Importance Of S.T.E.M in In-School Field Trips
Children often ask hundreds of questions from their parents while in their growing years as they are the only ones whom they think as their problem solver, their guide, and their teacher who can answer their queries. Is it possible to answer all their questions and even if it is possible should we answer all the questions they ask? NO, it does not mean that children should be discouraged from asking a question. Instead, it would help if you asked them to figure out the answer and what they think about the query which they have presented before you. Ask them how and what would be their response if you have asked the same question. Children are considered to be born scientists. Their brain is like pandora’s box with uncountable items. That shows that they think, and out of curiosity, they ask questions. These questions could be from any field like science, math, engineering, arts, nutrition, technology, nature, etc. So, we can say that curiosity is the first step in learning science. Children are the most curious species on this earth; this suggests that they are born scientists.
Children learn a lot from doing things practically on their own or by taking the help of their peers, parents, or teachers. They don’t feel good about the monotonous schedule of traditional schools where studies are done conventionally on fixed timings. Children are born to explore the world around them, so there is some new breed of schools that help these kids explore the world around them and try to satisfy their queries and questions by assisting them in finding the answers. These schools use a new form of education system called S.T.E.M. to help students learn in a practically fun-loving method. The future holds a considerable place for science and technology. This makes it very necessary for the schools to incorporate solid knowledge of science and math as these are streams that lead to the innovation of newer technologies today and tomorrow.
What is S.T.E.M.?
S.T.E.M. is the short form for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is a new kind of educational program that offers an innovative and informative way to teach kids the concepts of science, math, engineering, and technology in the classroom using creativity and innovation.
S.T.E.M. and Its Importance:
S.T.E.M. has immense importance because its elements are present inside, outside, and around every one of you. These elements are infused in your lives on a day to day basis making it an integral part of your lives. Science is omnipresent, that means that it is present everywhere around us across the whole globe. Technology is continuously spreading its wings and has invaded every aspect of life. Life cannot be imagined with engineering and technology. Using all the elements of S.T.E.M., different road projects, bridges, software, satellites, etc. are seeing the face of reality. S.T.E.M. gives exposure to students to explore the scientific concepts related to everyday life and helps them develop a passion for studying science and technology. S.T.E.M. simulates situations that happen in real life to help students find an answer putting themselves in that situation and digging out solutions for those problems.
There are two types of trips that usually schools go for. They are excursions or flights that are organized outside the school in the form of educational tours to museums, zoos, water parks, beaches, excavating sites, or places of scientific, historical, cultural importance. Second type trips are those trips that are organized in the school premises or may in the classroom setup. This type of trip is known as in-school field trips. In-school field trip programs are designed in such a way that offers children an innovative and educational way to learn throughS.T.E.M. concepts and bring the classroom to life using the creativity, imagination, and inquisitiveness.
These in-school field trips simulate or create a model that exactly matches the real-world situations and present them before the children and persuade them to find answers using their creativity and imagination. These programs could be from any field of science, technology, engineering, math, arts, animation, and maybe performing arts.
There are specific in-school field trips that include LEGO bricks, a very innovative method to teach children the concepts of S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). These LEGO bricks are small toys made by the LEGO Company that consists of small, colored, plastic blocks like objects that can be made to join together and dismantled to construct different types of toys. But when used in schools, these bricks are used by children to build different scientific and engineering structures using their imagination and curiosity. Lego bricks are used in their- school field trips to enable children to learn about some real-world science like how a rocket is built or how to build a satellite or build smart and energy-efficient gadgets using their imagination, knowledge, and creativity. This practical usage of their experience helps them in the integration of different subjects into one to explain the simple and day to day scientific concepts of building and creating various things.
Schools should, therefore, have to be more innovative while dealing with kids. Kids are brilliant these days, and parents have also become more concerned about the overall development of their kids. Schools may have been successful in the yesteryears, but as of now, if they are not smart, they will not be able to produce intelligent kids because these kids are the future of any nation. Keeping this in mind, schools should incorporate teaching methods and in-school field trips that help in the stimulation of their brain, henceforth increasing their imagination and creativity.
You may be as a parent, or a teacher often give answers to remember rather than problems to solve, but S.T.E.M. allows creative problem solving to the problem because in the real world, there you will not find any answer key to the issues.Children who go through S.T.E.M. education are better conditioned and armed to face real-life problems with more creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and effectiveness.
