Developing Students’ Attitudes toward Convergence and Creative Problem Solving through Multidisciplinary Education in Korea

Abstract

Given the rapid speed at which digital transformation has progressed, social or scientific problems that are difficult to solve using knowledge gained from the existing segmented academic paradigm have emerged. To solve these problems, the need for talent convergence has increased, and Korea has begun to provide convergence education, starting with science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education. Convergence education is defined as “education to cultivate knowledge that can solve problems creatively and comprehensively by raising interest and understanding of convergence knowledge, processes, and the nature of various fields related to science and technology”. However, STEAM education faces several difficulties. To overcome these limitations, science, mathematics, and informatics convergence education (SMICE) has been studied, but verifying the effectiveness of SMICE has been difficult. Consequently, this study analyzes the effects of SMICE on middle-school students’ attitudes toward convergence (ATC) and creative problem-solving (CPS) abilities. The subjects of the study were 50 middle-school students who received SMICE and general software (SW) education, and students’ subsequent changes in attitude are analyzed. The results show that students who received SMICE improved their ATC and CPS abilities. In particular, participants’ ATC and CPS scores were higher than those of students who received general SW education. Through this, a multidisciplinary education model is developed focusing on science, mathematics, and informatics, and proves the educational effect of the developed model when applied to classes.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Need for Multidisciplinary Education

With the development of science and technology, industries, society, and the shape of life have rapidly changed and, to a certain extent, this has never been observed before [1,2]. Although quality of life and convenience on average have increased, problems, such as global warming, unemployment, the gap between the rich and poor, and infectious diseases, have also worsened [2]. Since these problems involve social or natural phenomena, they are highly complex, and some studies on these problems have attempted to integrate solutions from different fields [3]. This is because solving such problems using traditional methods has been very difficult or impossible [4,5]. These phenomena have caused the development of basic science to be unable to keep up, blurring the boundaries between natural science and engineering and promoting convergence between the humanities and social sciences. As such, technoscience has risen in popularity and prevalence [4,6,7]. Thus, the convergence of different disciplines and fields is needed to solve problems; several disciplines must be integrated together, as the traditional academic sub-disciplinary paradigm has become obsolete and unable to address modern issues [3].

Accordingly, various countries have implemented education programs or curriculum changes to cultivate convergent literacy, which is the ability to solve problems creatively by converging knowledge from heterogeneous disciplines [7,8]. South Korea introduced convergence education into its curriculum to foster convergence talent [9,10]. Convergence education is not a recent concept; it has long been studied under the name of integrated education [8]. “Integration” means creating a new completeness that the object did not originally have by combining or connecting the object to be integrated. Therefore, integration in education means producing a new educational effect that subjects have not previously experienced based on the interrelationship of various subjects [11,12,13].

Jacobs (1989) found that when an integrated curriculum was applied, the ability to solve complex problems occurring in modern society could be cultivated, the interrelationship between subjects could be increased, and education using real-life topics was possible in class. Therefore, the application of an integrated curriculum in schools can increase students’ interests toward learning [11,14].

Inclusive education has been actively studied to understand the educational effect of an integrated curriculum [15]. Jacobs (1989) suggested a hierarchy of integration—fragmented, connected, nested, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary—according to the type of integration [14,16,17,18,19,20]. Ingram (1979) further studied the types of integration in an integrated curriculum, presenting qualitative and quantitative approaches as forms of structural integration. In an integrated curriculum, a quantitative approach involves creating a new totality by presenting and integrating several subjects or disciplines simultaneously. Meanwhile, a qualitative approach reorganizes subjects or disciplines by integrating them into common elements [21,22].

1.2. History of Multidisciplinary Education in Korea

As various types of integrated education curricula were studied and educational effects emerged, integrated curricula began to be introduced in Korea. The third curriculum in Korea (1973~1981) not only sought to conceptually integrate subjects and knowledge, but also focused on the integration between educational content and methods. The fourth curriculum (1981~1988) began to pursue the integration of knowledge and personal and social values. Accordingly, integrated curricula emerged, such as science, technology, and society (STS). This trend continued until the fifth, sixth, seventh, and 2007 revised curricula. Regarding the differences in the type of integration, the fourth curriculum integrated textbooks, while in the fifth and sixth curricula subjects were the center of integration. Such an integration was summation integration, where several subjects or textbooks were integrated simultaneously [21,22,23]. Efforts to foster an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration continued with the seventh curriculum [22,24]. However, teachers’ perceptions of the integrated curriculum was negative, and problems emerged with the curriculum and its realization. In the 2009 revised curriculum, STEAM education was actively introduced to foster convergence talents [25].

1.3. Limitations of STEAM Education in Korea

South Korea also introduced science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education in “The Second Basic Plan for Developing and Supporting Science and Technology Talent” [1,9]. STEAM education was introduced not only to achieve convergent literacy, but also because of an unusual phenomenon in Korea (and other countries) called the PISA paradox. The PISA paradox occurs when students have a high academic achievement in international evaluations, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), yet their confidence and interest in science are very low [26]. To solve this problem, STEAM education was designed to cultivate students’ interests in, knowledge of, and attitudes regarding science by converging knowledge from various subjects and integrating creative design and an emotional touch [1,8].

In 2011, Korea introduced STEAM education focused on convergent literacy and creative problem-solving skills in elementary, middle, and high schools to foster creative and convergent talents [9]. In addition, Korea presented creative convergence talent as a human resource in its 2015 revised national curriculum, an adapted curriculum meant to revitalize convergence education [27]. Recently, to revitalize convergence education through the 2022 revised curriculum, the restructuring of subjects, new development of convergence elective subjects, and high-school credit system were introduced [28].

