| Sumario: | Background: Society requires individuals to have the ability to synthesise knowledge from diverse sources, typically acquired through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Objectives and Methods: We utilised a moderately rigorous design to investigate the effects of combining a hands‐on STEM activity with active learning approaches of knowledge building (KB) and flipped learning on the learning performance of 188 senior students. Students needed to work in groups to construct a remote‐controlled car using a remote‐control module and electrical circuit, followed by the task of putting balls into a basket. Results: After the activity, all participants' STEM knowledge, learning motivation, and creativity improved. For STEM knowledge, students who received the integrated KB and flipped learning approach (E2 group) outscored those who received only KB (E1 group), whereas the E1 group outperformed those who received lectures (control group). For learning motivation, the E1 group outperformed the control group. The E2 group outperformed the control group on the post‐test only when the students' learning motivation pre‐test scores were lower, suggesting the effectiveness of both active learning approaches. For creativity, both E1 and E2 groups performed better than the control group. Conclusions: The potential benefits of combining active learning approaches with hands‐on STEM activities were revealed in terms of STEM knowledge, learning motivation, and creativity. Surprisingly, the combination method was the most effective in energising unmotivated students for STEM education. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic?: Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) hands‐on activities have been prioritised worldwide to cultivate students' abilities to integrate disparate bits of information obtained from multiple sources into coherent knowledge.Two active learning approaches—knowledge building (KB) and flipped learning—are especially well‐suited for STEM hands‐on activities.Prior research on KB has frequently examined only a subset of student performance by using a somewhat less rigorous experimental design.The impact of flipped learning and classroom on student performance is still debatable, and more constructivist teaching methodologies, such as KB, are required. What does this paper add?: Students' performance improved after participating in a hands‐on STEM project that involved building a remote‐controlled car and completing a ball‐in‐the‐basket task.KB and flipped learning helped to foster students' STEM knowledge and creativity.Students who lacked learning motivation benefited the most from the combination of KB and flipped learning. Implications for practice and/or policy: The potential benefits of combining active learning approaches with hands‐on STEM activities in STEM knowledge, learning motivation, and creativity have been revealed.The combination of KB and flipped learning was most effective in energising unmotivated students for STEM education.
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