As our global community continues to debate solutions to climate change and limited resources, we know with certainty that we are preparing our children for an unknown future.  Preparing children for the world ahead of them is a challenge all parents and educators face. Helping our children learn HOW to think instead of knowing WHAT to think is the key to their success and confidence as they navigate life experiences. Teaching them to look at problems creatively through different lenses encourages unique and sometimes wild solutions. The possibilities are endless, if we expose our children to diverse approaches toward learning. One approach is STEAM.

What is STEAM?

STEAM is an approach to learning in which science, technology, engineering, arts, and math are used as access points to guide student inquiry, problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration.

Why STEAM?

STEAM encourages children to…

• look at and inquire about real-world problems.
• find purpose through making connections.
• think about solutions.
• collaborate with peers.
• persevere and reflect on their solutions.

STEAM is our children’s key to saving the world and their future. More and more companies in the world use the STEAM mindset in their companies. Companies such as Apple and Google have created products like the iPhone and Gmail with this mindset.

AIS and STEAM

In November, students were given an opportunity to work on STEAM projects created by their teachers. The teachers worked on integrating the STEAM model into their science units to help students better connect to the concepts.

• Grade 1 Junior designed push and pull toys for our youngest group of children in EC1 and EC2.
• Grade 1 studied the sun by making shadow statues.
• Grade 2 observed plants growing with different environments.
• Grade 3 created websites that focused on being advocates for endangered animals.
• Grade 4 constructed and tested seismographs.

Students were collaborating with their peers, highly engaged in their learning, and working hard at solving problems they encountered. Classrooms were bustling with excitement and students were having fun learning and using what they learned to improve their projects.

Educational approaches such as STEAM brings hope for our future. They empower children to think critically, to take risks, be innovative, and to create unique solutions to the world’s problems.