However, despite the worthy aims of STEAM education, there have been many difficulties with its implementation in schools. For example, Lim (2012) found that STEAM education focuses only on convergence without discussing the core concepts or practices that are the basis of convergence, so the integration of various subjects is random. It was found that, in practice, teaching convergence in STEAM involves each subject area of STEAM rather than teaching creativity through convergence [7,27,29]. Furthermore, it was revealed that since classes are centered on textbooks available in the school, textbooks have been developed to teach independent subjects rather than convergence. Thus, the convergence of the concepts or practices of various subjects in STEAM education cannot be truly achieved. Accordingly, convergence in STEAM education is not truly interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary; rather, it is multidisciplinary [15,29].

Sim et al. (2015) argued that the definition of convergence in STEAM education was too ambiguous, so convergence between subjects was not properly achieved. Their results showed that convergence education was conducted by focusing only on students’ interest levels and convergent thinking skills without properly presenting to them competencies or key concepts. Additionally, STEAM education could not be activated due to the gap between the purpose of STEAM education and academic achievement and the methods of evaluation in the curriculum. Lastly, Sim et al. (2015) pointed out that to provide STEAM education, a teacher who understands STEAM education and teaches by converging knowledge of various subjects is needed, but there is a lack of teachers with adequate experience [8].

1.4. Apperance of Science, Mathematics, and Informatics Convergence Education

Looking at the problem of STEAM education in Korea, it was not possible to focus on gaining wholeness through the convergence of subjects. Therefore, education was conducted in the form of presenting several subjects simultaneously, such as a quantitative approach in integrated education, which caused difficulties in effectively conducting education [1,8,21,25,30]. As a solution to these problems, convergence education through convergence between subjects with similar characteristics and competencies emerged [30,31].

Convergence education in its various forms has also been studied to solve associated problems in the school domain. Lee et al. (2018) proposed education through convergence between subjects with similar characteristics or competencies [32,33,34]. Prior studies have also determined that problem-solving processes in science, mathematics, and informatics subjects were similar, so research was conducted on education that converged science, mathematics, and informatics subjects [31]. Meanwhile, with the implementation of the Science, Mathematics, and Informatics Education Promotion Act in Korea in 2018, the foundation for science, mathematics, and informatics convergence education was established, and SMICE was introduced in schools [32]. Accordingly, Lee et al. (2018) developed a SMICE program for middle- and high-school students, and Kim and Lee (2021) analyzed the effects of the SMICE program on middle-school students’ computational thinking [32,33,34]. Although the effectiveness of SMICE has been verified through previous studies, there was a limitation in that only computational thinking ability, which is a core competency of the informatics subject, was measured. When analyzing the effects of convergence education, it is important to measure students’ competency in the converged subject, but it is also necessary to analyze the creative effects of education through convergence [32,35]. Therefore, SMICE’s effects on students should be verified based on its competencies and goals, and assessing students’ competency in only a specific subject can replicate the problems of existing convergence education.

Therefore, based on the previous studies, this study analyzes the educational effects of SMICE. The subjects of the study are middle-school students, and the core competencies resulting from SMICE and the educational effect through convergence are analyzed. The research subjects are divided into two groups, and the educational effect of SMICE is verified through different treatments for each group.

2. Materials Related to Science, Mathematics, and Informatics Convergence

2.1. Science, Mathematics, and Informatics Convergence Education Materials

To introduce SMICE into schools, Korea developed teaching and learning materials for middle- and high-school students. To create these materials, research was conducted. A research team that included professors and teachers specializing in science, mathematics, and informatics education was formed, and one science, one mathematics, and one informatics teacher was required to form a team for each theme [34].

A review of the literature revealed that many convergence education programs centered on specific subjects have been developed. For example, a mathematics-oriented STEAM education program, a technology-oriented convergence education program, and an art-oriented STEAM education program have been developed [7,36,37,38,39]. Many educational program researchers have concentrated on a specific subject, and the content of other subjects has been included to teach students about a specific subject [7,29]. Therefore, rather than convergence education, such programs emphasized teaching the content of several subjects together while focusing primarily on teaching one subject. In this form, convergence education caused more time and cognitive burdens, even if the learner was taught the same amount of educational content. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in educational effects [29]. This was one of the problems that prevented this type of convergence education from being integrated into schools. To prevent this problem, this study configured a program that included one science, one mathematics, and one informatics teacher at the same school level in the program development process. Thus, topics could be analyzed and approached in multiple ways from the perspectives of science, mathematics, and informatics subjects without being biased toward specific subjects [8]. Furthermore, the teaching and learning materials developed were reviewed in the same way.

2.1.1. Competency of SMICE

In Korea, the goal of the SMICE programs is to cultivate effectively the talent highlighted in the Korean curriculum. With the advancement of information and communication technology, changes in politics, the economy, and employment, and climate change, Korea’s demand for creative convergence talents has spread. Accordingly, the 2015 revised curriculum defined a creative convergence talent as “a person who can create new knowledge and create new values by converging various knowledge with humanities imagination, science, and technology creativity, and the right personality”. To cultivate these creative convergence talents, the curriculum was revised to focus on core competencies. Although the Korean curriculum prior to 2015 focused on the “knowledge transfer” that students should know through education, the revised 2015 curriculum emphasized the importance of “competence” in future society rather than “knowledge”. Competency is not just knowledge, but also the ability to express knowledge by integrating knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. Accordingly, in the 2015 revised curriculum, the talent and core competencies for creative convergence talent were defined, and the subject competencies for cultivating talent were defined for each subject [40].

