Montessori and STEM Education
The contemporary education system is progressing toward the path of science and technology.
Modern-day parents want to provide their children with optimum development tools that promote them to venture out beyond standardized curricula and textbooks.
Education for the developing should be beyond basic concepts of reading, writing, and arithmetics.
In education, the term STEM refers to the concepts of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
The educational approach STEM is receiving gained focus due to the evolving world and the heavy influence of technology.
Enrolling your child in a STEM or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) can be one step closer to setting your child up for success.
The Montessori Method of education like STEM and STEAM incorporated similar approaches and tools that accommodate the developmental needs of the child.
Like standard STEM approaches, the Montessori Method of education incorporates a specifically designed curriculum and Montessori Materials that facilitate holistic development.
STEM concepts when introduced to the child in conjunction with the Montessori approach can help set your child up for lifelong success.
Below is everything you should know about the STEM approach in conjunction with the Montessori Curriculum.
Contents
What is STEM Education?
STEM can be referred to as an umbrella term used for a vast field of different academic disciplines.
The term STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, which is a fairly new concept in traditional educational approaches.
In some institutions, STEAM is also introduced to the child, where the “A” stands for social sciences, sociology, political science, psychology, economics, and other arts subjects.
STEM and STEAM programs are more than educational approaches, in fact, these educational philosophies help prepare children to excel in the fast-paced technological society.
When effectively introduced to the child in conjunction with real-life experiences, pupils are able to develop the following skills:
- Creativity
- Flexibility
- Problem Solving Skills
- Data Analysis
- Innovation
- Critical Thinking
- Collaboration and Teamwork
- Experimentation
- Requisite discipline to use technology
Why is STEM Education important for your child?
While science and mathematics are important aspects of traditional educational institutions, STEM and STEAM programs allow children to develop an intimate understanding of different academic disciplines.
STEM and STEAM educational programs also encourage your child to partake in in-depth practical life activities pertaining to technology and engineering.
In addition to technological and scientific programs, STEAM programs also promote children to gain an intimate knowledge of humanities, arts, and social graces.
The social graces and courtesy activities help children develop the following values:
- Development of empathy
- Using hands and fingers to develop fine motor skills
- Creative imagination and individuality
- Conceptual discoveries
Furthermore, STEM and STEAM programs promote students to venture out and partake in hands-on learning, which is the cornerstone of Montessori Philosophy.
Children are also encouraged to perform physical tasks for gross motor development and actively explore their surrounding environment.
Hands-on learning promotes the child to develop an interest in complex concepts and become seekers of knowledge of STEM and STEAM concepts from a very young age.
Do Montessori Method and STEM really go hand in hand?
While STEM and STEAM concepts are a fairly new addition to the standardized curriculum of traditional educational institutions, these concepts have been an integral part of the Montessori Method for a long time.
Hence, the Montessori method of education and STEM Programs go perfectly together to promote the optimum development of the child.
While traditional educational institutions limit the child’s learning experience to rote memorization, both STEM and Montessori approaches promote learning through experience.
Dr. Maria Montessori recognized the needs and requirements of the absorbent mind and provided the pupils with meticulously designed materials and a learning environment.
Teachers in Montessori schools act as guides who promote children to indulge in auto-didactic education.
The following STEAm and STEM facilities are provided to children in the Montessori Primary Program:
- Hands-on learning
- Opportunities to experiment
- Explore the surrounding environment
- Holistic Development
- Eliminating rote memorization and promoting real-world skills
How The Montessori Method incorporates STEM Concepts?
The Montessori Method of education incorporates an age-appropriate curriculum for different planes of development.
The Montessori Primary Program promotes children to explore their surrounding environment, develop their curiosity, and comprehend complex STEM concepts such as science, mathematics, as well as technology.
The Montessori Primary Program promotes children in Montessori Activities to help develop an understanding of STEM and STEAM concepts.
The Montessori activities that incorporate STEM concepts are delineated below:
- Planting seeds and tracking the plant’s development process starting from sprouts, and leaves, to flowers
- Creating their own rain gauges to comprehend the process of evaporation
- Identifying, classifying, and categorizing objects based on their shapes, sizes, or color
- Blowing bubbles to comprehend how they interact with other materials in the surrounding environment
- Independently interact with Montessori materials to understand their designs, their function, patterns, and how they connect.
Are Montessori Education and STEM Education a Dynamic Duo for your child?
Finding the right school and educational philosophy for their child’s development is something every parent aspires for.
When combined together the Montessori Method of Education and STEM Education provide your child with tools for optimum holistic development.
Unlike traditional educational approaches promote children to practice rote memorization, the Montessori Method in conjunction with STEM and STEAM approaches, allow them to venture out of their comfort zone to become seekers of knowledge.
With the help of tangibles materials that isolate each concept for the child, a specifically designed educational environment facilitates the development of cognitive, physical, social, and emotional attributes.
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