The Impact of STEAM-Based Music Education on Middle School Students' Learning Outcomes and Creative Thinking Skills

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of STEAM-based music instruction on the music lesson achievements and creative thinking skills of seventh-grade middle school students. A quasi-experimental design with an unpaired pre-test-post-test control group, a quantitative research method, was used in the study. The study group consisted of a total of 64 seventh-grade students attending a middle school in Mersin province during the 2025-2026 academic year. STEAM-based music activities were implemented in the experimental group, while traditional music instruction continued in the control group. The application process was planned for four weeks, with two lesson hours per week. The Music Lesson Achievement Scale and the Kaufman Creativity Scale, developed by the researcher, were used as data collection tools. The applications carried out in the experimental group consisted of interdisciplinary activities such as sound formation, the mathematical structure of rhythm, coding-based melody production, and audio story design. In this process, students produced products by using science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics fields in an integrated manner. In the control group, a traditional teaching method based on the curriculum, teacher-centered, note reading, rhythm studies, and singing was applied. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS program, and independent samples t-tests were applied for intergroup comparisons. The research findings showed that STEAM-based music teaching had significant and positive effects on students' music lesson outcomes and creative thinking skills. Significant improvements were observed, particularly in the dimensions of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. In conclusion, it was observed that STEAM-based music teaching significantly improved both students' academic achievements and creative thinking skills. Therefore, it is recommended that more interdisciplinary activities be included in music lessons, that STEAM-based in-service training for teachers be increased, and that curricula be restructured to support this approach.