Previously, convergence education curricula focused on teaching the same content, and only the time required to achieve the same academic results increased. However, SMICE aims not only to cultivate students’ science, mathematics, and informatics capabilities, but also to obtain educational effects through convergence education. Therefore, the competencies in science, mathematics, and informatics subjects were analyzed based on the revised 2015 curriculum.

In the revised 2015 curriculum, “problem-solving” and “creativity convergence” were presented as competencies in math. “Problem-solving” is defined as “the ability to explore solution strategies using the knowledge and functions of mathematics in problem situations and to solve a given problem by selecting the best solution”. “Creativity convergence” is defined as “the ability to produce and refine new and meaningful ideas in various ways and functions based on mathematical knowledge and functions, connect, and converge various mathematical knowledge, functions, and experiences, or other subjects or real-life knowledge, functions, and experiences with mathematics”. In addition, “inference”, “communication”, “information processing”, and “attitude” were presented as math competencies [31,41,42].

“Scientific thinking”, “scientific inquiry”, and “scientific-problem-solving” were presented as science competencies. “Scientific thinking” refers to the “thinking necessary in the process of exploring the relationship between scientific claims and evidence”, and “scientific inquiry” is defined as “the ability to acquire new scientific knowledge or construct meaning by collecting, interpreting, and evaluating evidence in various ways such as experiments, investigations, and discussions”. “Scientific problem-solving” means “the ability to solve personal or public problems using scientific knowledge and scientific thinking”. “Scientific communication ability”, “scientific participation”, and “lifelong learning ability” were also presented as science competencies [31,43,44].

Lastly, “computational thinking” was presented as a competency in informatics. In the curriculum, “computational thinking” means “the ability to understand real-life and various academic problems and apply solutions creatively using the basic concepts, principles, and computing systems of computer science” and includes “abstraction”, “automation”, and “creative convergence ability”. In informatics, “informatics culture literacy” and “cooperative problem-solving ability” were also presented as subject competencies [31,32,45,46].

Science, mathematics, and informatics are adjacent subjects, so the relevance between the three subjects is greater than that of other subjects [13]. However, in the curriculum, there were similar competencies across science, mathematics, and informatics, but competencies existed according to the characteristics of the subject, which differed by subject. Therefore, to create teaching and learning materials that reflect all science, mathematics, and informatics competencies, it was thought that at least 10 sessions per theme were required, and the cognitive burden of learners would consequently increase. In addition, since learners have to learn various content and engage in different activities in the process of cultivating subject competency, it was thought that inefficient education would be provided, as had been the problem with existing convergence education [8,29,32,34]. Thus, similar competencies across the science, mathematics, and informatics subjects were explored, and the corresponding competencies were synthesized to newly define curriculum competencies for SMICE.

Science, mathematics, and informatics emphasize problem-solving; science has “scientific problem-solving skills”, mathematics has “problem-solving skills”, and informatics has “computational thinking”. Although the curriculum competencies of the three subjects were different, the common goal was to cultivate the ability to solve problems according to the characteristics of the subjects. Therefore, problem-solving was included in all three subjects as a competency that emphasized the importance of convergence education, a sentiment echoed in the revised 2015 curriculum [8,32,40]. Accordingly, “problem-solving” was selected as the core competency of convergence education for transitional correction. In addition, SMICE’s problem-solving steps for each subject are composed of “analysis”, “design”, “execution”, and “evaluation”.

2.1.2. Type of SMICE

Subsequently, a new type of SMICE program was developed. In the previous convergence education program, it was necessary to learn new content for convergence education. Therefore, even if classes had the same learning goal, convergence education required more class hours for students to learn new content than in general teaching and learning classes [29].

Sim et al. (2015) found that there was a limit to providing convergence education in schools due to the lack of class time. The teacher also had to retain the number of hours to proceed with the convergence education in the curriculum. To solve these problems and to prevent learning from being inefficient, an educational program for middle-school students was configured for students to experience convergence based on the knowledge they had learned in the elementary-school curriculum [8]. Furthermore, high-school students could experience convergence with the knowledge they had learned in the middle-school curriculum [34].

Therefore, a new type of convergence education was proposed to overcome the problems with existing convergence education. It was developed with a convergence of subject knowledge (CSK), problem-solving in real life (PSRL), creative activities curriculum, and free semester (CACFS) as types of SMICE. CSK was constructed in the form of students solving problems by converging their previously learned subject knowledge. PSRL involves conducting activities to solve problems by converging existing knowledge for greater learning outcomes in science, mathematics, and informatics. Lastly, CACFS was configured for students to experience convergence problem-solving through team projects. CSK, PSRL, and CACFS are composed of systematic steps that can be adapted according to the educational contexts of Korea. The types of SMICE were developed for selection and use according to learners’ levels and the purpose of convergence education [33,34]. The troubleshooting steps for each type are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Problem-solving process in SMICE [32,33,34,35].

Type	Analysis	Design	Execution	Evaluation
CSK	Understanding Problems Learn Content for Design and Solving	Problem Decomposition Modeling Algorithmic Design	Simulation Programming	Test Application
PSRL	Understanding Problems Problem Analysis	Problem Decomposition Pattern Recognition Modeling Algorithmic Design	Simulation Programming	Prototype Test Application
CACFS	Understanding Problems Problem Analysis	Problem Decomposition Pattern Recognition Modeling Algorithmic Design	Simulation Programming	Prototype Test Evaluation Application

2.1.3. SMICE Themes

Subsequently, the new SMICE themes were derived. To derive themes, teams consisting of science, mathematics, and informatics teachers were formed. Each team brainstormed and derived themes according to the goals, competencies, and types of SMICE, as well as the characteristics of science, mathematics, and informatics. From this, 51 topics that could be introduced to middle and high schools were derived. The validity of the themes was analyzed based on the characteristics of the 2015 revised curriculum, tangible suitability, and the type of SMICE. Through this, nine themes of convergence education suitable for middle- and high-school students were derived. The topics derived are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Themes and learning objectives of SMICE for middle- and high-school students [32,33,34,35].

