STEM and STEAM education are being impacted. These abbreviations, composed of prefixes, represent the convergence of science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics and other disciplines, and are the focus of future talent training proposed by the US Department of Education.
This kind of practice is just the best practice field for hands-on, learning while doing, and doing (maker) practice, so Sonya, the mother who suspended classes, has asked Ethan to do experiments since she was two years old, such as color mixing, the interaction between baking soda and vinegar, the physical phenomenon of water at different temperatures, the capillary action of plants, the proportion of water and oil, or centrifugal force, etc., so that he can use the materials he can get in his kitchen to carry out these safe, easy-to-operate and interesting experiments.
Friends around me always ask, "such a small child knows nothing." Can he do the experiment? " ? 」
So I recorded the whole process of little Ethan's hands-on experiment with a film and shared it with you in LittleTinker's educational laboratory. In addition to recording myself, I observed the children's attitude, confusion and hand muscle development in the experiment more deeply. The purpose is to show parents that children can not only do experiments, but also do them with great interest.
Why is this? Although Ethan didn't fully understand the principles of physics or chemistry and couldn't explain the reasons behind it, when he was two years old, when he watched himself blow up a big balloon because of the interaction between baking soda and vinegar, he tried again and again in color mixing. My observation tells me that he has learned too many important abilities, focusing, observing, trying and doing things. Although he doesn't fully understand the reasons behind these phenomena, he has been able to grasp the reasons of these phenomena conceptually.
He also learned to practice listening to experiments, tried to put the methods he heard into practice, concentrated on the operation with his small eyes and hands, and tried to be patient and enjoy the process when he was clumsy. Then I saw him trying to express his doubts, trying to find answers, constantly reflecting and trying to understand what he saw.
Through experiments, he learned that everything has its changing laws, and he was full of expectations for these unknown mysteries.
My observation is not just an example. The latest research found that preschool children can also understand the concepts of basic science and mathematics. A new report from the Children's Creativity Center of the Exploration Museum in the Bay Area of California, USA, points out that infants under one year old have the ability to develop complex thinking skills related to the concepts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It is found that babies are born scientists, because babies develop theories about how the world works by observing, exploring and experimenting their own environment, and they continue to learn in this way.
According to my observation and reflection on Ethan's experiment, I put forward five methods to cultivate children's STEM thinking ability and share them with you:
1. Give children "operational toys": These toys can be turned into various things through children's imagination, creativity and hands, such as clay balls that can be pinched, building blocks that can be stacked and reassembled, paper and pens that can be colored and painted, or origami. I think these operational toys also contain any environmentally friendly materials that can be obtained locally, such as leaves and branches, gravel and shells, used bottles and cans, packaged cartons, toilet paper rolls and so on. It is very suitable for children to exert their imagination and creativity. What's better, such toys are unique.
2. "Repeat" game: Adults may find it a little annoying to repeat actions over and over again, but children like it very much. In fact, repetitive activities can help children learn many complicated concepts. Take an example of picking up a toy and throwing it down. At first, the child may have accidentally dropped the toy, but when he picked it up, he felt very funny, and then he dropped the toy and picked it up again. When parents see this situation, I estimate that most of them will scold their children and tell them not to destroy toys, hoping to take the opportunity to cultivate the concept of cherishing things. If the toys dropped here can be thrown away without damage, we might as well start to guide children to think, why did the toys fall? Will the book drop? Why don't they fly up there? If everything will fall, what is the reason? Is there anything that isn't like this? Taking advantage of these situations in life, in the case of repetition, we can reel off the cocoon again and again, and help children learn complex concepts with an exploratory attitude, such as gravity and causality.
3. Exercise children's brain muscles with "pretend" and "explore" games: in the restaurant, children can't sit still, you don't have an iPad or toys. At this time, you might as well play "pretend game" with him to cultivate his creativity and imagination; In a strange environment, children are afraid to shrink into their mother's arms. At this time, you can play "exploration games" with him, let him be a little detective, a policeman or a brave cartoon character you like, and let the children explore the surrounding environment.
4. Don't answer in a hurry, get into the habit of asking children "how/what/why": children love to ask questions, so parents don't have to answer in a hurry, let alone "ask your father", "ask your mother" or "ask your teacher". Instead, ask them questions such as "how", "what" and "why". Let your little guy think and question his experience.
5. Give your child a chance to express himself: When your child shows you his masterpiece on a napkin, most parents want to encourage him and say, "Great", "How can you be so amazing?" In fact, these high-sounding compliments are not only hypocritical, but also useless. Try saying, "Why didn't you break your napkin?" What inspired you to draw this picture? Give children a chance to express themselves. In the process of narration, children may understand that they have done this by controlling hand muscles, and they will also notice the relationship between the strength that different materials can bear and the water absorption. These can effectively cultivate children's STEM ability.
Therefore, the key to the cultivation of STEM ability lies in how to interact with children more consciously and make every interaction meaningful. In fact, experts advise parents not to teach their children too much and not to fill their children's itinerary. On the contrary, they should pay attention to the opportunity of creating experience and take the STEM phenomenon around us as the content of learning. Then, everything can be learned from the STEM education of young children.
* This article is authorized by Tinker Bell Education Laboratory, and it is forbidden to reprint without permission.
"This article is the author's view on cooperative innovation, not his position."