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Roma Shah
Mrs. McMennamy
Academic Capstone 6th
21 October, 2016
Effective Implementation of STEAM Education
Students around the world have the right to an effective and fair education system
provided to them. It is up to the agencies governing free public education to have a plan and
system that makes sure that students have the best opportunity to succeed. Just having an
effective curriculum, such as STEAM, isnt the only factor that plays a part in a good education
system. In order to teach the new innovative curriculum STEAM, quality teachers, effective
teaching strategies and the students environment must be considered to ensure the success of
students.
Quality teachers are important for instilling good learning habits and building a
foundation for students so that they are motivated to do well. Teacher workshops can help assure
that educators are effectively educating young children such as by using the Reggio Emilia
Approach. The method began in post World War II Italy and has been revered as a successful
approach to early childrens education. It encompasses the idea that children have innate
curiosity and should be nurtured effectively through their environment, curriculum and teachers.
An important factor that the method emphasizes is that, a teacher must observe a child to
understand their methods of learning (Grossman & Williston). Meaning, a teacher must
intentionally seek different strategies that complement a students learning style. This can be
done by teachers spending effective time with students to understand if they are absorbing the
information given to them. This also goes hand in hand with a teacher, [watching] a child

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assemble a puzzle [learning] about her cognitive processes, her approach to a new task, her
response to mistakes or frustration, her persistence, and her attention span (Grossman &
Williston).Teachers who are working with young children who are in a fragile state of their
cognitive processes. They must understand this in order to adapt the way they teach to how the
childs brain may learn best. Having teacher workshops that teach these factors may result in
quality teachers in early childrens education.
Teaching strategies are important to understand in order for the material to be absorbed
by the students. This past decade the use of technology as a teaching tool has increased greatly in
the education system world wide. An example of its use in elementary schools is a game-based
learning didactic approach [that] offers a good chance to stimulate children's abstract thinking
during the process of cognitive development, and further foster their higher order thinking and
critical ability (Manessis). It gives a good interactive approach to teaching children specific
concepts. It also boosts their self confidence and motivation to learn as they pass through
different levels of the game while they are absorbing the information presented to them. Another
important factor to understand is that students should be encouraged to express feelings and
ideas through building, dancing, drawing, playing, singing, and speaking (Evans). Using this in
the curriculum such as through art can have a big impact on a students development. STEAM
education gives teachers guidelines on how to integrate art in their curriculum, it is an effective
strategy that should be utilized in elementary schools. Along with in class activities and using
textbook material to teach kids, teachers [should] adopt such methods as field trips, group
discussions, and creative activities to help prepare children for life in a democracy (Evans).
These types of activities would give students valuable experience so that they may apply the
concepts they are learning in class to the real world. Instead of just having the perspective that

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education is about knowing facts, they are trained at a young age to use innovative thinking and
develop the skills on communication, cooperation and how to take action with the knowledge
they have. This also gives their learning a purpose and motivates them to do better in school.
Just as teachers and teaching strategies are important, the environment of the classroom
plays a big role in how the students learn. In the Center- Based teaching method, the students
classroom gives them more freedom in how they learn. This method basically lays out guidelines
for which teachers do not lectures about subjects, but rather lets the students to explore different
subjects and teaches them in that fashion. Each center has different activities for the students to
participate in them and the teacher is able to go around to each center and give an overview
about the subject (Bottini & Grossman). Art, music, and movement activities are easy to
include in any classroom every day and they produce many benefits for children. They allow
expression of thoughts and feelings, and relieve stress while encouraging creativity (Bottini &
Grossman). This style of learning allows for students to engage in more hands on activities such
as crafts, puzzles and games to make the connection of abstract concepts to tangible much easier.
It is an effective way for students to learn valuable skills of group thinking, socializing and
understanding creativity. This type of system allows for the students to explore subjects at their
own pace and preferable style of learning (Bottini & Grossman). This means that because
students are able to be more independent, they can work challenging subjects how they want to
and change levels of difficulty on their own. Overall Center-Based learning is an effective way to
produce more well rounded students early on in an environment that promotes curiosity and
creativity.
The curriculum of art integrated with STEM education can only be effective if teachers
are qualified, the teaching strategies endorse good learning habits and the environment students

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are in should aide in developing their interests. These factors need to be well researched in order
for the education system to be effective for young students. This is important because every
student is societys hope for the future and should be nurtured.

Works Cited
Bottini, Michael, and Sue Grossman. "Center-based teaching and children's learning: the
effects of learning centers on young children's growth and development." Childhood
Education 81.5 (2005): 274+. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
Evans, Andrea E. "Education." World Book Student. World Book, 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

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Grossman, Sue, and Judy Williston. "Strategies for helping early childhood students learn
appropriate teaching practices. (Teaching Strategies)." Childhood Education 79.2 (2002):
103+. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Manessis, Dionysios. "The Importance of Future Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs about the
Usefulness of Games Based Learning." International Journal of Game-Based Learning
4.1 (2014). Educators Reference Complete. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.