Most schools agree that STEAM education is now a necessity. However, the lessons merely stop at teaching and focus on science and mathematics only. And even if some institutions try to include the engineering and technology aspects of STEAM, more often than not, it is done through an educational video on the classroom projector. As evident, such approaches scratch only at the surface of STEAM education. The essence of it hardly gets attention whereas along with exposure, hands-on experience is also important. Only the best schools in Sonepat have mastered the techniques of incorporating STEAM education in their regular curriculum and they typically do it in the following ways.
- Periodic classes in technical labs
Students may learn about robotics up to a certain level by viewing an animated video on screen but experiencing the design first-hand will always top the previous method. It is one thing to learn about sensors from books but the lessons reach a whole new level when students can see their working right in front of them. The technical labs of top schools are all about teaching STEAM. They contain robotics equipment, 3D printers, sensors and actuators models, and other such apparatus. Students get to experiment, connect their knowledge with real-life objects, and pick up technical skills at an enhanced level. This is the proper treatment of STEAM education.
- Access to modern IT labs
If the futuristic technical labs were all about the hardware side of STEAM, the loop can only be closed by having IT laboratories that address the software side as well. Along with robotics and 3D printers, students also need to pick up IT skills like data science, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and so on. Plus, basic programming of robots and designing basic automated projects can only happen in state-of-the-art IT labs equipped with the latest computers. Thus, the top 5 schools in Sonepat with an unmatched focus on STEAM will harbor such a computer lab that more than just about the syllabus. Students get the freedom to experiment and learn here as well.
- Green campus in the premises
In this century, no school can talk about either science, mathematics, engineering, or technology without including the ingredient of the environment into the mix. As a generation, the students will have to face a more difficult time as far as climate change is concerned. More than awareness, they will need to use their innovative minds to fight through changing situations and create solutions to combat the issues. Thus, STEAM must teach green initiatives and that can only be enforced to its full effect if the schools maintain a green campus on their ground. Here again, learning about solar heaters becomes effective when the school’s roof has one. More ideas come to mind when the students see an efficient waste management system at work right in their schools. The schools then stand as an example from where students draw inspiration.
- Priority on project-based learning
Project-based learning can act as the X-factor to the above three methods. It can take the students out of their textbooks and give them exposure to varied resources. The best school in Sonepat will encourage students to take up relevant projects regularly during their academic sessions and utilize the school’s available resources to present an in-depth report. Soon enough, students will feel motivated to use the IT lab or the technology lab and surround their ideas around it. If they gain access to the 3D printer, they can propose models of products that can save the environment in some way. Isn’t such innovative thinking the ultimate motive of STEAM education? Don’t we all want our children to develop a progressive and creative mindset? Project-based learning is the final piece of the STEAM puzzle. One that glues the entire structure together.
Evidently, STEAM education is more about theories. It is more about documentaries and visual models. The objectives of the approach include a focus on design, encouraging application, and promoting integration, and all of these can only be met if the above methods are followed. Swarnprastha Public School has these requirements covered. SPS incorporates STEM education in its true sense. Through its ATAL Tinkering Lab, Microsoft Image Academy, and Green Campus drive, the school teaches its students STEAM through experience and practice. Find such schools for your child where STEAM education truly exists and not just for the sake of its name. Worldwide, the requirement for STEAM is only growing. In a future that will majorly be dictated by technology, students will need the skills. Schools bear the responsibility to teach the lessons and they cannot be mediocre.
