STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education is a cross-discipline approach to teaching these interrelated subjects, with problem solving at its heart. Great STEM education works through activities with real-world applications, helping children to understand how their learning is relevant and how they could use it in the future. It is an important tool in breaking down stereotypes and encouraging more children to pursue STEM careers.
STEM is therefore an important priority area in modern education, leaving many teachers and parents asking questions such as ‘How do I fit STEM education into my day?’ and ‘What kind of activities should I be exploring?’
Enter Emily Hunt who, in 15-Minute STEM Book 2, has pooled 40 more quick, easy-to-resource activities to reassure teachers and parents that they don’t need to be experts to be able to deliver high-quality STEM education for younger children. Building on the success of her bestselling first book of activities, Emily aims to equip all teachers and parents with the activities and resources they need in order to confidently teach STEM skills.
Her innovative book has been designed to enhance children’s learning and to provide hooks to get them thinking about new concepts. Each of the 40 activities includes step-by-step instructions, takes just 15 minutes to complete and can be resourced from everyday materials found in the classroom or at home. This means that, with minimal preparation, teachers can slot these cross-curricular activities into an otherwise busy day, broadening their pupils’ learning at no cost to their focus on core curriculum areas.
Accompanying instructions are framed and phrased in a way that encourages the children to lead the learning and exploration – allowing the supervising adult to take a more hands-off, facilitative approach. As a primary teacher, Emily understands how important it is to make things quick and easy for teachers to achieve. Surely we can spare 15 minutes for STEM, even in the already crowded curriculum!
The activities make connections to real-world scenarios and have been linked to conceptually similar STEM-related careers – all of which are individually profiled in a glossary at the back of the book. The practical, problem-solving element of each activity also offers a great way for children to develop important soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking and spatial awareness. Suitable for both educators and parents of young children.
I had a chance to interview her to learn more.
Why "15-minute STEM?"
Each 15-minute STEM activity has been tested to ensure it can be delivered quickly – in as little as 15 minutes! This means that with minimal preparation you can slot a 15-minute STEM activity into those spare moments in an otherwise busy day. Quick, engaging STEM activities are a great way to inspire and increase student motivation with the task at hand. Speedy challenges from ’15-minute STEM Book 2’ include building a dam out of natural materials, creating the longest paper chain out of just one piece of A4 paper and making marshmallow constellations.
The short timescale encourages a ‘less chat, more action’ approach. Each activity starts with a real-world problem or question that immediately hooks children in and gets them excited. Pose your hook question, expose the children to the resources and then step back and let them lead the learning. So often we ‘teach’ children how to do activities, guiding them through each step to help them avoid mistakes. Instead, the 15-minute STEM instructions are written as a script that can be delivered directly to your child, and you’ll notice that these instructions are on the lighter side. I’d encourage you to be hands-off with your child, supporting where needed with guidance and encouragement.
How can parents use everyday objects and events to teach STEM concepts?
STEM education often conjures up images of computers, robotics kits, 3D printers … Expensive technology and certainly not the kinds of things many of us have access to. However, STEM doesn’t have to blow the budget. STEM can also mean cardboard tubes, carrier bags, aluminium foil, plastic bottles or wooden craft sticks. These are the kinds of everyday items we have around our homes, perhaps in our recycle bins. These are the kinds of everyday items that we can make use of, especially in the current circumstances when it’s not easy to get to the shops.
Cardboard boxes are the start of many a great STEM project. Whether it’s cutting out cardboard wings for a bottle rocket or creating a cardboard base for a house, it’s always worth having a pile of cardboard to hand. Why not try:
RAMP RACING: Cut a rectangle out of a large piece of cardboard. Then use it to create a ramp for a toy car to travel down. See what is the furthest distance that you can get the car to travel. Think carefully about the height of the ramp and the surface of the floor underneath the ramp. (For more details about this activity, see 15-minute STEM Book 2.)
Wooden craft sticks make a great construction material for STEM projects. Why not try:
HURRICANE HOUSES: Try to build a hurricane-proof house, using craft sticks to create a frame and plasticine or sticky tape to join it together. Check that your house is secure in preparation for high winds. Then place your house in front of a fan or hairdryer – 1 metre away – and turn it on. If it withstands the winds, start moving the fan forward in 10-centimetre increments to test how hurricane-proof your house is. (For more details, see 15-minute STEM Book 2).
Why is early STEM education so important?
Research shows that the perceptions children have about certain jobs and careers are formed at a young age and that gender stereotyping exists from the age of 7. What I think we don’t always appreciate is how set these views and career aspirations become. The older children get, the harder they are to challenge.
By introducing children to STEM activities and linking them to relevant STEM careers we can challenge these early perceptions and stereotypes and widen their career aspirations. Giving children activities that expose them to the world of work from an early age isn’t daft; it’s helping to give them the best start in preparing for their futures. When children are learning something, they should be thinking about why they’re learning it.
Even if kids won't end up in a STEM-heavy career, why is it still so helpful for them to understand STEM concepts?
Children in our schools today are entering the world of work in roughly 10 years’ time. Whilst we don’t know exactly what that world will look like by then, we do know that the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and maths will play a massive role in shaping our futures. STEM industries are growing at a rapid rate and many of the young people we teach will go into STEM related jobs.
Even if your child doesn’t end up in a STEM career, one incredible benefit of STEM activities is their ability to develop soft skills. Problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, communication, confidence, spatial awareness… the list goes on! Each 15-minute STEM activity is hands-on and designed to encourage curiosity and creativity, along with a wide range of other important soft skills, which are crucial to success in STEM and other careers.
When we step back and let children figure things out for themselves, we also give them opportunities to make mistakes in a safe, supportive environment. This is not only an important benefit of STEM activities but also a really important life skill. This is where we can step in with a bit of guidance or encouragement where needed. In life we don’t always get things right first time and actually our first attempts often need a lot of refining. STEM activities are a great way to share the message that mistakes are an important part of the learning process, they’re inevitable and they often help us make our work even better.
Emily Hunt is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for promoting STEM education. She regularly writes articles and speaks about STEM, and shares activities and blogs on her website www.howtostem.co.uk. Emily holds a Masters of Education from the University of Cambridge and has also worked within the US education system to deliver science outreach. Her latest book 15-Minute STEM Book 2: More quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5–11-year-olds offers a stimulating selection of easy-to-resource STEM activities designed to engage and inspire young learners. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/15-Minute-STEM-Book-engineering-5-11-year-olds-dp-1785835076/dp/1785835076/ref.
Emily Hunt is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for promoting STEM education. She regularly writes articles and speaks about STEM, and shares activities and blogs on her website www.howtostem.co.uk. Emily holds a Masters of Education from the University of Cambridge and has also worked within the US education system to deliver science outreach.
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