School Level	Type	Theme	Learning Objective
Middle school	CSK	Development of rock search program using selection	Using the selection structure, a program to find rocks suitable for conditions may be written.
		Calculate the area of a fan-shaped figure	Understand the relationship between the center angle and the area of the fan shape and create a program to find the area of the fan shape.
		Curling game using friction force	Understand the frictional force as a cause of interfering with the movement of an object and to create a curling simulation program.
	PSRL	Carbon footprint calculator	A carbon footprint calculation program can be created using variables and various operations.
		Time-speed graph	Understanding that the situation of various changes can be graphically represented and draw a time-speed graph that can be changed at will.
		Moving of particles	Create simulation software that expresses the diffusion motion of gas molecules.
	CACFS	Brick-breaking game with gravity	Create a game software that uses gravity to break bricks.
		Carpet pattern design with GeoGebra	Understand the nature of the floor plan and the movement of the figure and design the desired carpet pattern.
		Water-cycle process	Understand the causal relationship between the change in the state of water and the entry and exit of thermal energy, and to make software that simulates the circulation process of water.
High School	CSK	Find the representative value	Create a program that finds representative values using arrays and functions.
		Factorization calculator	Understand the principle of factorizing any quadratic equation; you can make a factorization calculator.
		DNA information search	Understanding how amino acids are made from DNA and create a protein synthesis program.
	PSRL	Vehicle safety distance calculator	Create a program to find the safe distance of a car using the selection structure.
		Create math icons	Create the math icons using the graph of the equation of the figure and the function
		Forecasting particulate matter	Understanding the scientific standards of fine dust forecasting and create a program that outputs forecast grades and behavioral tips according to the concentration of fine dust.
	CACFS	The secret of a three-point shot	Algorithms for solving problems in the field of life science can be written in cooperation.
		Create a color wheel	Understand the principle of color change and create a color ring using a function in which the brightness of red, green, and blue lights changes.
		Nature’s choice of antioxidant-tolerant creatures	Create simulation software that implements the motion of a horizontally thrown object.

2.1.4. Example of SMICE Program

Based on the learning objectives in Table 2 and the problem-solving step in Table 1, a SMICE program was developed (Figure 1 (the original is Korean, but in this paper it is presented with a translation into English)). SMICE programs for middle- and high-school students were developed, respectively, and for each SMICE, three types of convergence were developed: CSK, PSRL, and CACFS. The central and adjacent subjects were determined for each subject, and adjacent subjects were integrated for students to learn the central subject [34].

Figure 1. Example of SMICE program (curling game using friction force) [33,34,35].

For example, in relation to the “curling game using friction force”, the convergence type is CSK, and informatics, mathematics, and science subjects were integrated around “friction force”. In the “analysis” stage, news articles with the keywords “curling” and “sports simulation” were read to motivate the subjects. Next, an activity to understand the problem was presented by examining the factors affecting the distance the stone moves during curling.

In the “design” stage of the problem-solving process, to move the curling stone to the desired position, the relationship between the friction force, weight, and moving distance was identified, and core element extraction, problem decomposition, the pattern between elements, and modeling experience were conducted. In addition, students conducted activities to express modeling results using algorithms to make them a program.

In the third step, “execution” involved implementing algorithms through programs using scratches. Students designed screens to simulate the weight of the stone, friction force, and distance in a programming development environment (block-based programming environment, scratch) and programmed sprites representing curling stones to determine distance according to weight and friction force. Students came to understand the science, mathematics, and informatics content by executing and implementing the learned content as programs.

The last step, “evaluation”, was configured to simulate the developed program. In addition, the program was applied using the learned content. An educational program was organized for students to learn the science, mathematics, and informatics content and foster problem-solving skills through the process of addressing topics that are common in real life [34].

2.2. Methods

2.2.1. Overview

In this study, the educational effects of SMICE on middle-school students in Korea were analyzed. Korean middle schools were selected for sampling, and the research subjects were recruited. A test tool was selected for the analysis of the educational effects of SMICE. Next, SMICE was administered to middle-school students, and the test tool was used before and after administration. Finally, by analyzing the results of the tests, the effects of SMICE on middle-school students were determined.

2.2.2. Participants

The participants were seventh graders attending middle schools in Korea. To ensure the same treatment, students attending one school were selected. The total number of subjects was 50, and these were divided into the experimental (n = 23) and control groups (n = 27). The participants included 30 boys (60%) and 20 girls (40%), and the gender ratio was almost similar for each group.

As the importance of computational thinking has increased, it has become an active educational focus [47]. Representatively, the United States developed a framework for computer science education at CSTA and provides opportunities to understand the principles of computer science and experience coding through platforms, such as Code.org. In addition, computer science education is being conducted to help students develop computational thinking skills, produce artifacts, and experience troubleshooting using block-based programming languages (e.g., Scratch). The UK has also added computing as a subject in its new curriculum and is providing computing education for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students. For example, the UK is actively conducting education using physical computing boards (e.g., microbit) and is also strengthening teacher competency through the teacher community [47,48].

