Is STEM Replacing Science in Elementary Schools?

A lot of teachers see that stem is replacing science in elementary schools. That is right or just an illusion?.

Do all people see that?. Or it is just a personal experience?. what makes teachers have these thoughts?.

This is what we’re going to treat in our subject today.

Is STEM Replacing Science in Elementary Schools?

Probably not, Science is one of the pillars that stem stands on. So without science, there is no stem. But in elementary schools, science could have less concentration compared to other files like technology and engineering.

The reason, that it could be a little hard to find relevant science activities for elementary students. While there are plenty of others who are hugely focused on the engineering part and technology.

But for teachers who know what activities to choose, the problem will not persist. The problem is about guidance.

sometimes teachers pick subjects or activities and don’t know what intent behind it. As a result, make thing irrelevant and out of balance.

To sum up, STEM is not replacing Science in elementary school. But wrong teaching could do. So there are many stem activities for kids that embed science activities. Thus, teachers could include them in their activities.

However, teachers must ensure to implement more mathematics to make science easy for children.


Why do people think that stem is replacing science in elementary school?

Because they see that science is not concentrated too much. Especially for the first elementary school levels. Also, they see that engineering and technology are mostly used in elementary school activities.

Some teachers affirmed that stem is out of control and balance. Teachers pick subjects but don’t know the intent behind them.

In other words, they don’t know what they are teaching. So there is no vision or goals behind these activities. That is to say, picking flashy activities that absolutely entitling and barely educative.

Others think that The majority of Teachers are picking lessons tagged under stem name. But they do not verify its benefits or intent. just an absolute copy and past methods.

Instead, they have to balance between all 4 stem components (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS). Not just doing the activity and calling it done.

Another reason is so many stem activities don’t possess mathematics which is an essential part of science. Teachers don’t clarify the importance of how to use math to explain science. So it could be one of the reasons that so many students hate math and don’t choose stem majors.


Facts that can stem replace science in elementary school?

I m going to list the 4 things that weakens the science in elementary school.

  • bad balance
  • negligence
  • not including math in science
  • copy and past methodology

==> Bad balance: is an equilibrium problem in stem subjects. Focusing a lot on topics that concentrate in engineering and technology. That is to say not teaching enough science topics and science experiments.

This strategy will not solidify the science basic for kids. Also, make the feeling that Science is irrelevant and surpassed.

==> Negligence: Negliging science for elementary school students is the biggest mistake. Some teachers tend to think that sciene is hard to absorb for elementary classes. On the opposite science is around us in many simple things.

Students need just need to have good and simplified explanations. So, using simple and clear examples is the key that making science more appealing for kids.

==> Not including math in science: This is one of the mistakes that the majority of us could have seen. The problem is we see that mathematics is barely used in science activities. While including the basics of algebra geometry could be the best thing for science students.

Consequently, students disrespect mathematics and don’t know how much is important STEM education. So finally we find a lot of interested students who are afraid of math in stem majors.

==> copy and past methodology: Copying and pasting stem activities from the internet is a losing strategy. So a lot of teachers do.

There is no problem with that.

But, picking projects and not understanding the core or added value about them, is a big mistake. So, teachers have to understand what they do.


The right way to implement Science in elementary schools?

Implementing science in elementary school is crucial to building a future successful stem. So, we will list the 3 principles ways to contribute to that:

==> Embedding mathematics in science activities: teachers have to choose wisely the subjects that include mathematics problems. So, students use algebra or simple trigonometry aspects to solve their issues.

This method helps them to improve their critical thinking. Also, sharping their intelligence through problem-solving operations.

==> Make individual projects: Sometimes making individual projects could be the best thing for kids. So, giving opportunities to a kid to prove their talents, is a wise choice. Thereby, helping his teacher and parents to build their self-awareness.

Self-awareness is knowing their genetic biases. That is to say their talents and born abilities which is different from any person.

==> Engaging them by asking questions: to keep kids’ attention during science classes, it is essential to incite them by asking curious questions. So, the methodology is to keep asking a lot of questions related to the science topic.

The goal is to allow kids to reach the right and targeted answer. So, what do teachers look for?


Examples of a pure science experiment for elemenraty school

I will list below 10 science experiments for elementary studentes.

So applying these experiments must include the right explanation behind every phenomenon. not just having fun times.

Is right that stem activities are low in science and math?

It depends. That differentiates between every teacher. So, is not easy to judge that stem activities are low in science and math. it depends on the kind of activities and the methodology used in education.

Some people see that stem activity are low in science and math. They see that students are focusing on technology experiments and engineering stuff.

In reality, the problem is not a kind of experiment. The problem is how to include science and math in it. Teachers easily could turn the non-scientific and mathematic activity into a pure one.

The problem isn’t in the stem, it depending on how teachers could embed Science and mathematics in their activities. Not copying and pasting other’s external experiences.

Using technology and engineering could be the best way to attract attention. Technology is very attractive for children. The work remains on how a teacher is creative and able to push kids to a mathematics and science subjects.

For instance, we could make simple paper objects and funny forms that use geometry rules. Building cylinders, Origami and Math and so many experiences.

Math and science are the principals pillars of the stem. So, we could not think that the problem is in STEM, we just have to respect the balance between its subjects( SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY,ENGINEERING,MATH).

Conclusion

The stem is part of science. Due the fact and reasons that we notified in our article. Personaly,it is absolutely wrong to think that STEM is replacing Science in Elementary Schools. The stem is an acroynomos of science and mathematics.

The problem is in stem users, who created these attitudes and make things out of balance and control.

yassin.ajanif

Yassin ajanif is a physics graduate and electromechanical engineer width more than 5 years in the field. My goal and my team are to share our experience to help you succeed in your career as a stem major. we talk about all tips, problems, and struggle STEM students face in their career and how to overcome them.