STEAM Thinking: Helping Children Become Critical, Creative Thinkers

 STEAM Thinking: Helping Children Become Critical, Creative Thinkers

Summer — long days filled with sunshine and no school. My column during this time of the year usually tends to be about   a special library program for children at Ames Public Library (APL). This column is no different; it is about a Library program but one that you can pick up at the Library to explore at home as a family. Very appropriately titled “@Home Activities,” they are kits that examine a concept using the principles of STEAM thinking. There are also related videos created by APL’s youth staff on the Library’s website. But what is STEAM thinking, why is it important and how does it relate to children?

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math. If you are involved in the life and education of a young child, you have no doubt heard how important these concepts are in education and that employment opportunities in the STEAM fields are growing, representing over 6.2 percent of jobs in the United States, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. We need to prepare our children to succeed in this STEAM-driven future, but how and where do we start?

STEAM, in my opinion, is about both learning subject concepts and learning to think critically, analyze problems and find creative solutions. Hence, STEAM engagement is about learning to use a new app on the iPad and also about constructing the best ever bed-sheet fort using engineering principles; it is as much about learning to add and subtract as it is about sorting and finding patterns — be it with clothes in the laundry or beads for a necklace. STEAM thinking is about asking questions, looking for patterns, and testing to see what happens if something is changed. It is making a series of informed iterations to create a better process or product.

In her essay “From STEM to STEAM, How Early Childhood Educators Can Apply Fred Rogers’ Approach,” author Hedda Sharapan talks about how Rogers incorporated STEAM thinking naturally and creatively in everyday moments, taking time to talk about what he noticed and calling children’s attention to it. STEAM thinking is and can be part of everyday life. Take for example a simple family activity such as playing with bubbles. This activity that most children love can be extended further with STEAM thinking. For instance, bubbles are pockets of air wrapped in a soap film, but what is in the bubble solution that makes bubbles? This is exploring science. What about the bubble wands and the implements used to make bubbles? What effect does the type of wand have on the size and strength of bubbles? This is exploring tools and technology. What other factors have an effect in constructing a bubble? Does how fast you blow into the wand matter? What about external conditions like temperature? Do bubbles last longer in cool weather or warm? Why? This is engineering. How about the colors on the bubble, do you see how the surface reflects the colors around it? This is art. And the math part: study the shape of a bubble. What is this shape called? Why do bubbles naturally form this shape? This is STEAM thinking, where inquiry, observation and iterations to the process further understanding.

Here’s the most important part for adults: You do not have to be a STEAM expert or even have all the answers to engage in such thinking, according to Sharapan. What you do need is to foster, applaud and encourage this type of critical thinking. What matters are not the answers but getting children to pay attention to their environment in an intentional manner. By the way, if you do want answers to some of the questions here, watch the APL “@Home Activity” video about bubbles at http://bit.Ly/APLvideos.

Young children have a natural disposition towards science and approach it with a sense of curiosity and creativity, says author Nancy DeJatnette in her essay “Implementing STEAM in the Early Childhood Classrooms.” STEAM activities like APL’s “At Home Activities” kits can help children initiate and foster this engagement. The added bonus here, of course, is that this type of learning also fun.