How to Get Your Kids Interested in STEM Learning
Children have the capability to learn complex subjects at a very early age. In fact, many kids understand science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) when they are around one year old. However, this capability and curiosity of learning and understanding needs to be preserved and prevailed as a child grows.
In order to teach your kids to STEM at an early age, you need to allow them to analyze, question, and develop a sense of curiosity about their surroundings.
Nevertheless, neither the school system nor the parents realize the value of stimulation a child needs in order to develop these critical skills. In India, most schools don’t even have a curriculum for teaching children the basics of STEM. Since they are not introduced to science, technology, engineering, and maths at an early age, children tend to grow weary and afraid of these subjects when they have to finally face them in upper standards. As a result, we see most children avoiding anything related to STEM and choosing a different career altogether.
According to the National Research Council, kids develop ideas about their social, biological, and physical surroundings and their functionality before they are enrolled in school. However, once they enter the school system, their pre-developed ideas are not paid any heed to, and the kids are essentially indoctrinated.
Let’s see why it is essential to build upon the ideas of children rather than starting a new:
Setting the stage
Stem stands for science, technology, engineering, and maths. While the school system covers science and maths, children are not introduced to engineering and technology, as needed for their proper cognitive development. Sometimes, children don’t learn about engineering and technology until they are in middle or high school.
According to many researchers, STEM education is vital for kids to develop an analytical mind and to narrow the gap between children’s cognitive achievements. Moreover, exposing children to such complex subjects helps them solidify their careers.
Since 1990, there has been a 79% rise in employment in STEM fields. Moreover, compared to non-STEM employees, STEM occupants earn up to 26% more on average.
However, unfortunately, adults tend to curb their kids’ enthusiasm about STEM subjects by disapproving of their interests and being absent when the kids seek support to further their interests.
As a caring adult, one needs to be supportive of their children’s dreams and enthusiasm. Good parents allow their kids to be curious and ask questions about their surroundings, thereby giving them positive reinforcement that they are on the right path.
How can one encourage their kids to gain an interest in STEM?
Stimulate your child’s curiosity with science
There are a million science-based projects you can do with your kids that are not only simple but also fun and entertaining. Here are some of the activities:
- Explore: As a kid, everything about the world seems exciting and awakens a sense of curiosity. Taking your kids out on a walk or on a trek would not only help you establish a stronger connection with them but also teach them about nature. From soil, rocks, mountains, and trees, there are a lot of things to learn about in the outside world.
- Let your kids interact with animals: If you have a pet dog or a cat, chances are your kids are already very friendly with them. You can try teaching them more about the animals that they encounter in their daily lives. It will help your kids develop compassion and empathy as well and make them friendly in their approach. Moreover, learning about how different animals fare in their environment is always a plus point from a biological perspective.
- Encourage your child to ask questions: This point can’t be stressed enough. One of the atrocities that parents do with their children is to give them specific information as irrefutable facts. In order for kids to learn new things and build a sense of skepticism, they need to put a question mark at everything. As parents, you are supposed to do your best to answer every query they throw at you in a comprehensible manner.
- Give your child four ways to play: There are four different types of play to help your kids develop a scientific mind. These pretend play, exploratory play, guided play, and free play. Pretend play is when the kid uses their own imagination and exploratory play is when kids learn by experimenting with objects. Guided play is when there is an adult involved, and free play is when kids play on their own.
- Conduct fun experiments: There is a lot of fun and simple experiments you can perform with your child, including lava lamp, creating a leak-proof bag, and walking water.
Teaching Tech with Technology Activities
With technology activities, kids learn to employ technology to solve problems. Here are the following ways you can help your kids learn more about technology and its applications:
- Cut shapes out with scissors: Draw several shapes on a piece of paper, and under attentive guidance, ask your kids to cut out those shapes with a scissor. This will help them develop an artistic mind and apply their cognitive abilities in a precise manner.
- Build a house of cards: Building a house of cards with your kids allows them to learn about architectural design and how to go around building objects that are dependent on each other. Once your kids have mastered the ability to build a house of cards, make it more challenging by adding coins and other weights.
- Play logic games: Indulge in some brain teasers, puzzles, and logic games with your kids to develop their problem-solving skills. Such games help them learn new ways to interpret a problem and find different solutions to it.
- Have them play with blocks and shapes: This is more of a visual exercise. Give your kids differently shaped blocks (triangles, squares, etc.) and ask them to put them in similar-looking gaps. It will teach your kids the value of symmetry and functionality, which plays a vital role in technological development.
