Article 3

Resources STEM Topics in Elementary Education

Daniel Brenner

 

This article focuses on two available resources for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) topics for elementary teachers. Students are entering college engineering programs without having the appropriate knowledge needed. It is becoming more important to expose young students to STEM concepts at the elementary level. "These concepts can be integrated into core academic subject material" because "engineering design curriculum uses math, science and other core subjects" (Brenner, 2009, p. 14).

 

The two resources discussed in this article are Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Engineering is Elementary (EiE). PLTW is a nonprofit organization that mainly offers middle and high school STEM curriculum, but also has several elementary lessons. It uses hands-on, project-based, and design-based instruction because students involved in this type of learning will have higher academic achievement, thinking skills, and cooperative learning abilities. EiE is geared towards increasing technological literacy and engineering skills in children by using social studies and English skills. The students read stories and problem solve to come up with a solution to help the characters. The problem-solving skills are helped by using activity-based learning and projects. Several example lesson descriptions are included from each resource to help teachers choose the most appropriate lesson for their classroom.

 

 

I really enjoyed this article because many times while reading about STEM education, it is geared towards higher education. Professions in these areas are booming, yet we do not have enough educated, qualified people to fill the positions. If we start early by getting our students interested and engaged in these topics, they will continue that interest throughout their academic career. I really liked that these resources were available specifically for elementary school teachers included the website were they could be found in their entirety. The example lessons seemed very engaging and would be something students would enjoy and would pull in from other core subject areas to be fully integrated. The EiE program really interested me because it uses stories which the students have to then problem solve from. These resources build on project and problem-based learning and also require students to collaborate with others. I could see myself using one of these lessons and allowing the students to work on the projects in class. Because it is not just solely science, they will be building on their other skills as well. The only thing that would make these resources difficult would be the additional resources that may be needed, such as technology.





Article can be found here: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/eds/detail?vid=2&sid=49948eac-cf7a-4bc9-9a6c-f91b915ed661%40sessionmgr104&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=44768456