STEM education does more than just prepare students for technical careers. Students gain a lot of broadly applicable life skills from this content and style of teaching.
A great STEM curriculum has the capacity to foster well-rounded individuals who can overcome anything the world puts before them. Here are a few of the many under-recognized benefits of STEM education:
1. STEM Education Pushes Critical Thinking
STEM education spurs students to think critically about any problems, questions, or obstacles they come across. The curriculum pushes them to become skilled thinkers and come up with the best possible solutions.
Critical thinking fuels innovation and creativity, and being able to comprehend and analyze problems is a skill that will be useful in many aspects of students’ lives beyond the classroom.
2. STEM Education Encourages Innovation
STEM projects engage a student’s mind, encouraging them to try new things and to think outside the box. These kinds of projects foster an environment where the sky’s the limit. If students can imagine it, they can try to achieve it.
In a world where innovation is constant, a STEM education equips students to not only keep up with technological developments but to come up with ways to make them better.
3. Project Management
Engaging in immersive STEM assignments requires students to develop excellent project management skills. In the process of completing a school project from beginning to end, students will gain skills such as leadership, time management, and communication, which are essential skills for real-world projects as well.
Student projects foster self-motivation and accountability that will benefit them both in future academic pursuits and in their adult careers. There’s a lot to be said for choosing a project-based STEM curriculum.
4. STEM Projects Require Teamwork
Many STEM lessons and projects require collaboration. Students must work together to solve problems, conduct experiments, and create a final product. These kinds of class assignments allow students to learn not only their own strengths, but also how to work together with classmates who have different strengths toward a common goal.
In addition, students learn how to actively listen to their teammates’ ideas and suggestions. They learn to appreciate diverse ways of thinking that they wouldn’t get to see if they were working alone. Teamwork teaches students the interpersonal and communication skills necessary to thrive in group settings, both in and beyond the classroom.
5. Confidence
Solving problems, completing projects, and exploring new ideas give students a strong sense of achievement. That feeling of achievement brings STEM students an air of confidence and teaches them they can tackle any problem they come across.
STEM students know that nothing is off the table and that their ideas are ideas worth pursuing. This mentality is imperative for success. Embracing the challenges of a STEM curriculum can help build students’ faith in themselves and their abilities, which will serve them well in the outside world.
6. Creativity is Encouraged in STEM
STEM education is much more than just memorizing facts about math and science and building predetermined projects. A true STEM curriculum encourages creativity by allowing students to use their imagination and come up with original ideas.
Following from the brainstorming phase of a project, students can use creative techniques to come up with new ideas and new ways to bring their ideas to life. A STEM education gives students the freedom to think outside the box and experiment with novel ideas, which leads to new innovations and ways of doing things.
7. STEM Education Creates Problem Solving Opportunities
STEM curriculums excel at posing questions that stimulate critical thinking and scientific analysis. Students are encouraged to utilize their creativity and strategize ways to come up with solutions not only for their classwork, but also for real-world applications and passion projects.
Students have many opportunities to try different approaches to solving problems, learn from their failures, and gain resilience. The experience of STEM education will push students to work harder to achieve successful outcomes. Your students will learn that no problem is too big to solve as long as they work hard and don’t give up.
8. Scientific Literacy
No curriculum teaches scientific literacy quite like a STEM curriculum. Not only will students come to understand mathematical concepts, coding, the scientific method, and digital literacy, but they will also learn how to conduct research and assess sources of information for quality.
STEM education helps students develop strategies to intelligently analyze whatever problem is put before them, allowing them to make informed decisions and come to better conclusions. Being scientifically literate is an essential component to becoming a responsible world citizen, and students will continually draw upon this knowledge in their everyday lives, no matter what they ultimately do for a living.
9. Social-Emotional Learning Intersections
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is just as important as academic learning, and in a STEM curriculum, students gain both. In learning how to effectively collaborate and communicate with others, a STEM education pushes students to not only engage in personal growth, but learn how to work with each other and appreciate differences and other points of view.
STEM education creates a supportive environment where students can help each other build up their strengths and work through their weaknesses. Through this experience, students will gain greater emotional intelligence, which is just as important as intellectual intelligence. They will use the social-emotional skills they learn throughout the rest of their lives, both inside and outside the professional sphere.
10. Skills For a Changing World
The thinking patterns and soft skills students gain in STEM classes will help set them up for life in a world where technology is constantly changing and improving. As global challenges continue in the coming years, it is imperative to ensure the next generation is equipped with the tools to solve the world’s new and ongoing problems.
Someday, your students will see that the skills they gained in their STEM curriculum gave them the confidence and ability to tackle their own challenges head-on, and they will be grateful for it.
Take Your STEM Education to the Next Level
STEM education has lots of benefits beyond career prep. It creates intelligent and well-rounded individuals who will be equipped to conquer whatever challenges the world puts before them.
Yeti Academy’s all-inclusive digital STEM modules can take your STEM education to the next level. To see what our curriculum looks like and how it can help students and teachers alike transition seamlessly between the classroom and home, sign up for a free account.
