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Why STEAM will prepare primary school students today for the jobs of tomorrow
Why STEAM will prepare primary school students today for the jobs of tomorrowIn today’s constantly changing world, being skilful in STEAM is like having a superpower. That is because these skills are crucial in securing jobs that are always in demand and will continue to play a central role in the future labour market (Kerry, 2024). Every other day, new tech devices and software are released, with companies and individuals trying to figure out how to work with them and make the best use of them. This is where STEAM skills come in. It’s no longer about memorising equations or following instructions. It’s about thinking outside of the box, solving problems, thinking critically, and being creative -skills that will come in handy no matter the career path students (a.k.a. future workers) choose!
However, to be skilful in STEAM, students need years of exposure and practice in a STEAM environment. This means they need to start young! That’s why communication scientists, experts from tech and education fields and even ministers of education from all over the world (e.g.: Germany, Portugal, UK
and the USA) are incentivising for programs and pushing a more STEAM-focused curricula transition (Robo Wunderkind, 2024)! That’s the reason why it’s important to encourage and expose students to STEAM as early as possible, i.e., during primary school, which is what our project STEAM Tales is advocating for!
Nowadays, there are so many free online resources; there’s no excuse not to implement STEAM activities in class! Some perfect examples are STEM Learning, NASA STEM
Engagement
and Khan Academy’s
comprehensive and easy-to-navigate platforms! You can learn more about them in a previous article
of ours!
So why wait until high school or college to explore STEAM? By introducing primary students to STEAM concepts early on, we’re laying the foundations for future success. We’re showing them how "to deal positively and productively with 21st-century global challenges that are impacting the economy, the natural environment, and our diverse cultural heritage" (Taylor, 2016, p. 86). We’re showing young students that learning about the world around them isn’t just something that can be done in a dusty old classroom–it’s an adventure of the world that surrounds them and is waiting for them! Who wouldn’t want to spend their days exploring the mysteries of nature, building robots or exploring the wonders of the cosmos?
Jennifer Berne wrote the lyrical picture book biography "Look Up with Me: Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Life Among the Stars" which chronicles the journey of the astrophysicist and science communicator. In the book's foreword, written by Neil deGrasse Tysonhimself, he highlights the significance of curiosity in children. He claims that kids are born scientists and that “Scientists are kids who never lost their natural childhood curiosity about the world” (p. 1). When you look at it, kids are always doing messy things. They like to jump on puddles of mud, paint the floor with crayons and make noises by hitting spoons on pots and pans.
And when adults see it, they stop them from doing it! While it might look like a good decision, they are stopping the kids’ experiments! Although they weren’t aware of it, the kids were unconsciously learning about fluid dynamics and how the viscosity of the mud affects the way it flows and splashes when someone jumps into the puddle; they were exploring arts and figuring out how mixing primary colours create secondary colours; they were doing an acoustic experiment and understanding how spoons made of different material (e.g. an aluminium and a cooper one) create different sounds as they hit on pots and pans! Maybe one day when they’re adults they’ll face a real-life challenge and will say “Oh, I know how to solve that!” while thinking about the “messy thing” they were doing when they were young! In conclusion, driven by innate curiosity and wonder, these young minds are on a mission to understand how things work as they explore the universe around them! Just like a scientist!
So, primary teachers and educators, let’s roll up our sleeves, grab some goggles, and get ready to make the classroom a laboratory of STEAM discovery! To support you in this journey, the STEAM Tales
project offers a comprehensive guide on fostering curiosity and inclusivity in STEAM education, inspiring stories of women in STEAM, and ready-to-use lesson plans with hands-on experiments. Explore these resources
and start empowering young students today, so they can be successful in life tomorrow when they are adults!
References
Berne, J. (2019). Look up with me: Neil deGrasse Tyson: A life among the stars(1st ed.). HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2019
Wunderkind, R.(2024). What is STEAM education and why is it so essential for children?. Robo Wunderkind
S., Kerry (2024). Preparing Kids For The Jobs Of Tomorrow: Investing In STEAM Education. Forbes.
Taylor, P.C. (2016). Session N: why is a STEAM curriculum perspective crucial to the 21st century?,2009-2016 ACER Research Conferences. Paper 6, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Melbourne.
