This publication is the final report of the Fifth European Education Summit. The European Education Summit is the main annual event of the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) on education and training. It is a high-level event about current topics and trends in education and training in the EU with Commissioners, the Member States’ Education Ministers, representatives of the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and other European institutions as well as with key education stakeholders. The final report summarizes the key aspects mentioned in the different sessions.
Science, technology, engineering, and math are all the rage these days. With STEAM programs popping up everywhere from preschools to after-school programs and from public libraries to private schools, it seems like there’s no escape from the influence of this intriguing topic. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that every kid is equally interested in STEM. Which means that you need to get creative if you want your class to have any chance at all of taking an interest in STEAM. Fortunately, creating an engaging STEAM kit for the classroom is one of the easiest ways to do so. Here are some great tips for how you can build a STEM kit for your classroom without breaking the bank or spending a lot of time on research and planning.
What’s a STEM Kit?
A STEM kit is an activity kit that helps students engage with STEM topics. A STEM kit can include anything from a few supplies and a miniature activity to a full-blown activity table.The key to building a successful STEM kit is to choose activities that are engaging and hands-on, that provide a real sense of discovery and allow students to apply the concepts they learn in a real way.A good STEM kit should also be adaptable and allow you to make it relevant for the age group and skill level of the kids in your classroom.
Why Build a STEM Kit?
There are many different ways to make STEM come alive for your class. One of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to do so is to create a STEM kit for your classroom. A STEM kit is a great way for kids to get hands-on experience with various STEM topics. It’s also an excellent way to ensure that every child gets a chance to participate, regardless of skill level.A STEM kit is also a fantastic way to introduce new topics to your class. There are many kits that are specially designed to teach kids about different concepts and topics. With a STEM kit, you can introduce kids to everything from chemistry to robotics in a fun, engaging way.
How to Build a STEM Kit in the Classroom
To build a great STEM kit, you first need to decide what STEM topics you want to cover with your kit. You can either choose a mix of topics, or you can choose a single topic and use your kit to explore the different aspects of that topic. Once you’ve chosen your topic, you can start putting your kit together.You’ll want to choose your materials carefully. You can go for a variety of supplies, including things like craft supplies, toys, models, and puzzles. The trick is to find materials that combine education and entertainment. Choosing the right materials will ensure that your kit is both interesting and useful.You can store your STEM kit in a totes, drawers, or bins. If you use totes and bins, make sure that you label them so kids know what’s inside each one. Once you’ve built your kit, you can use it to introduce new topics and concepts to your class. You can also use your kit as a reward for good behavior or as an activity during times when you don’t have enough time to cover a full lesson.
STEAM Activities You Can Use in Your STEM Kit
Your kit is only as good as the activities that you put in it, so it’s important to choose wisely when selecting which activities to include. Having said that, you don’t need to make everything from scratch. You can find many STEM activities online, including puzzles, games, and crafts.If you’re looking for activities to put in your kit, there are several topics that make excellent STEM topics, including robotics, chemistry, and engineering. Robotics is a great topic to put in your kit, as it lets kids explore engineering while also letting them build something that they actually get to use.Chemistry is another excellent topic to put in your kit. It lets kids explore concepts like classification and chemical reaction, while also letting them make things like slime or other fun stuff. Engineering is another STEM topic that’s great for a STEM kit. It lets kids explore concepts like design and problem-solving while building things and applying those skills in a hands-on way.
Final Words: The Importance of Repetition
One of the best ways to ensure that kids are actually learning from and engaging with your STEM kit is to make sure that you repeat the activities and concepts from the kit over and over. If you rely on your kit too much, your kids will start to lose interest, but if you use it as an occasional reinforcement for an idea or concept, your kids will get more out of it.If you make building your STEM kit a priority, you’re sure to see an increase in engagement and excitement in your classroom. Your students will be excited and eager to get their hands on your kit, and they’ll learn important concepts while they have fun.
With homeschooling, kids spend a lot of time in front of the screen. We know many of you as parents are concerned about your children. We came up with 5 activities that do not require screen and teach one of the most important skills of the 21st century: CODING!
1- Morning Routine Practice
How to play: Get yourself a piece of paper and write down your morning routine. The keystone of algorithmic thinking is to break things down into steps. The game starts with the question of what everyone does when they wake up and what the order of this routine is.Think about having breakfast and washing your face. How does one pass from one activity to other one? It is the concept of transitions! How does one change these steps? In the end, kids should have a structure of their morning routine and understand how they can modify it. What you learn: Children will discover decomposition and transitions. They will learn how to break down a problem into smaller parts and define its pattern.