In Korea, computer science education was conducted as part of the “informatics” subject in the curriculum. However, in the 2009 revised curriculum (2012–2017), informatics education was not conducted in all schools, but rather taught according to the schools’ or students’ curricular choice. As the importance of computational thinking skills increased, education targeting computational thinking skills became mandatory in elementary and middle schools in the 2015 revised curriculum (2018–2024) in order to activate informatics education. In Korea, computing thinking skills are taught in practical subjects in elementary schools, while computational thinking skills are taught in information subjects in middle schools [47,49].

Since the subject of computational thinking is different in elementary and middle schools, there is no collective term to refer to it, and it is not possible to conduct education on computational thinking with the same goals in elementary and middle schools. Therefore, similar to computer science education in the United States and computing education in the UK, Korea refers to computational thinking skills education as SW education. MOE (2014) defined it as education intended to nurture creative and convergence talents with computational thinking. To promote SW education, Korea has focused on the development of teaching materials, leader and research software schools, and teachers’ research groups [47,48,49,50].

As such, Korea provides computing thinking skills education in elementary and middle schools under SW education. Elementary schools have 17 h of compulsory SW education, while middle schools have 34. The students who participated in this study were first-year middle-school students who completed the 2015 revised curriculum. Therefore, they had undergone SW education in elementary school [49,50]. In the Korean elementary school curriculum, the development environment for block-based programming languages and procedural thinking, operation, sequential structure, selection, and repetition are learned. Subsequently, students design and produce a program [51,52].

SW education in Korea consists of experiences and activities related to computational thinking in elementary school, understanding of computer science concepts in middle schools, developing practical artifacts and experiencing convergence with other subjects in high schools [50].

The subject of the current study is informatics education in the regular curriculum. In Korea’s middle-school curriculum, the informatics subject is mandatory, and students must complete 34 h of classes. Informatics in Korea’s middle-school curriculum consists of the following areas: “informatics culture”, “data and information”, “problem-solving and programming”, and “computing systems”. Here, the core competencies include “computational thinking”, “informatics culture literacy”, and “cooperative problem-solving.” [52].

The experimental part of this study was conducted in the second semester of 2020 (September–December). In 2020, Korean schools were online and offline due to COVID-19. Therefore, students first experienced informatics education conducted online and offline simultaneously. Because they are part of the middle-school informatics curriculum, “problem-solving and programming” and “computing system” were assessed as part of this study. “Problem-solving and programming” is an arena for learning computational thinking and consists of abstraction, algorithms, and programming. Students experience “understanding problems” and “decomposition” under the umbrella of “abstraction” and learn “understanding algorithms” and “expression of algorithms” under “algorithm”. In programming, “input and output”, variables, operation, and control structures are learned, and projects that enable students to experience abstraction, algorithms, and programming are conducted. The “computing system” component allows students to learn about computing systems, such as hardware and software, and to experience physical computing [34,52].

2.2.3. Treatments of Experimental and Control Groups

Treatment in this study was conducted as part of the middle-school curriculum in Korea. The Korean middle-school curriculum consists of “subject education (Korean language, social studies/ethics, mathematics, science/technology home economies, art (music/art), English)”, “elective subject education”, and “creative hands-on activity”. Subject education teaches subjects determined by the subject domain, whereas elective subject education involves selecting the desired subjects for each school. Elective subject education includes the environment, foreign languages (e.g., Spanish, German, and Chinese), healthcare, and careers and occupations. Finally, creative hands-on activities are activities outside of the subject that enable students to practice knowledge in a complementary relationship with the subject and support the harmonious development of mind and body [49,53].

Creative hands-on activities include autonomous, club, volunteer, and career activities. They are operated autonomously by each school according to the educational needs and developmental stages of the students in each area. In middle schools, creative hands-on activities focus on establishing one’s identity, promoting an attitude of living with others, and actively exploring one’s career path [54].

The treatment in this study was a creative hands-on club activity in middle schools. In club activities, students are guided on themes, and they can apply for a club activity on a topic they are interested in. The teacher then manages the club for one semester on a previously announced topic. In this study, a club was formed with the theme of SMICE and coding, and the treatment was carried out for students who applied to the club activity. Therefore, all the students who participated in the study were receiving SW education through subject education, but each group received additional treatment through club activities.

Treatment was conducted differently for each group: the experimental group was given SMICE and the control group was given general SW education. The experimental group was treated with an over-correction convergence education program under the themes of “curling games using friction”, “moving of particles”, “time-speed graph”, and “drawing board for fan shape”. The experimental group experience took three hours for each theme and underwent a total of 12 h of education [33,34]. The control group engaged in the same programming activity as the experimental group, but rather than proceeding with “analysis”, “design”, and “evaluation”, they explained and produced the principles of the program presented in “execution”. Additional application tasks were also performed. This made it possible to compare the effects of SW education and SMICE.

The students who participated in the treatment had received SW education in elementary school and were receiving SW education in middle schools. Although the SW education received in elementary school may vary based on the teacher, the SW education provided in this treatment was conducted by a single teacher, so the same education was experienced.

The teacher who performed the treatment received teacher training for SMICE and consulted with the researcher about the treatment process and class plan. The teacher training focused on understanding the necessity of SMICE, exploring the teaching–learning structure by curriculum and topic, and practicing with teaching–learning materials. Since the teacher who performed the treatment was an informatics subject teacher, training on the programming language was not performed separately.

This treatment was conducted simultaneously online and offline due to COVID-19. Accordingly, the teachers were supported so that there were no difficulties in the process of teaching online.

