Why Do STEM Programs Benefit Preschoolers?

Chloe Hendrix

Professor O’Herin

English 1A

18 December 2015

Do STEM Programs Benefit Preschoolers?

When STEM programs started to be implemented earlier and earlier, the coalition announced it was because the earlier they reach the children, the more the children become interested and stay interested in those lines of work, leading to more successful careers made in STEM fields. When the program was implemented in middle schools and even in elementary schools, parents could understand their reasoning and gave their support in order to ensure their children were getting the best quality of education possible. However, since the program has reached the preschool level, parents have been doubting whether or not it could actually be benefiting

The first step would be to determine where preschoolers are developmentally and assess what they are capable of learning. The second step would be to determine how the STEM curriculum is being applied to children so young, both at home and at school. Lastly, we can look at what’s being developed in the children and how they’re responding. Using these three steps, we gain an overall picture of how the STEM program is being applied to the preschoolers and make a decision on whether or not it is making a beneficial impact on the children.

When trying to determine whether or not STEM programs are benefiting children placed in preschool, the first step to take is to ascertain where these children are developmentally and assess what they are capable of learning. Developmentally, preschool children are in the midst of

Meaning let’s see how the children are responding to STEM developmentally. Developmentally, STEM programs use intellectual learning, which involves reasoning, predicting, hypothesizing, and problem-solving. This type of learning “takes place through natural interactions with real things in the child[ren]’s environment[s]” (Stewart). This is opposite of academic learning which involves memorizing, practicing, counting, and reciting. This type of learning does not require any logic and it "take[s] place within the service of the intellect" (Stewart). Additionally, developmentally, STEM programs are expanding on the children’s left brains, which involves seeing the parts within the whole first and the ability to process both concrete and abstract ideas (Envision). This is opposite of the children’s right brain, which thinks emotionally and remembers faces, but not names (Envision). Besides developing the children’s intelligence, STEM programs also help develop their confidence. They do this by asking “what” questions instead of “why” questions. The Boston Children’s Museum states that “when you ask ‘why’ questions, it implies there is a correct answer and the child[ren are] being tested… But when you ask ‘what’ questions, you’re starting a conversation and exploring right along with your children…By focusing your questions on what kids have observed and noticed, not