- Create treasure hunt maps for your kids to play: You can do this indoors as well as outdoors. Place some rewards at certain points in your house and create a map with clues around. Ask your kid to hunt for the rewards using the map as their guide. This game not only teaches your kids to be cognitive, but it also teaches them to be independent.
Entertaining with Engineering
Using technology to solve problems helps kids a lot in their growth, but it also raises a question in their minds: Why and how can certain technology help them in their endeavors? This is where the engineering part of STEM kicks in. Since the school system does not introduce any subject close to engineering, at least until the kid is in middle school, as a parent, you need to take it upon yourself to make your kids aware of engineering. Here are a few ways you can introduce engineering to your kids in a fun and interesting way:
- Teach them about levers and pulleys: Levers and pulleys are some of the most basic machines in engineering. When kids learn about these objects, they understand engineering is basically using machines to make day to day tasks easier. Moreover, levers and pulleys can be easily developed and used in real-world scenarios, which encourages kids to build their own mechanical objects.
- Plan and design a structure: Provide your kids with Lego blocks and let their creativity soar. Teach them to create basic structures such as a table and a chair and then let them develop on that concept to build something of their own.
- Build a ramp: Like building a structure, building a ramp will help your kid understand the importance of angles, height, and weight in building objects. They can use their remote-controlled cars to drive on the ramp.
Make Maths Amusing
Many children are afraid of mathematics, especially when they are in higher standards. The reason for this fear is deep-rooted in their inability to understand the subject because they were never introduced to maths at an early age. You can have your kids participate in certain activities to curb this fear of maths and make them interested in the subject. Some of the math-centric activities for kids are as follow:
- Baking: While baking, kids learn the importance of counting and using the right amount of ingredients for the cake to come out perfect. This way, they learn that numbers and measurements are essential not only in maths but in everyday life.
- Pretend-play with monetary value: You can either pretend to be a customer or a cashier as long as it includes monetary value. Use the game to teach the kids about addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.
- Play math games while waiting: Kids are too easily bored and are always looking for something interesting to do. When you are waiting with your kids or driving with them to someplace, you can play addition and subtraction games using real-life examples. For instance, ask them how many ice creams they want and how many would they have left if you took two out of all their ice creams. Take turns at answering questions, so your kids feel at equal grounds and not like they are being interrogated.
STEM can not only be taught to kids at an early age, but it can be a part of their life throughout their academic career and beyond. The earlier you start introducing your kids to these concepts, the better they would develop their cognitive and analytical skills. Nevertheless, make sure you are teaching science, technology, engineering, and maths in a fun way and not in a daunting manner, lest you want your kids to repel STEM concepts.
Whether or not your kid chooses to pursue a career in the STEM field is their own decision. However, at least they would grow smarter and have the proper problem-solving skills at their disposal in every aspect of their lives.
Choosing between Graphical vs Text-Based Coding for Kids
As parents, we are often confused about how we can teach our kids to code and how we can approach them with the proposal. Well, we are living in a rapidly changing world, and that means teaching coding to kids has been made easier through the years. Now, we have graphic-based coding languages that can easily be understood by kids as young as five years old.
Graphic-based coding helps lay down the foundation of programming for kids by visually introducing them to all the essential coding elements. Once kids have gotten the gist of how programming works, they can easily transition to more advanced, text-based coding methods.
Let’s first understand the difference between text-based coding and graphical coding so we can better explain why and when graphical coding is a better choice for kids.
Difference between Graphical Coding and Text-based Coding
While most computer languages are text-based, there are a large number of graphical languages as well.
Graphical-based languages are the ones that allow coding through graphical manipulation of program elements. It allows programming through visual context, arranging text and graphics in a specific order in the given space. For instance, one of the most famous graphical languages, Scratch, uses boxes of commands that can be placed in a particular order to conduct a program.
Text-based coding languages, on the other hand, rely on texts, symbols, and syntaxes to be written as lines of code. Kids below a certain age (below 11-12 years) are more likely to adopt graphical coding than text-based coding.
Why Graphical Coding is Best for Kids
Graphical coding has several advantages over text-based coding classes for kids. Let’s take a look:
Readability
Graphical coding languages such as Scratch and Blockly employ blocks to make it easier for kids to understand coding. Using graphic-based languages, kids can create projects using the block-like interface. It allows more readability for those who are just starting to learn to code.
Newbies prefer block-based programming over text-based ones over their ease of use and resemblance with the English language.
