The first half of 2019 has flown by, and so many trends have come and gone, but the STEAM education trend has stayed strong through many recent years and should remain strong for many years more! So, what is this whole “STEAM education” trend about? And why is STEAM education important?
What is STEAM and what is STEAM education? STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math, but STEAM education is more than just a compilation of school subjects. STEAM education is an educational approach to teaching and working with kids with a focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Introducing STEAM knowledge to kids helps them become more creative and critical-thinking as well as helping them learn to solve problems.
Why STEAM Education Is More Important Than Ever in 2019?
1. STEAM Education is Important for the Students
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1. Promote Independent Thinking
STEAM education is not about hand-holding. During the process, students are given room to think, evaluate, and determine how to best complete a project. They might come up with new thoughts and ideas that will be valued and that they will be encouraged to explore. The results are not to be measured simply by success or failure; instead it’s a way of thinking that they learn while completing the projects that matter to them the most.
2. Comprehensive Approach
Many people tend to separate STEM from Art for the supposedly correct conception that art is about being creative and imaginative, while STEM is based on solid numbers and facts. One of the major advantages of STEAM education is its interdisciplinary approach. This is also why STEAM education is so important for students no matter what field, art or science, they choose to pursue.
3. Creative Problem-Solving Skills
There is no doubt that almost all industries are looking for talented people with strong problem-solving skills and the creativity to look for new and innovative solutions. STEAM education promotes open-mindedness and an interdisciplinary approach. The lack of rigidly defined boundaries lets students focus on the problem itself and take advantage of a combination of subjects to customize a solution to solve the problem, instead of putting themselves in little boxes.
2. STEAM Education is Important for the Kid’s Future Career
STEAM education has many more benefits than we mentioned above. Nowadays, more and more parents and educators have come to the realization that the demand for STEAM jobs has been on the rise and will remain this way into the future.
Acctually, based on our research, every job includes at least one STEAM skill which could be trained through the STEAM education. According to the U. S. Department of Commerce, STEAM occupations are growing at 17% per decade, while other occupations are growing at 9.8%. STEAM degree holders have higher incomes even in non-STEAM careers. Therefore, a STEAM education can benefits kids not only for school but also to prepare them for their future careers.
3. STEAM Education is Important for the STEAM Classroom
We’ve talked about some of the benefits kids can get by studying STEAM. For a lot of students, it happens in the classrooms at school. After years of experimenting and improving, teachers have come up with the following concepts they can follow to set up the classrooms and make the learning process more effective:
1. Flexible
STEAM education is not delivered simply through lecturing or reading books. It’s really delivered during hands-on experiences. To gain STEAM knowledge, students are encouraged to work independently or as a group on projects where the project itself fosters all types of essential abilities. Therefore, a STEAM-focused classroom should have more space and flexibility for students to move around. They need to feel free to have a team discussion, focus on their own thoughts, or build things.
2. Integrated
STEAM fields are technology driven, so it’s going to be very hard to teach STEAM without using technology in the classroom. Laptops, tablets, touch pads, and other technology can assist students with things like doing research, communicating, and designing. On the other hand, integrating these hi-tech products in their day-to-day learning is also a real-life example of how STEAM subjects are being used to serve people.
3. Organized
STEAM education can include many hands-on projects. Sometimes you have to build a robot using electronic parts. When there are a good number of tools and parts involved, the classroom tends to get quite chaotic. Having an organized classroom can help both teachers and students save time and be more productive.
4. STEAM Education is Important for the Younger Kids
Is there such a thing as too young to learn STEAM? Well, educators and researchers believe that kids as young as 4 can start playing with a STEAM educational toy. Let’s be honest…it’s sure way better than TV.
Getting kids to learn STEAM subjects at a comparatively young age helps them discover and develop an interest in those fields and prepares them, our future generations, to be successful in their careers with the skills they obtained through STEAM education.
One thing that STEAM can teach children is what we call 21st century skills, which include media and technology literacy, productivity, social skills, communication, initiative, and flexibility, in addition to the skills we mentioned above, such as independent thinking and problem-solving, among others.
What is the Future Trends in STEAM Education
Now that we understand why STEAM education is so important and what benefits it brings to our kids, what does the future hold for STEAM education? The following are five trends to look out for in STEAM education.
1. Training Our Teachers
STEAM education has been around for years, but, for many teachers, it’s still a new topic. A report reveals that a lot of teachers don’t feel confident teaching STEAM at school, not because they’re not interested, but because they’re not trained to effectively use the technology they’re asked to use in the classroom. We believe that in the future there will be more investment going into training the teachers as well as the students as STEAM education becomes more popular.
2. Coding, Coding, Coding
It’s almost impossible to name one electronic gadget that was created without coding getting involved. According to Glassdoor, computer science majors are currently among the highest paid among recent college graduates. Coding is going to be an inseparable part of STEAM education.
3. Make Learning Fun!
Researchers at Stanford University believe that too much homework could potentially inhibit a child’s ability to meet his or her developmental needs or chances to cultivate other crucial life skills. Therefore, we can expect to see more fun and exciting learning methods and tools come out in the future.
4. Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning is being promoted into more classrooms and schools in the U.S. Instead of focusing on teachers lecturing, project-based learning maximizes the time for kids to practice thinking and hone their problem-solving abilities.
5. Parental Participation
Research shows that parental involvement in kids’ education is critical. Regardless of family income or background, students who have more parental involvement in their education are more likely to have better grades and test scores, attend school regularly, and even have better social skills.
STEAM Education is So Important. Where Do We Begin?
You don’t have to wait for school to start teaching STEAM. STEAM education can be taught to your kids at home as well through play with toys. And that is what Makeblock does!
Makeblock Co., Ltd, founded in 2013, is a global STEAM education solution provider. Targeting educational institutions of all sorts as well as families for their STEAM education and entertainment markets, Makeblock provides comprehensive hardware, software, and content solutions, as well as top-notch robotics competitions, with the aim of achieving deep integration of technology and education.
Codey Rockey, MotionBlock, and mBot are some of the STEAM educational toys Makeblock created that have become so very popular. More importantly, these toys are not only just for kids; adults can also have fun with them! Here are more STEAM robotics you will want to check out!
An increasing number of people have realized the importance of STEAM education and have been seeking to incorporate it into traditional school and home educational projects. Makeblock is here to support STEAM education and provide effective solutions! Join us and jump on the train before it’s too late!