Education

Effective STEM-Teaching Methods for Children

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The importance of early STEM education can never be ignored. I had already discussed this point in depth in one of my previous articles. But in this one, I am going to discuss a few of the effective STEM teaching methods that can help to create a gratifying learning experience for the children in particular.

Remember, you cannot use the conventional textual and methodical methods for teaching effective STEM to kids. You need to be a little flexible, and incorporate something out of the ordinary in your teaching techniques to create a productive STEM learning environment for kids. In this article we have provided a few tips that can come in handy for you. Let’s go through them without further ado.

  1. Inculcate responsibility in students

Remember STEM is all about encouraging innovation and creativity in kids. You have to encourage them to think on their own, work on their own and solve on their own.

The first step to fulfilling that goal of yours is to inculcate the feeling of responsibility in your students. Remember you cannot do the job on their behalf; otherwise it would defeat the purpose.

You should behave like a football manager. Your students are your players. You’re standing on the sidelines and shouting instructions to your players. But it’s the job of the players to execute them according to the situation. Your STEM-teaching approach should be based exactly on this model.

The inculcation of responsibility in kids from a very early age can definitely go a long way indeed. It helps to shape their career in the best possible way. So is there something not to like? Guess not!

  1. Promote curiosity in kids

Encourage your students to ask constructive questions that can lead to several answers. Such open-ended questions can definitely inculcate the thirst of knowledge in kids which is something that can benefit them in the long run.

Alternatively, you can also raise an open-ended question in your class and encourage your students to come up with different answers of their own. This practice can also benefit the class as a whole and can also help to inculcate a critical problem-solving mentality in kids.

  1. Take it outside your class

STEM is all about imagination and innovation. The best way to channelize imagination is to let it run free. So promote a STEM learning environment outside the walls of your classroom. It works you know. Here are a few tips for you.

  • Using the aid of science and technology TV programs for kids can work wonders. For example, there’s a program called A.Q. that teaches various practical applications of STEM in an engaging manner. You can use such things to your benefits.
  • Try basic practical STEM-related experiment sessions with your students. It can work wonders. And don’t forget to take proper safety measures for yourself and for the kids while you are involved in the same.
  • Use games, puzzles, building blocks, Keva planks etc. to your benefit. They help to promote brain activities in kids.
  • Hands-on STEM learning courses like LEGO robotics and coding can also help you out in such circumstances. So you can consider having such sessions in schools for the benefit of children in general.
  • You should also encourage yourself with full gusto to promote participation in your students.
  1. Encourage your students to work in teams to promote teamwork

Teamwork is the key to getting a job done. So try to inculcate this much-necessary trait in your kids from a very early age.

You can do that through STEM-related activities that can be done in groups. Things like that are more than capable of doing the job for you.

P.S. Teamwork also helps to bring out the leadership skills in students; a much-needed trait; isn’t it?

  1. Connect STEM with real life

Most kids find it very difficult to connect all those complex STEM technical concepts with that of their real life. This makes it believe that the entire subject is abstract in nature.

You need to curb that belief in those kids. The best way to do that is to make your students see the connection between the STEM and our real life. Once you are able to do it to perfection, you will definitely be surprised to see the positive results that it can bring with it.

So that’s it then. If you are a tutor or a teacher, we hope these tips come in handy for you. With that, we’ll sign off for the time being. Hope you had a good read.

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