A STEM Model to engage Students in Sustainable Science Education through Sports: A Case Study in Qatar

Sports is a powerful tool to make deeper connections, stimulations, and understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Science in sports is a unique program established to present sports as a medium for STEM education. The program included 248 students (112 females and 136 males) from 15 secondary schools in the State of Qatar. The participants took part in interactive, hands-on learning workshops where they were challenged to design sports equipment from innovative materials while adhering to specific design criteria. Quantitative and t-test analysis were performed on data collected over five years from 2012 to 2017 of the program to analyze its effectiveness, along with the Research and Development (R&D) study obtained from pre and post-surveys of students, teachers, and facilitators to further analyze participants’ behaviors and attitudes.