Examination of STEM Education Program Using a Growth Test on Komatsuna

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Table 2. Work in progress

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Specifically, making compost process is as follows.

No.1: In preparing the composts, other materials that were used were cardboard, packing tape, a unicycle, a saucer, a large scoop, a small scoop, and measuring instruments. The large scoop and unicycle were used in work progress No.2. The saucer, small scoop, and measuring instruments were used to make the wood-based composts.

No.2: During the raking of fallen leaves, a large scoop and unicycle were used to carry the fallen leaves to the workspace (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Rake up fallen leaves

No.3: A cardboard box was for storing the wood-based composts made using packing tape.

No.4: Sawdust (600g) and fallen leaves (1800g) were mixed in the saucer, after they were measured using measuring instruments (Figure 2, Figure 3). Some branches were removed from the composts when it was mixed sawdust and fallen leaves in the saucer.

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Figure 2. Measure the materials

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Figure 3. Rake fallen leaves

No.5: Rice bran (240g) was added to the No.4 mixture. This was then added to the composts (2400g) to make No.5 (Figure 4).

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Figure 4. Mix No.4 and rice bran

No.6: Some water was added to the Mixture No.5 composts (2640g) to make No.6 (Figure 5).

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Figure 5. Watering

Thereafter, the wood-based composts were stored in a woodworking room on campus at the university (Figure 6). The period of generating composts was 2 months. Wood-based composts were given, as appropriate, water and temperature, and they were stirred once every two weeks to control the condition of soil.

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Figure 6. Wood-based composts

2.2. Growth Test

Purpose of growth test is evaluating the compost. The compost carried out a measure of the maximum leaf length and the maximum leaf width of the vegetable on test pots.

In this study, the growth test of Komatsuna was conducted three times. Komatsuna was defined as Japanese mustard spinach. Komatsuna was adopted because it is strong against for heat and cold, and growth Komatsuna is easier than other vegetables ^[15]. This study conducts a three-step growth test. The exam is as follows.

First test task: The compartment for the first growth test was established as Table.1. This was done to analyze the ratio of compost that was effective for growth. The first test showed that many test pots germinated; however, some test pots did not germinate (Figure 7).

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Figure 7. Komatsuna of First Growth Test

It was concluded that the soil was very hard because it was watered too often. The variations in the growth of Komatsuna in each pot were noted; however, the data collected was not adequate to be statistically analyzed. Therefore, the first growth test did not indicate a better effect on the growth of Komatsuna.

Second test task: The second test was established as Table 2. In this test, many test pots germinated; however, many other test pots were damaged by pest insects (Figure 8). As Table 2 shows, the results of the second growth test task indicated that some compartments had not germinated. This meant that the data was not adequate for statistical analysis.

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Figure 8. Komatsuna of Second Growth Test

Third test task: In the third test, the designated compartment was Table 3. This was where a hypothesis were created. The hypothesis was that a well-balanced ratio of solids and composts encourages the growth of Komatsuna along with appropriate watering regimes and protection from insects (Figure 9).

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Figure 9. Komatsuna with nets for insects

The third growth test was conducted from May 23, 2016 in June 17, 2016. In the third test, soils from the campus field, culture soils, wood-based composts, and cow-dung composts were used. Thereafter, 14 compartments with 70 pots of the soils were divided. Table 3 shows the rates of the soils. In order to test the rate of germination of Komatsuna, 6 tablets of Komatsuna seed were put in each test pot, and in 10 days extra Komatsuna was thinned out. For 26 days, the maximum leaf length and width of Komatsuna in each pot were measured.

Table 3. Result and Mixed the Contents of the First Growth Test

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The third test showed the growth of Komatsuna in all the test pots [Table 4]. These Komatsuna in these pots was prevented from being damaged by pests (Figure 10).

Table 4. Result and Mixed the Contents of the Second Growth Test

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Figure 10. Komatsuna of Third Growth Test

In addition, with regard to the maximum length and width of a leaf, the soil, which was made of 90% culture soil and 10% wood-based composts, had a better effect on growth as compared to the other wood-based composts. These results suggest that the third test could show an improvement in the growth of Komatsuna [Table 5]. It is considered that these results support the hypothesis. It can be concluded that a growth test may become a part of the STEM educational program, as environmental teaching material and wood-based composts were made with woody biomass. Furthermore, the process of the third test may also be used as teaching material in STEM and environmental education.

Table 5. Mixed the Contents of the Third Growth Test

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