program that integrates drone autonomous driving technology, analyze students' attitudes toward STEAM and satisfaction with the classes after application, and derive educational suggestions based on the analysis. Methods For this purpose, a 6-session STEAM program utilizing drone autonomous driving technology was developed, and the program was applied to 68 first-year students at P High School in the metropolitan area. To examine the impact of this program on the students' attitudes toward STEAM, a paired-samples t-test was conducted based on the pre- and post-test scores, and the class satisfaction was analyzed by calculating the descriptive statistics of the participants' responses. Results Based on the analysis of prior research, references, and the 2015 revised curriculum, a primary STEAM program utilizing drone autonomous driving technology was developed. To ensure the validity of this program, expert group consultations and a pilot test were conducted, resulting in the final program development. The inter-rater agreement index of this program was .82. When this program was applied in a high school setting, the results showed statistically significant improvements in the students' overall attitudes toward STEAM, as well as their attitudes in the seven sub-factors (p<.05). These results demonstrate the statistical significance of the STEAM program's instructional effectiveness. Furthermore, the results for class satisfaction were high across all sub-factors, which can be attributed to the students' positive experiences in flying drones in small groups. Conclusions These results indicate that the STEAM program utilizing drone autonomous driving technology can be an effective program in promoting positive outcomes for high school students. Additionally, this suggests that STEAM programs leveraging new technologies can play an important role in the educational field.