STEM for Young Learners

Workable and practical approaches are presented and discussed here for the integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and computing into existing English training.  It can serve as a structure to use in the design and roll-out of enhancements to existing courses.   The target age group is roughly two through seven years of age.

Integrating Early Years Foundation Stage English with STEM (Computing) Training

Basic literacy and numeracy skills for the foundation for learning other skills and subjects.  Because of this basic English and Math form the core of what is taught to very young learners.  The focus in this paper is on computing.  More general STEM topics such as biology, environment and other sciences are not covered.  These are also critically important areas but outside the scope (for now at least) of this document.

Many excellent English teaching curriculum's exist and are in widespread use around the world.  Each have their own design goals and sets of advantages and drawbacks.  It is not our intention to either establish our own English curriculum nor to debate the merits of other curriculum's in this paper.  Instead what we propose is a standard approach to the integration of basic concepts for computing and electronics into existing English language training frameworks for young learners.  With this knowledge students should be adequately prepared by the end of year 2 (primary school) to be able to study these subjects independent of language instruction.  Electronic device usage skills and discipline also must be mastered at this age as their further education will rely upon their effective use.

This document is currently a work in progress.   The latest version can be found in the Web Files section of this group.  Please feel free to use the group Forums to discuss any issues or provide suggestions.  The author can also be contacted directly on this site.  All constructive critiques and suggestions are most welcome!

Group Rules

This is a public group where what we do here can be seen by everyone.   Group membership is open to all members however failure to adhere to the basic rules listed below can and will get a member permanently banned.  The rules are designed to be simple to help ensure we can maintain order and the focus of the group:

• English Only: content in languages other than English will be removed and repeat offenders may find themselves banned from the group.   We need this in order to properly moderate the group content and to promote an environment where the highest number of members can contribute.
• Stay on Topic: as the name suggests, this group is about STEM training for young learners.  All content and contributions should be in some way related to objectives of this group.
• Be Nice: we should all be working toward a common goal here.   Sometimes disagreements can and will come up.   Just remember we're all friends and treat others with the respect you would expect from them.
• Follow the Terms of Service: This applies site-wide and basically states what should be obvious to most.

Note: Access to the Web Files area of this group is restricted to group members (not public).  If you have any questions, suggestions, problems, etc., please send a message to the group administrator(s) (see the group header above) and we'll get back to you ASAP.