2- Teaching Robot Making Hot-dogs
How to play: Make a story about a robot just starting to work in a hot-dog restaurant. The kids are asked to teach the robot how to prepare these hot-dogs. Do not forget to mention that the robot is not a human, so it doesn’t know how to proceed with the food. They need to tell how they make a hot-dog. Then, you can ask them how they would tell these instructions to the robot. When they are ready, you can pretend to be the robot and make the hot-dogs according to their instructions. Let’s see if it tastes good. What you learn: Decomposition is an important term to understand coding. Breaking down a task into small tasks is the basics of code development.
3- Algorithm Cups
How to play: First of all, you need to print the piece below to start the game. The kids are asked to record their design on this printable. Give kids cups to start their design. They can use these cups later on to ensure that their algorithm is accurate. You should describe what each symbol means in the algorithm. They may use all of these symbols for their design. They will form their stack accordingly. What you learn: Children discover the concept of algorithms with this cup game.
4- Binary Messaging
How to play: Gather kids together and ask them to think of a secret message. Give them the ASCII code printable below. They need to transform their messages into ASCII codes as if they will store them in computers. Then, ask them to change their messages between one another. Now, they need to understand the message stored in their friend’s computer. Let’s see who is the fastest! What you learn: Children will learn how information is stored in computers as binary values.
5- If…, Then…
How to play: In this game, one of the kids determines the actions of the others. For example, if he looks at them they need to stand still. If he raises his left arm, they need to dance. Children all agree on these signals and the game starts. This way, kids pretend like computers. They obey the rules as if they are the commands pressed. The command makes them do the related move. The list of moves is endless! What you learn: Children will learn “If-Then” cause structure of coding. This is the logic that all computers were built on. Kids will discover how commands result in programming.
Technology is in every part of our lives including schools. There are many devices that can enhance the education for students. Such tools make it fun and more engaging for kids to learn while making it easier for teachers to teach and track their lessons. We came up with 5 classroom technologies you can adopt to your own lectures.
1- Smart Boards
The smart board technologies are evolving day by day and they are getting more popular. It is for sure that using smart boards is easier than white boards. With one click, you are able to clean the whole page in one second. The amazing feature that these boards have is the recording. Whatever you write or draw, you are able to record it and send it to your students or keep for yourself. Some boards are even able to turn a digital market line into a tangible visual element. For teachers, these smart boards are incredible tools for an easy, fast and colorful teaching experience. Students also enjoy these digital boards a lot.
2- Tablets, Laptops
The students of the 21st century live with their tablets and laptops. They play games or complete their homeworks with them. Many countries let students use their electronic devices in classrooms. Kids use them in order to take notes or to find the answer of a question that comes to their minds. These portable devices are easy to use compared to carrying 4-5 notebooks. These devices and apps are developed to function better regarding educational purposes.
3- Online Tools
With the growing edtech trends, many online tools are developed to make the classroom experience better. These apps or websites serve gamification to prepare a fun and fruitful learning environment. Quizzes are quite boring for children. You can use Kahoot to enhance competition and enjoy them more! Additionally, it might be tough for kids to ask questions during lectures. Use Google Forms and let them ask their questions anonymously.
4- Cameras
Cameras might be really useful devices for teachers. A camera that records the lesson can give a teacher an idea about how he performs. While teaching, it might not be easy to evaluate which words, which topics or which behaviours attract kids’ attention. A record of the lecture is a good tool for teachers to do self assessment.
5- Activity Kits
For kids of the Gen Z, reading and writing are not enough to engage with the concepts they learn. They want to discover these concepts with hands-on experiments. The best tool to enhance their learning is to provide them activity kits. For arts, you can buy a small but comprehensive instruments kit or a painting set. The whole class can share and enjoy being the owners of an artwork. For science, you can buy a robotics kit and develop your own cars and robots easily. Twin Science Kits have different options that might appeal to your students’ interests.
Many schools started giving coding lessons. We see kids developing programs at the age of 7. We all know coding is the tool to build the future, but how? We have 10 benefits to tell you about coding.
1- Learn computational thinking.
Computational thinking is one of the 21st century skills necessary. With coding, kids develop cognitive skills and learn how to solve a problem in a structured way like a computer. When they cannot find a solution for the problem, they change their pattern and try again like one does for a code that does not work properly. This way of thinking is important for kids to solve their daily problems or the problems they will face when they grow up. It serves practical ways to approach a problem and handle it.
2- Learn about logic.
The keystone of coding is the logical thinking procedure. Everything has a result and all results are driven by some reasons. For a desired outcome, logic formulates the procedures. All logical statements such as selection, iteration or conditions are included in this process.
3- Discover how things work.
Cause and effect relationship is an important concept to understand how many technologies work. Coding teaches kids this relationship and makes it easier for them to understand how to build such technologies. They can use cause and effect concepts for their own purposes in the future.
4- Learn to motivate yourself.
We all know that codes generally prefer not working at the first trial. You need to go over them in detail and fix the errors to see it work. Kids who discover this trial and error concept while coding are able to adopt this idea better in their lives. They do not give up. Instead, they work harder to understand what doesn’t work and try to fix it.