Easy to Use
Continuing on the first point, graphics-based coding is easier to use because of its visual representation of elements. When the language is put in a graphical context, it removes the guesswork and makes kids go at it with their own ideas and concepts. Moreover, with graphics-based coding, kids don’t have to remember a list of commands and can go on programming with everything provided for them at their screens.
Typing
Since text-based programming requires typing, there is a high chance that one might make mistakes while writing the code. Computer languages are very stringent when it comes to coding. Every character, alphabet, or symbol can drastically change the way the program works, and therefore, it is critical to type all the characters in perfect order. However, it could be challenging for kids to write long lines of code without any mistakes.
This is why graphic-based coding is more preferred for kids. It provides essential coding elements without having to break down the code into text. It is easier to go through and apply without having to worry about making mistakes.
Graphic Based Coding is Not Dumb
Professional coders often assume that graphics-based coding is a dumbed-down version of programming. While it is true to a certain degree, it is not entirely right to deem graphical coding as dumb.
Graphical-based coding removes the irrelevant and unnecessary elements from programming to help kids get an overall idea of coding without getting them intimated. The aim of visual coding is to get kids interested in computer programming first. As soon as kids learn the basics of programming and what elements coding constitutes, they can transition to more advanced coding practices.
Suggested Read: Your Child Should Learn Coding but not to become the next Zuckerberg or Pichai
Technical Know-How
As mentioned in the previous point, graphics-based coding introduces kids to the world of computer programming in a friendly and non-intimidating manner. Kids learn all the basic elements that go into computer programming through block-based coding so they could later try their hands at text-based coding without having to worry about learning the basics.
Preference of the Kids
Kids learn more through what they see, observe, and practice. Therefore, we must introduce new concepts and ideas to them in a way that they enjoy and can entertain themselves. Graphical-based coding teaches kids coding through gamified and visual mediums. This helps kids gain interest in the world of computer programming rather than running away from it.
Text-based coding can seem redundant and dull. Moreover, kids, more often than not, wouldn’t want to sit in front of a computer and type a long list of commands. Nevertheless, with graphics-based coding, kids can see all their actions come alive right in front of their eyes.
Conclusion
In a world where coding is inevitably becoming an essential part of life, one must get started with it somewhere. Graphic-based coding is the best way to get introduced to computer programming, not only for kids but also for adults who are looking to learn computer languages. Not to say that graphical coding can replace text-based coding, but it can provide you with the stepping stone towards a more skillful life and a successful career. Kids below a certain age (below 11-12 years) are more likely to adopt graphical coding than text-based coding.
Your Child Should Learn Coding but not to become the next Zuckerberg or Pichai
Coding Education for young children is the new buzzword in the Edtech space, and you would often come across Ads which show Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg besides an Empty Space, symbolizing if your child can be the next Tech Entrepreneur.
Not only is this misleading, but it’s also highly inappropriate. Indians are known to be great Programmers, and we produce a million of them annually; thanks to thousands of Engineering Colleges which came up during the IT boom at the beginning of this millennium. So why do we need kids to learn Coding at an early age? Do we want to produce more engineers? What about other professionals like Lawyers, Architects, Doctors, Artists, Musicians, and Photographers.
The answer lies in what kids actually learn with ‘Coding classes for Kids in India‘ – Computational Thinking & Algorithmic Intelligence. In Simple terms – the ability to break down a problem in a structured form and use different faculties like Arts, Creativity, Problem Solving to design the solution.
The next key question is – ‘Why do our kids need this; we never learned to code?’ It is pertinent and a great question from a parent’s perspective. After all, they come from all walks of life and are successful without having learned any form of Coding. Had our world not evolved technologically, these questions would be as pertinent as always.
However, our world today is being shaped by Artificial Intelligence – From Edtech to Foodtech to LegalTech and AgriTech; intelligent Technology is driving everything. Imagine a 5-year-old of today, growing on to become a lawyer 20 years down the line. Will the courts and legal transactions remain the same as today? Certainly not. We already have simple things like Stamp Duty and filings moving online. Our elderly, who are not well versed with Computer Technology, struggle to work with basics. In the AI age of tomorrow, a Lawyer would be expected to understand the basics of Computing and the use of AI-driven tools, apart from being an excellent Law Grad.
Medical professionals of the future would be no different. Covid19 Pandemic moved lots of doctors and medical processes online. In the future world 15 years from now, almost all processes from basic tasks like writing prescriptions to elaborate ones like diagnosing complex ailments will be AI-driven. It will be necessary for doctors to understand AI as much as they understand the human body.
