Teaching STEM In Fun Ways To Today’s Students – Tips For Teachers

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Teachers Need To Keep Pace: 

Kids today grow up with technology integrated into their lives. This can cause challenges for educators trying to make science, technology, engineering, and math exciting instead of something mundane. Today’s tips from FutureSTRONG Academy are geared toward new teachers looking for fun ways to get their students excited about STEM.

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What Is STEM? 

According to Live Science, STEM is a combination of four academic disciplines: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These are critical to a child’s education and later adult development. While children tend to believe that technology is limited to those things around them, there is much more to the world than even this tech-savvy generation has discovered.

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Learning For Teachers, Including Taking Online Courses: 

As an educator, you no doubt are always in pursuit of knowledge. There are many ways that this can help you in the classroom, and programs that feature STEAM integration courses can provide you with the tools you need to include art in your children’s technology lessons. If you want to dive deeper into a particular subject, consider going back to school to earn your bachelor’s degree in education. You have opportunities to complete coursework online from an accredited institution – here’s a good one to look into.

This will not only benefit your students but may also result in a salary increase and open up opportunities as an educator. And when you choose an online option, you have the added benefits of taking classes remotely and a much more affordable tuition than a traditional classroom.

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Fun Ways To Get Kids Excited And Engaged: 

One of the greatest challenges that teachers face is getting children excited and engaged, especially in the world of science and technology. A few ideas that might help include:

• Start a STEM club. You can start clubs at the elementary level all the way up through college. Getting kids together to focus on something they love is a great way to build a school community, give parents a break after school, and help your youngest learners get excited. Starting a club comes with the side benefit of creating an additional revenue stream, particularly if your school creates custom T-shirts for members. This can help offset some of your classroom expenses.

• Take students to STEM venues. STEM events happen all over the country every day. In addition to annual and one-time events, there are plenty of places, including the CDC Museum in Atlanta and San Francisco’s Exploratorium, that you can visit any time of year. Another great idea here is to host your own science fair, mathematics competition, or engineering showcase. You might even pit classrooms against one another and offer a prize to those with the most student participation.

• Make hands-on projects. Kids learn by doing, and they also like to have fun making messes. STEM activities are perfect for both. One example is the egg drop challenge. While the goal is to not break the egg, every cracked shell will bring about good goals and determination to do better next time. Other hands-on projects include making straw bridges and whipping up multiple batches of cookies with different chemical elements, such as no baking soda, added vinegar, or an extra egg.

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Why It’s Important: 

Scientific breakthroughs can do everything from creating stronger materials to curing cancer. Smithsonian Magazine recently showcased several scientific discoveries that happened in 2021. These included studying lemur hibernation, which may help scientists slow down human biological functions during surgeries, and using slime mold memory to improve artificial intelligence.

Ultimately, science, technology, engineering, and math don’t have to be boring, even if children are exposed to these ideas every day. By getting the youngest learners in your classroom excited about each of these areas, you may just be teaching the next great mind and laying the foundation for breakthroughs that can drive our future as a civilization. As technology continues to change, so too must classroom teaching strategies so that children don’t become complacent and just accept science and tech as automatic functions. We must remind them that there are always humans behind breakthroughs.

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FutureSTRONG Academy fosters curiosity and creativity in a fun 21st Century environment along with essential life skills and Emotional Intelligence. Contact us today to find out more! 678.310.5025

Featured Photo Credit: Image via Unsplash

Article Author: Julie Morris

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