Why is STEM Important in Early Childhood Education?
Schools play a vital role in imparting knowledge to students. After all, a person spends nearly 1/5th of his/her life going to school. STEM education focuses on building habits that will help children throughout their lives, from critical thinking skills, problem-solving and creative thinking to computation and interpersonal skills. They learn how to apply all of these to their daily life for building a better world around them.
1. Elementary School
One might think that students under 5 years of age can do little when it comes to STEM. However, researchers have found that children in this age bracket are exceptionally quick learners and exhibit great creative and technical abilities. Hence, at this stage, a brief introduction to STEM courses along with future career options are discussed. Its primary focus is on standards-based structure, inquiry-based and real-world problem-based learning, connecting all four STEM subjects. The objective is to arouse students’ interest and curiosity to pursue these courses without forcing them.
2. Middle School
The courses are designed in such a way that the students are curious to learn more. The objective here is to make them learn ‘how’ to learn not ‘what’ to learn. This enables them to pursue their interests early on while also being aware of the career options available to them after taking STEM courses.
3. High School
Students are in their teens during High School. Therefore, this is the time when they are searching for their identity and trying to make career choices. Hence, the programs focus on the application of the subjects in a challenging and rigorous manner. Along with that students are also guided for post-Secondary Education and employment.
What is STEM Education and Why is it Important?
When life challenges you, it surely doesn’t test your abilities to do maths, physics, chemistry, etc individually. Instead, it tests your abilities to handle the situation using the teachings of these subjects; the theoretical base with the practicality of life. This is where STEM education establishes its firm foot in the field of education to help the 21st-century population sail through life.
With the rapid change in market trends and the nature of desirable skills in the workforce, the education sector has introduced STEM education, an acronym for well-known terms– Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.