Science learning in elementary schools aims to help students understand scientific concepts through observation and real experiences. This study aims to describe the improvement of fifth-grade elementary school students' conceptual understanding related to the properties of light through the application of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning model. SDN 2 Cilumba conducted the study, employing the pre-experimental method of a one-group pretest-posttest design. The instruments used included a concept understanding test and interviews. The results of data analysis showed a significant increase in students' average scores, from 58.81 (pretest) to 78.53 (posttest). The paired t-test produced a significance value of 0.000 < 0.05, indicating that the STEM model was effective in improving students' conceptual understanding. The results of the interviews revealed that students were enthusiastic about participating in STEM-based learning, even though teachers faced time constraints and students had difficulty restating concepts. Overall, the majority of students were in the good understanding category (60.01%), excellent (26.66%), and sufficient (13.33%). These findings reinforce that the STEM approach can be an alternative to meaningful and intriguing science learning at the elementary school level.
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