The Effect of Using Instructional Program Based on the STEM (Science, Technology Engineering & Mathematics) Approach in Teaching Mathematics on the Critical Thinking Skills of High School Students in the Riyadh Educational District

This study aims to identify the effect of using a STEM-oriented (Science, Technology Engineering & Mathematics) teaching program in teaching mathematics on critical thinking skills among high school students in the Riyadh educational region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The sample of the study consists of (88) male and female students selected randomly from the "Advance Schools for Smart learning" in Riyadh city, where the semi-experimental approach is used. The results of the study show that there are statistically significant differences between the averages of the degrees of analysis skill, induction skill, reasoning skill, skill of conclusion, and evaluation skill in favor of the experimental group. The results also showed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores for the analysis skill, the induction skill, the reasoning skill, the conclusion skill and the evaluation skill for the benefit of the experimental group. The results also show a statistically significant difference between the mean scores for the scale skills as a whole and for the benefit of the experimental group. The results of the study show that there are no statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the critical thinking test skills and the total score attributed to the gender variable (male and female). The study recommends adopting the STEM approach in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, and redeveloping and building the content of science and mathematics curricula for the secondary stage through relying on science standards for the next generation, and working on adopting a special curriculum to teach the STEM approach and include it in the next plan for general education stages.