2.2.4. Questionnaire

CPS and ATC were used to analyze SMICE. SMICE was developed to improve students’ problem-solving abilities, which is a common core competency in science, mathematics, and informatics subjects. Therefore, CPS was used to analyze SMICE. The test tool for measuring CPS used the creative problem-solving profile inventory (CPSPI) developed by Lee et al. (2014). CPSPI derived factors suitable for middle-school students in Korea based on previous studies on CPS. The factors in the test tool were “problem-finding and analysis”, “generating ideas”, “execution plan”, “execution”, and “persuade and communicate”, with a total of 39 questions. Items were derived from each factor, and the reliability and validity of the test tool were verified. The question responses were on a 5-point Likert scale. The Cronbach’s alpha for the test tool was 0.73–0.83 [55].

Unlike in general SW education, convergence was included in CPS. Therefore, a test tool was used to examine the changes in convergence among the study subjects. In this study, the test tool for ATC developed by Shin et al. (2014) to measure attitudes toward convergence to analyze the effects of convergence education was used. In the test tool, attitudes were analyzed as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors, from which the ATC factor was derived [26,56,57]. Cognitive factors are related to individual perceptions that affect attitude formation. Therefore, relevance (personal and social) was presented to measure the students’ knowledge of convergence and their comprehensive conceptual perceptions. The emotional factor refers to individual emotions or feelings about convergence, and interest was derived as an emotional factor based on the existing attitude test tool. Lastly, behavioral factors refer to the “behavioral tendency” to proceed with an action, which is necessary to reflect confidence or efficacy for behavioral practice. Thus, self-efficacy was derived as the behavioral element of the ATC [58,59,60]. Items were developed based on the derived factors, and the validity of the contents of the test tool, the validity based on the implications, and the validity of the internal structure were analyzed [61]. The Cronbach’s alpha of the test tool was 0.86–0.91, and its validity was verified through the structural equation and the Rasch model. The test tool developed through the study was designed to respond to a total of 23 questions on a 5-point Likert scale [26]. The test tool used in this study is shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Test tool for the effect analysis of SMICE [26,55].

Test Tool	Constructs	Items	Cronbach’s Alpha
CPSPI	Problem-finding and analysis	9	0.80
	Generating ideas	8	0.83
	Execution plan	10	0.76
	Execution	5	0.73
	Persuade and communicate	7	0.81
ATC	Knowledge	4	0.87
	Personal relevance	5	0.91
	Social relevance	4	0.90
	Interest	5	0.86
	Self-efficacy	5	0.86

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Creative Problem-Solving Ability

In the pre-test, there was no statistically significant difference in CPSPI between the experimental group (M = 3.08, SD = 0.60) and the control group (M = 3.06, SD = 0.53) (t = 0.15, p = 0.88). Even after an examination of the detailed factors, there were no significant differences in problem-finding and analysis (t = −1.07, p = 0.29), generating ideas (t = −0.40, p = 0.69), execution plan (t = 0.35, p = 0.73), execution (t = 1.51, p = 0.14), and persuasion and community (t = 0.20, p = 0.84). Since the study subjects were taught under the same curriculum in one school, there was no significant difference in CPSPI.

In relation to the changes based on the treatment, the control group showed an improved CPSPI in the post-test (M = 3.37, SD = 0.51) compared to the pre-test (M = 3.06, SD = 0.53). In addition, the difference in CPSPI between the pre- and post-tests was statistically significant (t = −2.46, p = 0.02). In the detailed factors, significant improvements were found in execution (t = −2.57, p = 0.02) and persuasion and communication (t = −2.09, p = 0.05). Thus, it was confirmed that middle-school students who received general SW education improved their CPSPI by focusing on execution as well as persuasion and communication.

In the experimental group, the CPSPI of the post-test (M = 3.77, SD = 0.62) was improved over the pre-test (M = 3.08, SD = 0.60), and the difference was statistically significant (t = −3.21, p < 0.01). Significant post-test improvements were also shown in problem-finding and analysis (t = −3.49, p < 0.01), generating ideas (t = −2.87, p = 0.01), execution (t = −2.78, p = 0.01), and persuasion and communication (t = −2.68, p = 0.01). However, in the execution plan, the post-test results (M = 3.85, SD = 0.87) showed improvement over the pre-test results (M = 3.22, SD = 0.88), but there was no statistically significant difference (t = −2.01, p = 0.06).

The post hoc test showed that the CPSPI of the experimental group (M = 3.77, SD = 0.62) was higher than that of the control group (M = 3.37, SD = 0.51). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference in CPSPI between the experimental and control groups (t = 2.47, p = 0.02). Therefore, it was confirmed that the CPSPI of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. In relation to each factor, only problem-finding and analysis (t = 2.71, p < 0.01) as well as execution (t = 2.55, p = 0.01) showed significant improvement. Regarding other factors, the experimental group showed higher post-test scores than the control group, but there was no significant difference (as observed in Figure 2).

Figure 2. Changes in CPSPI according to treatment.

In summary, there was no difference in CPSPI between the experimental and control groups in the pre-test, but both groups showed improvements in CPSPI after treatment. Accordingly, the result of the post-test was that the experimental group had a higher CPSPI than the control group, and the problem-finding and analysis as well as execution factors in the CPSPI of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. Persuasion and communication improved in both groups, but no significant difference was found in the post-test. Therefore, there was no difference in effect according to treatment. “Generating ideas” improved only in the experimental group, but no significant difference was found in the post-test. Therefore, the treatment yielded no significant improvement. In both groups, the execution plan did not show any significant improvement.

