Space Communication in Integrated STEM Education: The Case of MISSION: SOPHIE
19th International Congress on Social, Humanities, Administrative, and Educational Sciences In A Changing World, Ürgenç, Özbekistan, 12 - 14 Ağustos 2026, ss.1095-1109, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Ürgenç
- Basıldığı Ülke: Özbekistan
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1095-1109
- Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Scientific and technological developments require students to integrate knowledge from different disciplines and apply it to authentic problems rather than learn disciplinary content in isolation. Space communication provides a meaningful context for integrating scientific inquiry, mathematical reasoning, coding, engineering design, and product development in integrated STEM education. This study aimed to examine Mission: SOPHIE, a project led by the University of Bordeaux in France, as an integrated STEM initiative spanning primary to upper secondary education. It specifically investigated how space communication was structured as a real world learning context; how activities progressed across educational levels in terms of inquiry, experimentation, engineering design, coding, and product development; and how interdisciplinary learning, STEM career awareness, inclusion, and school-university collaboration were reflected in project materials and student-created products. The study was designed as a qualitative single-case study based on document analysis. The bounded case was the Mission: SOPHIE project implemented in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region during the 2025-2026 academic year. The researcher did not directly participate in activities conducted with students but did attend the theoretical and practical training delivered to teachers by the project team. Data were collected using a document analysis form to record each source by title, type, educational level, and content. The data corpus comprised official project webpages; teacher guides for Cycle 2, Cycle 3, Cycle 4, and high school; student activity booklets; career-awareness materials; technical resources; and student project records published on the official website. Overall, 10 pedagogical documents totaling 166 pages, one three dimensional technical model, and 35 published project records were examined; 13 records containing detailed evidence of implementation or student products were analyzed in depth. Descriptive and content analysis were used together, and the documents were coded twice by the same researcher at different times to enhance reliability. The findings showed that space communication was structured around the shared problem of transmitting a message to a distant receiver, thereby functionally connecting electrical circuits, Morse code, microprogramming, wireless communication, radio waves, antenna design, testing, and redesign. Activities generally progressed from constructing simple light- or sound-based circuits at Cycle 2 to telegraph construction and encoded message transmission at Cycles 3 and 4, and to wavelength calculations, signal measurements, and antenna design at the high-school level. However, differentiation between Cycles 3 and 4 was less pronounced, and mathematical processes remained largely implicit at the lower levels. The authentic radio contact with astronaut Sophie Adenot aboard the International Space Station strengthened the real-world relevance of the activities. The materials also made STEM careers, women role models, inclusion, and school–university collaboration visible. However, the available documents did not provide evidence of direct effects on students’ achievement, attitudes, or career aspirations.
Keywords: Integrated STEM education, space communication, engineering design, STEM career awareness, school-university collaboration.
* This study was supported by TÜBİTAK 2219 Post-Doctoral Research Program