By now, you’ve probably heard the acronym STEM from every child, teacher, and school in your neighborhood. But what is STEM education and why is it important?

Lessons grounded in STEM support curiosity, teamwork, and creativity. It also invites children to think critically and solve real-world problems. Involving children in STEM lessons at an early age not only sets a foundation for higher learning, but allows them to develop necessary skills for successful careers in the future.

What is STEM?

STEM is an acronym. It stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.

• Science is the study and understanding of the natural world.
• Technology refers to tools and simple machines that make work easier.
• Engineering is using tools to plan and design a solution to a problem.
• Math is the study and understanding of shapes, numbers, and patterns.

Rather than teach each of these subjects separately, STEM integrates all subjects with hands-on projects and challenges. Most lessons involve children working together as a team to solve relevant problems. This will ultimately show children how their studies can be applied to the real world.

For example, a STEM challenge for a first grader could be as follows:

• Design a bridge that will allow people to drive over a river. The bridge must be able to hold the weight of at least 3 cars (toy cars).

For this challenge, students need to collaborate and communicate with their peers to solve the problem. Students must think about:

• Gravity and other forces acting on the bridge (science)
• Tools needed to make the bridge (technology)
• Planning, designing, and making the bridge (engineering)
• Shapes and angles of materials, and weight of the toy cars (math)

Why is STEM Important?

A Love for Learning

• STEM encourages children to explore their imaginations, ask questions, and solve problems on their own.
• STEM lessons are fun and hands on, as they allow children to learn while “playing.”
• Learning by doing is essential for young learners to grasp concepts.
• The connection to real world problems allows a deeper understanding of concepts.
• Most Importantly, STEM lessons foster a love for learning as children strengthen their skills and gain self-efficacy when they complete challenges.

STEM Challenges Children

• STEM lessons are created to challenge children to think critically.
• STEM education invites children to be creative, ask questions, and collaborate with others to find solutions.
• Children learn that failure is ok. It teaches them to keep pushing through hard problems.

 

I hope after reading this you have a better understanding of what STEM education is and how it contributes to your child’s education experiences.

For interactive hands-on STEM activity books, check out Smart Start STEM for grades preK-1.

For ideas for STEM activities to inspire your child, see 5 Ways You Can Support Stem Skills at Home and view our Pinterest board: STEM and STEAM activities.

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Tiffany Rivera graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Family and Human Development and is currently studying for her Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She has over 10 years experience as a preschool teacher and has also taught elementary-high school English in South Korea. Tiffany is currently working for Evan-Moor’s editorial team, where she writes fun and engaging books for young children and classrooms.