The “E” in STEM: Engineering and Design for K-2

STEM, the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, has become an important topic in education circles. Many believe that educating our students in these areas will be crucial to both their future and the future of our country. When many think of STEM classes and activities they tend to think primarily of middle and high school courses. However, STEM education is vital to elementary learning as well. According to an article on WeAreTeachers, STEM: It’s Elementary, studies on STEM education have shown “that kids who experience STEM early through hands-on learning are the ones who will be best equipped to develop a strong understanding of STEM concepts as they get older.” This article provides four ways for teachers to get started with STEM in the elementary classroom:

• #1: Change Your Lens - Look at lessons and activities you’re already teaching and see how they can incorporate STEM principles.
• #2: Enlist a Village of STEM Educators - Work together. Collaboration with fellow teachers can ease the transition.
• #3: Integrate STEM Across the Curriculum - One of the goals of STEM education is that it is not taught separately, but is weaved throughout the all subjects.
• #4:  Give Kids More than Just Access to Technology - Students need to understand that technology is more than just a place to gather information, but can be an important tool for creating and designing.

Pepper has recently released a new course, Engineering Design - K-2, that will help early elementary teachers as they incorporate new standards in Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS) as a disciplinary core idea. This course focuses on the topic of Engineering Design as students ask questions, make observations, and gather information. Participants will work to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. Course activities are divided into five features:

1. Big Question
2. Exploring the Evidence
3. Constructing Explanations
4. Comparing Explanations to Scientific Knowledge
5. Communicating and Justifying Explanations

Find out more about this course by viewing the Course Detail.

Your Pepper learning community can help you effectively implement STEM concepts and ETS standards. Check out our new Engineering Design - K-2 course as well as all our other Pepper Courses and our Resource Library as you learn with the collaborative support from other inspiring educators like you.  

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