26 January 2018
A first-of-its-kind study by Michigan State University researchers found that early childhood educators’ self-reported ability and enjoyment was high for literacy, but much lower for science and math. Such finding echoes the recent survey conducted by the Federation of Education Workers in Hong Kong that only 36% of teachers are confident teaching STEM.
While we acknowledge that providing quality early-childhood STEM education is one way to boost up their innovation capability, parents and community need to do more to help our next generation. Early childhood period is a time when kids begin developing knowledge and skills for science, children age 4-6 have the capacity to engage in and learn from scientific thinking.
If preschool teachers struggle with science due to lack of quality training, preparation or an aversion to STEM, parents and community can act the role of connecting quality STEM learning through after school or parents-child activities. It needs to be fun and challenging, aiming at motivating kids to explore and experiment using different science materials. Different age groups will have different learning objectives. Students collaborating
Junior kids age between 4 to 6 need to emphasis individual discovery and inquiry. Exploration of STEM through authentic hands-on experiences and real-world application will help inspire them for further investigation.
When interests built, kids age between 7 to 10 will expect to solve fun and engaging challenges. Our role will be to help them reflect, connect and apply to real-world. It will be more effective if it constructs authentic, open-ended designs in collaborative small groups.
Teenage learners will expect to create collaborative solutions to complex problems using technology, science and math. Our role will help them discuss current events and explore future questions related to the various fields of STEM.
To close the gap of STEM learning, it demands parents and community to explore more. In STEMex, we strive to minimise the gap through our community STEM programs. In March 2018, we will start launch our first parents-child activities for parents to join STEM with their kids age 4-6 on every Sunday morning. Stay tune for our announcement!