A Music Producer friend of mine based out of Los Angeles spoke about his struggles in the world rapidly adopting Intelligent Technology like AI. He says that unlike 12 years ago when he graduated from Music School when the music would be recorded with vocals in a single setting; today music tech is used to sync vocals, instrumentals, and other audio inputs. When he moved to LA from Mumbai, the problem of not understanding Technology dawned on him.
The last and most important question – ‘What and how long to learn?’ Start with tools like Scratch Junior available for Android and iOS. It is a free tool and a great way to introduce your child to Computational Thinking & Algorithmic Intelligence( CTAI). If your child loves what he does on Scratch or Blockly, then sign up for Teacher-Led children’s coding classes for 12-16 hours. For most kids, this exposure clubbed with self-tinkering with Projects would be a tremendous solid foundation in CTAI. It’s as good as some kids excelling in Mathematics and some opting for Non-Mathematics based careers and excelling in it.
And then we always have some students who would want to excel in CTAI and opt for new-age careers in AI, Machine learning & Game Design. For such kids, they should sign up for courses in Python, which is an elementary gateway to Machine Learning.
Certification: This is another popular query. ‘Will my child get a certificate?’ A Certificate is essentially a document that can be shared with a third party to testify that your child has completed and aced a subject matter. Sign up for Courses that allow your child to be assessed on learning outcomes and gives an opportunity to them to get a graded certificate by third party independent authority. In the Indian context, it would be like a CBSE/ICSE/IB board assessing your child at the end of School tenure. Certification by IIT/IIM/Harvard/Booth/Discovery/Google alumni etc. is essentially nothing but a marketing gimmick with no end learning outcome. ( P.S.: I am a Booth Alumni, and I personally do not think that a certificate signed by me would be of any significance )
Rahul Ranjan is the Co-Founder of LeapLearner India. He is a Gold Medalist from NIT Bhopal and a Management grad from Chicago Booth.
A Career entrepreneur, Rahul was the Founder of Alphabyte – India’s first Edtech company focused on Computational Thinking & Algorithmic Intelligence for young children.
Why Block coding is the Best Programming Language for Kids
Introducing your kids to the world of programming and coding can be challenging, especially considering the number of programming languages out there. Most parents who want their kids to gain an interest in computer programming tend to be confused about the preliminary language that will later set the stage for more advanced programming skills. While there are multiple computer languages out there and equally numbered opinions and recommendations for kids to start with, Block coding is the best language for kids to start programming with.
Block coding was created by Mitch Resnik, head of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. Resnik understands the value of coding and computer literacy in early education, and that’s why he created a computer language that caters especially to children between the age of 5-14.
What makes Block coding the best programming language for kids?
In order to understand why Block coding is best for kids, we must first learn how the programming language works. The latest version of the Block coding, i.e., Block coding 3.0, requires children to drag out code blocks from a drawer (situated on the left side of the screen) and drop it in the center panel. These blocks are arranged in the center panel according to the sequence of code instructions. When running the code, the children can see the results right away in the right panel on the screen. Based on the results, kids can either test their code or develop it further. All of this happens on a visually interactive screen, making it easy to understand and make changes to.
Suggested Read: Most popular programming languages for Kids
Block coding is easy
It is easy because, unlike most programming languages, Block coding does not require one to know syntaxes, symbols, commands, or have necessary coding skills. It is a simple block-based programming language where kids can drag and drop blocks as they want. The order in which they drop the blocks is the order in which the code will execute. Moreover, the shape of the blocks further helps children to understand which block comes when, almost like a game of Tetris.
Suggested Read: Online Coding Course for Kids below 15 years
Block coding is amusing
One of the best aspects of Block coding is that it displays the outcome of the code right away. However the children are arranging the blocks, its output will appear on the screen accordingly. This type of visual confirmation that the code is working or not working correctly helps kids understand the basics of coding in a fun way. Kids learn a lot through visuals, and Block coding is visually interactive, which makes it an amusing language to code with. Moreover, with the recent upgrade, the developers at MIT have added many new features that are sure to capture children’s attention.
Block coding lays the foundation
Block coding is not only easy and fun to play with but also close to advanced coding languages in its features and style. That means when your kids have mastered Block coding, it is easier for them to transition to other languages and not be daunted by them. Its resemblance with other full-feature and full-syntax programming languages such as Python and JavaScript makes it a foundational language for kids to get their hands on.