5- Build the future.
The future jobs will not be the same as the ones we have today. Most of the new jobs will require coding skills. Kids who are engaged with coding at the early ages will understand the future better. They will be the change makers who will build the future. The perspective they develop makes them the A+ talents desired from all the companies and institutions.
6- Think outside the box.
Kids can create projects beyond their imagination with coding. As long as you work on it hard, you can create anything from nothing. This learning encourages kids to go further with coding. This will also foster the overall progress of technology.
7- Exercise creativity.
Kids refer to technology as kind of a magic because it creates things in a fun way. When they spend time on their interests, they get a natural motivation to go further. Learning code increases their creativity span because it serves them infinite resources. Also, when they successfully make a project, they feel the happiness for accomplishment and it boosts their self-confidence.
8- Experience maths.
Coding is the application of all kinds of maths. Kids have the chance to practice what they learn at math classes while designing projects. Coding requires one to understand maths to a good level. Additionally, your math skills will develop a lot while practicing coding. Math expressions built into codes move the program forward.
9- Turn it into a profession.
If your kids are interested in coding, why not turn it into their future job. It is early to decide for them but it is nice to keep it in mind. Coding is one of the most demanded skills of the century. While everything goes digital, more and more coders are needed. Learning a programming language is like a golden ticket that might be kept for any future plan.
10- Discover lifelong passion.
Kids might like coding but not want it to be their full time job. Even in this case, knowing how to code is incredibly important. The future jobs regarding machine learning, data mining or robotics are all somehow related to concepts of programming. Kids who develop an understanding of coding will surely discover many more fields which may later turn into their lifelong passions.
For years, pediatrics supported the idea that children should not be dealing with their computers or phones for more than 2 hours. With the strong integration of technology into our lives, these beliefs are about to change. Although these screens are a big part of kids’ learning, it is still an important responsibility of parents to ensure that their little ones do not grow dependent on these devices.
Problems with the screen time
Your kids cannot imagine a life without their phones, right? They were born into a world where they were directly exposed with any form of technology. The impact of these devices for learning and entertainment is undeniable. However, a poor quality screen time might have harms more than benefits for your kids’ growth:
Irregular sleeping schedule: Looking at screens for hours may cause severe sleeping problems including insomnia due to light emitted.
Obesity: Sedentary activities such as playing an online game for hours might be a cause of getting overweight.
Tendency to Violence: Many TV shows, video games and movies include violent elements. Children may learn through these and try to imitate such acts.
Trouble focusing: Kids might find it difficult to engage with real life activities after being exposed to unreal concepts.
Lack of communication: Kids may spend hours in front of their computer without speaking a word. This may lead to further problems about self expression in the future.
Why new screen time rules?
In a world where everything goes digital, it is impossible to ask kids to quit their phones. This digitalization procedure brings a more flexible approach for the screen time. Parents are encouraged to moderate their kids’ engagement with devices but they should not have strict restrictions as before.
American Association of Pediatrics(AAP) emphasizes that an overall embargo on technological devices is not necessary. Although the kids might be exposed to inappropriate content, there is an undeniable amount of educational content online. It is the parents’ job to make sure that kids get the right out of it.
What should be the approach?
How to set the limits for screen time depends a lot on kids’ maturity and age. Although it differs for each kid, we have several recommendations to ensure that your kids enjoy quality screen time:
Encourage educational content:
In the early ages, it is important to teach kids that the media available should be used for the good. It is fine to play games and enjoy your time but this should not be the main focus of screen time. Lots of educational content is available on apps and websites. For example, Twing App includes many activities related to arts, science, robotics and many more. Children can try experiments at home while inspiring each other on the platform safely.
Be a role model:
We all know kids imitate their parents. Make sure to set healthy limits for your own use of devices. Try to engage in physical activities or books to show them you are not dependent on your phone.
Engage with kids’ digital world:
Learn about their favorite activities online. Try to engage with their digital world by coming up with options that you can enjoy together on your devices.
Establish limits:
Kids might not be mature enough to set their limits and it is crucial to take the important steps before screens turn into an addiction. Recommend no screen times for dinner or car rides. Establish these rules as the whole family to engage kids better.
Turn mistakes into lifelong learnings:
Be prepared to see your child failing in handling their devices. Whether he logs into an inappropriate website or goes over the data limits, make him understand the lesson of the mistake.
Check their social media:
Social media can be challenging to handle for kids especially for younger ones. They might develop their communication skills as well as their confidence while expressing themselves online. However, make sure you have an idea of their accounts and what they share.
Take a day off:
You can consider a digital detox day or week. The family as a whole should accept to leave their phones, iPads and laptops aside for one day. You may come up with activities such as book discussions or box games to strengthen the family bonds. At the end of the day, do not forget to talk about how it made you feel to be away from the screens.
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