Therefore, it was confirmed that general SW education also influenced the improvement of CPSPI in middle-school students. However, SMICE was more effective in developing CPSPI among middle-school students than general SW education. In particular, SMICE improved middle-school students’ problem analysis, decomposition, problem definition, abstraction (problem-finding and analysis), and idea or algorithm (execution) programming abilities [46,55]. Thus, it was confirmed that SMICE was effective in the development of CPSPI for middle-school students.

However, it should be noted that there was no significant difference between “generating ideas” and “persuasion and communication”, and that there was no change in the “execution plan”. An execution plan is a factor related to an algorithm because an execution plan is a process of evaluating, improving, and writing an idea in detail. However, there was no significant improvement following either general SW education or the over-correction convergence education program. Informatics in the Korean middle-school curriculum includes an understanding and expression of algorithms in problem-finding and programming. In addition, for the treatment, the content was written in the designed flowchart so that the algorithm worked properly. The content confirmed that there is a limit to the development of algorithm competency among middle-school students and that improvement is necessary to enhance their algorithm competency [32,46,55].

3.2. Attitude toward Convergence

In terms of ATC, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental (M = 3.09, SD = 0.65) and the control (M = 3.23, SD = 0.49) groups in the pre-test (t = 0.93, p = 0.36). There was no significant difference in knowledge (t = −1.33, p = 0.19), personal relevance (t = −1.38, p = 0.17), social relevance (t = 0.88, p = 0.38), interest (t = 0.03, p = 0.97), and self-efficacy (t = 0.04, p = 0.97). Thus, it was confirmed that there was no significant difference in the ATC of middle-school students before treatment.

Looking at the change according to treatment, the post-test (M = 3.12, SD = 0.48) decreased in the control group compared to the pre-test (M = 3.23, SD = 0.49). However, the difference between the pre- and post-tests was not statistically significant (t = 0.84, p = 0.41). The increase/decrease in the detailed factors was different for each factor. However, the difference between the pre- and post-tests for all factors was not statistically significant. Therefore, it was confirmed that there was no change in attitudes toward convergence among middle-school students who received general SW education.

In the experimental group, ATC improved in the post-test (M = 3.63, SD = 0.71) compared to the pre-test (M = 3.09, SD = 0.65), and the difference between the pre-test and the post-test was statistically significant (t = −2.48, p = 0.02). In addition, in knowledge (t = −3.18, p < 0.01), personal relevance (t = −2.26, p = 0.03), and social relevance (t = −2.19, p = 0.04), the post-test values were better than in the pre-test. The difference between the pre- and post-tests was found to be significant. Therefore, it was confirmed that middle-school students who received SMICE improved their convergence attitude, focusing on knowledge, personal relevance, and social relevance. However, no significant change was observed in interest (t = −1.26, p = 0.22) or self-efficacy (t = −1.71, p = 0.10).

In the post hoc test, the experimental group (M = 3.63, SD = 0.71) had a higher ATC than the control group (M = 3.12, SD = 0.48), and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t = 3.00, p < 0.01). Regarding all factors in ATC (knowledge (t = 2.39, p = 0.02), personal relevance (t = 2.14, p = 0.04), social relevance (t = 2.75, p = 0.01), interest (t = 2.52, p = 0.02), and self-efficacy (t = 2.25, p = 0.03)), the experimental group showed higher values than the control group, and the difference between the two groups was also significant. From this, it can be confirmed that the improvement in ATC in the experimental group was significant. Therefore, it can be confirmed that SMICE affects the development of middle-school students’ ATC. However, although interest and self-efficacy improved in the experimental group, there was no significant difference. Therefore, there is a limit to interpreting the difference in interest and self-efficacy in the post-test as the effect of SMICE (as observed in Figure 3).

Figure 3. Changes in ATC according to treatment.

The test tool for ATC measures knowledge and relevance (cognitive factor), interest (emotional factor), and self-efficacy (behavioral factor) in relation to convergence. The study’s results confirm that SMICE only improves cognitive factors related to fusion. To solve problems through convergence, students need to change their attitudes and practices based on their knowledge of convergence [61]. In this study, attitude change was made based on the knowledge of convergence, but it was found that it did not affect students’ self-efficacy or interest in practice.

According to Oh et al. (2012), convergence researchers cultivate meta-knowledge about convergence based on their own knowledge of convergence [62,63]. To cultivate meta-knowledge of convergence, it was necessary to understand the necessity and relevance of convergence and its effects according to the context and situation emphasized by PISA [26,60]. Therefore, it was necessary to understand the individual and social relevance of convergence. In this study, SMICE was shown to be effective in improving both personal and social relevance. Therefore, it was confirmed that the problems outlined in the literature could be solved, and the educational effect appeared to show that science, mathematics, and informatics are subjects that can converge [8,29]. It was further shown that the type and theme of SMICE were suitable for convergence education.

However, there was no significant change in interest in convergence (emotional factor). Murayama et al. (2013) found that intelligence is an important factor for instantaneous achievement, but not an important factor for long-term academic achievement [64]. They also found that motivation is an important factor in long-term academic achievement. In this study, it was confirmed that SMICE was effective in achieving the short-term achievement of convergence. However, to cultivate convergence literacy in the long run, it is necessary to improve students’ interest in convergence. In addition, self-efficacy is required for students to practice actions based on knowledge of convergence [58,60]. However, there was no development of self-efficacy regarding convergence in this study. SMICE formed a problem-solving phase based on students’ capabilities in the three subjects, but there was a limit to improving efficacy expectations regarding convergence [58,60,65].

