How To Integrate STEAM Into Your Early Years Classroom (plus everything else you need to know)
Original blog written by Heidi Overbye, adapted for LinkedIn by Holly Gerrard
STEAM – it’s a word that we’ve been hearing a lot of over the past few years, but what exactly is STEAM and why is it important? Well, STEAM is an incredible way to introduce little learners to big concepts that will stick with them throughout their lives, that’s why it’s so important to know the best ways to integrate STEAM into your early years classroom!
To find out more, plus an introduction to a fantastic STEAM resource from LEGO Education®, keep scrolling for the ways our team has integrated this learning area into our early years classrooms.
What is STEAM?
Why is STEAM Important?
Preparing students for the future
The blended model of STEAM gives students the opportunity to experience learning in different ways and in doing so promotes essential skills such as innovative and creative thinking and problem-solving.
Many of the skills developed through STEAM activities go well beyond the subject area, including collaboration, estimating, predicting, measuring and communicating.
Play is the way to go
Here at MTA, we are HUGE advocates for learning through play, which STEAM can provide because it’s all about hands-on, fun learning. Learning by doing is an essential part of teaching young students so experiential learning is one reason why STEAM education is so successful in the early years.
What kind of STEAM activities can you do in your classroom?
As far as engaging STEAM activities go, the possibilities are endless. From building bridges, to making parachutes, to making a boat that can float, we’ve got all the materials you’ll need for a variety of STEAM learning activities for little ones.
…Speaking of Lego, why not ‘steam’ ahead with STEAM learning through LEGO Education®
Steam learning with LEGO Education® and Heidi Overbye
Heidi Overbye from Learning Through Play is a Brisbane based, Early Years Teacher. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood), she has worked in a kindergarten sitting with children aged 3-5 preparing them for school and has advocated for play-based learning, stimulating creative learning spaces, and the power of imaginative play.
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Over to Heidi to provide some more insight on how to integrate LEGO Education® into your Early Years Learning.
"I am a big advocate for top quality educational resources, so I was very grateful to receive a fantastic STEAM Park Building Set (295 pieces) to use with my students. The STEAM Park is an excellent building and construction set from LEGO Education. When I received this product, I knew straight away that it would be a great resource for my Prep students to engage with and develop their STEAM skills. It encourages children to create, explore and investigate early science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) concepts through creative play.
Before I introduced the LEGO Education resource, as a group we brainstormed what an amusement park looks like – What amusement parks have you been to? Who did you go with? What do you do there? What types of rides are there? This collaborative conversation set the scene to introduce our LEGO Education STEAM Park activity.
We tipped out all of the pieces onto our rainbow rug and began building. We worked in small groups to create the different constructions and followed the building card guides. These building card guides inspired our constructions and investigations. I loved hearing the rich conversations between my students as they engaged with this task. They worked very effectively together and teamwork was very evident.
As my students engaged with this LEGO Education resource they demonstrated a range of skills including:
Once we completed the building card guides, we arranged our construction in our Active World Tray. Once everything was set up, it was time to play! It was wonderful seeing my students engage in dramatic play and hands-on learning as they immersed themselves in our STEAM park. It was clear that making the park was just as fun and meaningful for my students as playing with the final product.
Without a doubt, my students’ favourite part of the LEGO Education STEAM Park was experimenting with the moving rides, where they explored the concepts of gears, balance and movement. Pushing the car down the sloping track, turning the gears on the teacup ride and moving the seesaw back and forth were some of the different ways my students experimented with movement. Their ABSOLUTE favourite movement activity was using the cannon ball to knock the loose pieces off the tower. They thought this was “SOOO COOL!”
I will definitely be using the LEGO Education STEAM Park resource throughout the year to integrate STEAM learning into my classroom. Next time, I plan on getting my students to draw and plan their amusement parks before we start building, which will add an extra element of design engineering and forward thinking.
Feature product: LEGO Education STEAM Park
Check out Heidi's original blog here to find out just how easy it is to integrate STEAM into your early years classroom!