It is a massive online community
Block coding is used by more than 15 million users worldwide, which means your kids have a chance to interact with other young coders like them and learn from those who are more advanced. Block coding also allows users to save their projects on their servers, allowing newbies to navigate through the great ones and develop a better understanding of how the language works and what can be achieved with it. There is currently a flood of companies providing one to one coding classes for kids.
LeapLearner introduces young coders to Block coding from age 5 onwards. We have found that kids adopt block coding very comfortably and inculcate programming habits with ease. You can request a free demo class and see how block coding can benefit your kids.
Top Three Coding Languages for Your Kids to Learn
As per the experts, in the upcoming 20 years, most of the jobs will be based on Computational Thinking and Algorithmic Intelligence (CTAI), and coding is the foundational skill for CTAI. So, why not introduce your kids to some primary programming language to instill a foundation in them that they can build their career upon. Even if your kids don’t choose to pursue a career in programming, learning the basics of coding makes them more cognitive and an out-of-the-box thinker. As Steve Jobs once said, “Everyone should learn to code because it teaches you how to think.”
But the question is, where can one start? What are some of the introductory languages that kids can get started with? And how does one get their kids to approach such languages?
In this article, we will discuss the top three languages that are best suitable for kids because of their comprehensibility and ease of understanding.
Scratch
Scratch is a block-based programming language that caters primarily to children. It offers a visual approach to programming interactive stories, games, and animations. Scratch insinuates kids to employ logic, creativity, and reasoning while working on coding.
The best thing about Scratch is that it is an introductory approach to teaching your kids coding. Learning from Scratch does not require one to be an expert in programming. Only a sense of enthusiasm and curiosity can make your kids love this programming language. Scratch is easy to understand and code with, thanks to its visual interface. Moreover, it lays a strong foundation and interest in programming and coding so your kids stay curious about what else they can achieve with computer language.
Python
When kids are well-versed in Scratch, the next programming language to introduce to them is Python. Not unlike Scratch, Python is easy to understand, thanks to its use of simple syntaxes. Where most programming languages use complex combinations of symbols and commands, Python relies on straightforward commands.
The language helps kids get familiar with all the necessary programming characteristics while making coding easy and simple. Therefore, when kids have had their hands on Python, they can transition to other, more complex languages without much difficulty. A fun fact about Python is that the world’s biggest video sharing platform, YouTube, uses the language for most of its framework. That proves that Python remains an integral programming language to learn for anyone wanting to become a good coder.
HTML/CSS
HTML and CSS are foundational languages of the web. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, and CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. While the former is used to design webpages, the latter is used to define the presentation of a document on the webpage.
Teaching kids HTML and CSS gets them familiar with the basic text-based syntax, using which they can create basic web pages of their own. Like Scratch and Python, HTML/CSS teaches the foundational skills for developing websites, which can later be advanced with Java and PHP.
Moreover, having an idea about HTML and CSS also gives the kids the freedom to create their own website and not be dependent on others to do it for them. Both languages are easy to understand and can be mastered by spending a few hours every day on them.
There are many programming languages out there, some of them difficult, while some are easier to understand. Nevertheless, there must be a starting point for everything, and languages like Scratch, Python, and HTML/CSS serve to be that. They lay the foundation on which one can build their entire programming career. Whether you are looking for your kids to learn programming and code games or animation or simply want them to have an idea of computer languages, make sure you start with the basics.
LeapLearner Virtual Summer Camp 2020
Lessons For Life
The Lessons you learn during the summer camp remain with you forever and no just for this current season. You will build these futuristic skills
- Identifying real-life problems
- Ideate creative solutions
- Collaborate with international students
- Learn how to use coding, robotics for your solution
Utilize the LockDown
In the times of COVID 19 Pandemic where our children are stuck at home, we would like them to continue learning with our online Virtual Summer Camp, The most loved program by kids.
One to One Online Classes and Group Online Classes Available in Block Coding for Kids, Python Programming for Kids, Robotics & AI training for Holidays, App Development for Kids
Visit us at: https://leaplearner.in/vsc | Email: info@leaplearner.in | Contact: 8527321859
PROGRAMS IN OUR SUMMER CAMP
Coding – App Development – Robotics
Who Can Participate?
The Virtual Summer camp is designed for ages 5-14 years.
LeapLearner Summer Camp Advantage
- Gaining a strong foundation in Computational Thinking & Algorithmic Intelligence
- Opportunities to collaborate with other students
- Use code to transform new ideas into games, puzzles, and apps
- Certification from iCode.org, a global non-profit and international leader in coding education
Visit us at: https://leaplearner.in/vsc
Email: info@leaplearner.in
Contact: 8527321859