Science and Technology in Early Childhood Education

Running Head: STEM
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STEM
Science and Technology in Early Childhood Education
(Student details :)
4/15/2019

STEM
1
Science and Technology
This discussion is based on exploring young children’s capabilities as well as
understanding through engineering design activities within a STEM framework. In today’s
era, it can be accepted that each and everything human-made was originally created from an
engineer. In this context, engineers along with their skills are in huge demand across all
industries from finance to the manufacturing industry. Hence, engineering education has
become important in this era for engaging youth with engineering concepts. In addition,
exploring engineering concepts also help while developing the problem-solving skills which
every engineer develop throughout their training process (Faozanudin, 2014).
The second major way to explore engineering concepts with the help of early
childhood education is from sustainable practices for future. Moreover, open-ended materials
like loose portions are the excellent tools for promoting children’s exploration as well as
creativity to large extent.
In early childhood education, the capability of thinking through complex issues and
challenges, collaborating with others, communicating human-requirements, as well as
persevering from failures are essential skills which can only developed from Engineering
Education in early phase of education (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2011). Therefore, some
important ways to explore engineering concepts with young children within their early
childhood setting are as follows:
 Introducing engineering to children: as the term ‘engineering’ has a broad meaning as
well as covers a broad range of career skills and paths hence introducing engineering
term to children during their initial phase of education will add to the process
(Radcliffe , 2018).
 Explaining the role of engineers beyond machines and structures to children: by
telling the different important role and responsibilities along with the duties, teachers
or parents should brainstorm with their child.
 Finding out what engineering areas interest children: those concepts acquire
children’s attention; there is always an engineering process behind it in some way
form or shape. Thus, we should always try asking children what they really like or
what make them interests in school or the surroundings around them (Radcliffe ,
2018).