Alfreton Nursery School’s Jane Blant and Amanda Hubball explain how they are engaging children in STEAM learning in their setting…
You may not be familiar with the term ‘STEAM’, but STEAM learning is everywhere in early years. You can embed it in play, exploration, curiosity, observation and questioning. It’s ongoing and builds crucial skills for life.
For the uninitiated, STEAM learning covers five subject areas: science, technology, engineering, art and maths.
In settings that embrace a STEAM learning approach, practitioners interweave all five to create an effective strategy for the acquisition of a wide range of skills and knowledge.
This is based on wonder and a drive to explore. It’s about ourselves, others, the natural world and our interconnectedness – indeed, it is our very existence. We effectively engage with science through a growth mindset and the use of our senses.
When we nurture a scientific approach, children learn to investigate, observe, test, predict, evaluate and gather evidence.
Without such an approach towards life, children will live without beauty, wonder and a desire to know more.
The good news is that children are born scientists! The interconnectedness of all life on Earth is an essential core to a child’s understanding and compassion.
Our future depends on those in our classrooms and we can capture their natural curiosity and desire to connect.
This is about doing – putting all of children’s thoughts and questions into action. Our focused area in school enables children to look at technology through a historical and global perspective.
There are images of, and literature about, vehicles through the ages – from penny-farthings to steam trains, all provoking conceptual analysis of how technological skills have developed over time.
Structures are key, too, with children introduced to inspiring examples from across the world, including the Great Pyramids and igloos. They can see how human thinking and skill has changed the world.
Children need to see themselves as having real solutions to real problems and have the skills to affect positive change.
This is about designing and building. Children need time to explore a solution to an identified problem and the opportunity to design and redesign based on their findings. These skills enable children to explore how to problem solve in all aspects of their life.
Children learn:
Engineering is about taking our skills and our wonderings to create something amazing!
Art is at the core of STEAM learning and may be the spark that motivates children to engage. We need creative people in our STEAM fields. It is essential that we allow children to explore their creativity and as teachers, we understand and respect children’s contributions to creative thinking.
At Alfreton Nursery School we celebrate freedom of expression. We empower children to think, wonder, question, explore and express themselves. We provide stimulating opportunities for children to express their creativity.
A great example involved our ‘metallic themed workshop’, daily extensions for which included the provision of technology materials, clip boards, pens and an ipad. Developing the creative process further, we added paints and a variety of joining materials.
Celebrating the uniqueness of critical thinking, problem solving and innovative processes is paramount.
As Loris Malaguzzi wrote, “Creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children than to the results they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding.” (Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1996)
This is so much more than counting! You can see everything from a mathematical perspective. We can achieve mathematical success through a mindset which is open, analytical and curious.
Maths is both rigid and creative. It is both serious and great fun. Maths is for all children and, as such, all children should believe in their abilities as maths masters.
Children will achieve success in many different fields of study if they have a positive approach to mathematical learning.
According to Mark Oliver, in an article entitled ‘The Science Behind Kids’ Obsession With Trains’, train play can have a significant impact on improving STEAM learning skills and there is a direct correlation between spatial reasoning and SATs maths scores. Hence, simply engaging children in play with trains, wheels and balls is a fantastic first-hand experience that will enhance their STEAM learning journey.
Through Leuven Scales observations of children’s interests, involvement and emotional wellbeing, we gained further insight into the precise levels of engagement and how we could improve the quality of the resources and the immediate nursery environment.
We previously limited train play to a small area and restricted the children’s opportunities. These observations reflected on our aspiration to bring the STEAM subjects into this area of play.
To take it further, we visited an open day at a local engineering company. Here we accessed photographic resources, which we then displayed in the new area.
Alongside the selection of trains, track and sheds, we created a ticket office that led to encouraging the children’s interest in mark making and writing for a purpose.
We made clipboards and mark-making sheets readily available to provide technical drawing opportunities. A selection of construction equipment, including loose parts, connectors and tools, is readily available to access alongside the train play.
The addition of construction kits to support train play, led the children to extend their thinking, begin to design, invent and test theories.Train play transformed into a workshop of engineers and inventors!
Our work around STEAM learning at Alfreton has led to highly motivated, creative girls and boys – so much so that we have won national accreditations for our work in science and other areas, whilst working with our academically more-able children.
We are currently developing relationships with local businesses, through recycling projects, and parental involvement work which can inspire and enable families to engage in the world of work, as well as supporting our young learners to explore how things are made and why.
One of our most recent mindful and open-ended STEAM learning journeys has been the work around sustainable travel and environmental impacts. The children considered the role of engineers and collectively discussed the plight of our planet, given the excessive pollution from travel.
As a group of thinkers, inventors and compassionate global citizens, the children designed a new vehicle to support safe family travel to school and a healthy impact on air quality. Their fantastic ‘scooter-brain’ was then entered into a national competition.
If this sounds of interest, I really recommend coming on board as STEAM learning is the driving force that supports children as they develop into the future guardians of our Earth.
Jane, a nursery nurse, and Amanda, an early years teacher, both work at six-times ‘outstanding’ Alfreton Nursery School in Derbyshire.
