You’ve probably seen STEM or STEAM on Pinterest. Lots of cute task cards outlining problem-solving activities. You may have wondered how STEM is taught, when would it fit into an already busy timetable, and probably wondered if there is any benefit to incorporating STEM into your programme? I wondered the same things and I can say categorically, STEM is great. In this article I outline how we use it in our FLE and the benefits it has.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths and STEAM is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths. But even when we know what it is, it doesn’t really help us to understand how to teach it. And that, I decided, actually doesn’t matter. We can take the concept of STEM and use it to enhance our programme, not to create a new one. STEM & STEAM are basically challenges that learners can complete either individually or in small groups. They somewhat resemble the old BP Technology Challenge tasks that were around when I first started teaching – which is a very long time ago!
The great thing about STEM that we have found is that it is a brilliant vehicle for explicitly teaching our School’s Inquiry model and I’m sure it will enable you to do the same with yours. The following is a quick overview of a STEM-based Inquiry we completed with our Year Ones and Twos.
Most Inquiry models start with some form of Hook – something that captures the learners’ attention and wonderment. I use letters a lot as motivators. Last year, Fairy Tale characters wrote to our students asking for help. As you can imagine the little kids were hooked! The poor characters were sick of not being able to solve their own problems. The Three Little Pigs were tired of sharing a house and needed help designing and making a new ‘wolf-proof’ house. Jack enjoyed climbing the beanstalk for exercise but he needed a quick way to get down to escape the giant and the Three Billy Goats Gruff wanted the children to help them cross the river safely away from the Troll’s bridge.
Each character wrote to the children individually outlining their problem. Each letter contained the criteria which the children had to meet. Simple things like the characters saying they weigh the same as plastic animals and so the bridge for example must be able to hold three of them. Depending on the age of your learners, you can make the criteria for challenges more or less involved.
The next step in our Inquiry model is Wonder. At this point the children were required to brainstorm all their thoughts, ideas and questions about the task required to be completed. Children worked in groups and used organisers I’d made to record their thinking.
From there the children move into Explore. Here we’d watch videos of how strong different designs of bridges are. We tested materials to find the one that would gently float down when dropped for a parachute for Jack. We learnt all about truss bridges and arch bridges. We learnt about load and pressure-points. Children worked as a team and recorded their answers on an organiser.
Around this point we asked the children to stop and reflect on what they were trying to do, what they had found out and what did knowing this information mean to them and to solving the problem. Once again we had an organiser for them to record their thinking on and together they came up with a plan for where to next.
For these challenges the children were able to design a solution. They drew plans for bridges, parachute designs, houses with barbed wire chimneys and moats to stop wolves from coming in. We set criteria for what makes a good diagram and let the children each design their solution. In their groups they shared their plan and together they decided which one or which combinations of plans would work the best to solve the problem.
The next part was probably the children’s favourite part. The part where they got to make their designs. We used Lego, plastic bags, boxes, ice-block sticks etc to build some marvellous creations.
Each group had what we called a STEM Captain. This leader was designated to make sure the Inquiry model was followed and was charged with keeping their group on task.
At the end of the Inquiry the children received another letter saying the fairytale characters were going to send a representative to come and see all the solutions the children had made. One of the Mums works for an amateur theatre company so it was not too hard for her to rustle us up a princess to come to a special assembly. We set the stage with fairy lights and the children sat as quiet as mice waiting for their special visitor to arrive. A soundtrack of a horse and carriage pulling up played, and you could’ve heard a pin drop. In entered Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
The children spent the next half an hour explaining their solutions for each of the characters problems and outlined the process they went through. We had a room full of parents who had come to share the special celebration of their child’s learning and it was a big success.
This year the Lorax has written to the children asking for help for the birds as they have nowhere to feed since the Onceler made the thneed. Our children are currently busy designing bird-feeders and one child, who we also taught last year, has asked if I think the Lorax could come and visit like last year.
STEM provided our learners with authentic (although somewhat imaginative) learning. It allowed of the stages of our Inquiry model to be specifically taught. After scaffolding the learners through the process on a couple of challenges, were we confident in their ability to follow the process by themselves. That’s what you want. Lasting memories and fun all make for a successful teaching of Inquiry using STEM as one of your vehicles. Good luck.