Does Web-Based STEM Education Enhance Students’ Research Activities and Knowledge of Solar Panels? An Evaluation of a Web Platform’s Effectiveness

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, integrating educational materials focused on energy efficiency and environmental protection into education has become a pressing priority. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education on students’ research activities in the field of solar energy through a web platform. A pedagogical experiment was organized in the teaching of the “Alternative Energy Sources” course within the physics education program. The web portal of the Growatt server was used as a remote monitoring platform for solar energy systems in the educational process. The pedagogical experiment involved 120 students (control and experimental groups) who implemented STEM projects on the topic of the effect of the angle of incidence on the output power of solar panels. Mathematical and statistical analyses were carried out, and hypotheses were tested using the G*Power software. The results of the study showed that during the course, students became familiar with the main types of solar panels and gained a deeper understanding of their operating principles. Project-based work grounded in STEM education was found to enhance students’ research activities. Integrating research results into education enables students to work with real-time data and better understand solar energy systems through practical projects.