The study revealed the direction of convergence education. In previous studies, convergence education focused on presenting the contents of several subjects [8,29,36,37,38,39]. However, in this study, convergence education was designed based on subject competency. Applying convergence education in this direction to middle-school students in Korea resulted in improved CPS and ATC. Thus, it is necessary to consider a qualitative approach to integrated curriculum, such as competency-oriented convergence, rather than theme-oriented or subject-centered convergence, which have been widely studied in existing convergence education [11,19,21,33].

SMICE is a specialized form of education in Korea. Korea introduced STEAM education into the national curriculum to promote convergence education by combining subjects and coding (e.g., SMICE) [8,29,32,33]. Recently, as the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) education has increased, policies regarding AI convergence education have being actively implemented. Although teachers agree on the importance of AI, they have been unable to determine a clear direction for teaching AI education and supporting AI convergence education. In this study, a method for converging coding with other subjects was presented [7,51]. Further research is needed to explore ways to conduct convergence education involving AI in information subjects.

4. Conclusions

Since 2011, Korea has been actively conducting convergence education, led by STEAM education, to nurture convergence talent. However, convergence education cannot be activated effectively due to the difficulties encountered in schools. Previous studies have indicated that the problem with convergence education in Korea is that it focuses on “convergence”. For example, choosing a subject to teach, such as ordering a salad at a salad shop, and presenting the contents of several subjects is considered convergence. Since the contents of various subjects are presented, many contents can be learned, but no wholeness (educational effect) through the convergence of subjects could be expected. This is equivalent to the quantitative approach in an integrated curriculum. In order to solve this problem, there has been a movement to introduce theme-centered convergence education. However, even in theme-centered education, the contents of various subjects related to the theme are presented. Therefore, it takes the same form as the existing quantitative approach to integrated curriculum.

Convergence education does not present several subjects. However, it is necessary to converge subjects to produce an educational effect, similar to the qualitative approach of an integrated curriculum. Therefore, this study pursued the convergence of science, mathematics, and informatics subjects based on the qualitative approach. Accordingly, competencies related to science, mathematics, and informatics subjects were analyzed, and problem-solving ability was determined using the competencies of the three subjects as common competencies. Themes for developing common competencies were derived, and educational programs were developed. It is meaningful that the convergence education was centered on competency rather than on the form in which the contents of various subjects were presented, as in existing convergence education. This represents a qualitative approach to integrated curriculum, and it is different from the convergence approach to education that is prevalent in Korea.

Middle-school students who received SMICE improved their CPS, and middle-school students who received general SW education also improved their CPS. Therefore, there was a difference in the development of CPS according to teaching–learning, even if the same programming task and the same amount of time were given. The SMICE program developed in this study was effective in developing the CPS of middle-school students. Furthermore, it was confirmed that SMICE effectively influenced the development of CPS, which is a focal competency of SMICE.

Convergence yielded new effects or synergistic cooperation by converging heterogeneous disciplines to solve social phenomena or natural problems that cannot be solved by academic sub-disciplines. In this study, it was expected that new educational effects would emerge through the convergence of science, mathematics, and informatics subjects. Therefore, the change in ATC was examined as the effect of creativity that would appear through subject convergence. The results show that there is no change in ATC following general SW education, but middle-school students who received SMICE improved their ATC. This confirmed that SMICE was effective in improving middle-school students’ ATC. Thus, when education that combines science, mathematics, and informatics subjects was conducted, middle-school students better understood the knowledge and the relevance of convergence.

In this study, the educational effect of SMICE was verified, but the following limitations existed. The first was the research subject. The SMICE program was developed for middle- and high-school students. However, this study was only conducted on middle-school students. Therefore, it is also important to conduct a study on high-school students to analyze the effects of SMICE.

The next limitation was the type of SMICE. In this study, “curling games using friction force”, “moving of particles”, “time-speed graph”, and “calculate the area of a fan-shaped figure” were developed in a modular form and were used for treatment. For each topic, “curling games using friction force” and “calculate the area of a fan-shaped figure” fell under CSK, and “moving of particles” and “time-speed graph” fell under PSRL. Therefore, CACFS-related modules were not used in the treatment and the types were not the same for each theme. SMICE programs were developed to foster problem-solving skills, but there are differences in the difficulty or activities in the steps for each type. Therefore, the effects of SMICE may vary depending on the subject used in the study. In this study, online and offline classes were conducted simultaneously due to COVID-19. Therefore, themes were selected and used for treatment. In future work, it is necessary to analyze in depth the effects of the types of SMICE.

In addition, those who acquired general SW education were set up as the control group to analyze the effects of SMICE. SMICE was developed to overcome the limitations of existing convergence education programs. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the differences between general convergence education and SMICE and derive the educational effects according to the type of convergence in education. However, there are many types of convergence, and it is difficult to develop and apply educational programs on the same theme and with the same educational objectives. Therefore, in this study, the task of developing a program corresponding to the same theme was conducted, but there was a difference in the process of performing the task (experimental group: convergence vs. control group: rote skill and application in programming). Therefore, it is necessary to study ways to clarify the difference between existing convergence education and SMICE.

In this study, ATC was used as a test tool to examine the educational effects of SMICE. Previous studies have found that ATC and convergence attitudes are different, and it is necessary to cultivate a convergent attitude while having a convergence attitude. This means that the convergent attitude is a higher competency than ATC. The study confirmed that SMICE is effective in improving ATC. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of SMICE on convergence attitudes.

Finally, this study confirmed that SMICE was effective in improving CPS and ATC, but not all factors under CPS and ATC showed significant improvement. However, there was a limitation in that the experiment was difficult to conduct due to the unprecedented situation of COVID-19. Therefore, based on the results of this study, it is necessary to improve SMICE programs for middle-school students and verify their educational effects.