Developing an Authentic STEM Learning Ecosystem through Festival-Based Innovation Programs in Junior High

Abstract

STEM learning is a widely used approach to prepare students for 21st-century skills. However, STEM implementation in schools still tends to focus on the final product of projects and partial activities, thus failing to fully deliver authentic learning experiences. This study argues that an authentic STEM learning ecosystem can be effectively developed through festival-based innovation programs in junior high schools. Employing a descriptive mixed-methods approach with 4,821 students across 17 schools, the program integrates STEM learning, project development, competitions, exploration visits, and exhibitions. Data from observation, documentation, evaluation questionnaires, and participant reflections were analyzed using a nine-element authentic learning framework. Results reveal that this integrated festival-based approach fulfills all authentic learning elements and achieves strong outcomes: meaningful learning (95/100), participant engagement (91/100), insight from laboratory visits (92/100), public communication of projects (89/100), and team collaboration (95/100). These findings demonstrate that festival-based innovation programs can deliberately create a contextual, collaborative, and problem-oriented STEM learning ecosystem, thereby providing an effective model for strengthening students’ 21st-century competencies.