Simple
STEAM for Teachers
At KAPLAN, they believe that when they play, they
learn.
For that reason, they have established a special way for
teaching children in preschool and elementary grades through what they call STEAM; S goes for Science, T
goes for Technology, E goes for Engineering, A goes for Arts and M goes for
Math.
STEAM aligns with the way children’s minds learn from a
very early age when there are skills that should be developed, such as;
creativity, communications, teamwork (collaboration), and critical thinking
(problem solving skills).
These skills will prepare them for the jobs of the
future where the key to optimizing learning is to integrate activities instead
of teaching as individual subjects. The subjects do not work on their own and
instead should be woven together.
Jobs in the real world are interdisciplinary; rarely
does a job require only one skill. For example, an architect would use science,
math, engineering, art and technology to do their job.
There are steps for teaching a theme in STEAM; for
example, the rockets. Step 1 is using a terminology that goes with the theme
and helps them learn, such as “The Rocket Blown in a Straw”. Step 2 is attaching
the title with a expression that relates it to the future job like “Talk Like
Engineers!”. Step 3 is reading a book or showing them a video about the theme
followed by asking many open-ended questions. Step 4 is doing a handmade rocket
with the available materials (papers, colors, scissors, tape, straw). Step 5 is
predictions and hypothesis; where new questions can be arisen and then tested
if possible.
With respect to the everyday language that supports
STEAM thinking, the following questions should be told to the children: “what
do you see, what do you hear, how do they sound and smell, how are they the
same, how are they different, what happens when you try…” in addition to
supporting their curiosity through saying “you seem curious about…”.
What’s nice about STEAM is that the teacher doesn’t
have to be an expert in every single subject, because he/she is a researcher
with the children. And as a result, when children investigate, they experience
the satisfaction from figuring out how things work; they build confidence and
discover that they can try different things. In addition to helping them
exercise other skills such as, focusing attention, motivation, switching
between tasks and problem solving.
Finally, it’s fitting to mention here what Edgar Dale
says; “We remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss with others, 80% of what we personally EXPERIENCE,
and 95% of what we TEACH others”.
Paraphrased by Fatima Sleiman.
Presented
by Marnie Forestieri, CEO, Young Innovators; and Dr. Debby Mitchell, Education
Advisor, Young Innovators
