The Benefits of a STEAM Program

The world is advancing in areas of industry and business at a high rate. The labour force needs to adapt to dynamic change very fast. Adaptation capabilities should be entrenched in every learner's basic education to equip them with the necessary skills needed in the fast-changing world. Education at the level of three to four years is essential in building a kindergarten and K-12 learning foundation. The abilities in learning stack up along levels to college and higher education. Children who had a poor preschool education lag behind others when learning concepts at higher levels.  Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics (STEAM) instruction is necessary for tomorrow's intellectuals, creatives, and experts. While STEAM training was previously thought to be learned at older ages, it has been found that children of young ages can learn too. It is necessary to harness the natural curiosity "the lightbulb" in young children to expose them to STEAM concepts  . 

This early introduction to STEAM concepts is not meant to bring in complex ideas but rather spark a wider curiosity, which the children will build on as their education furthers. The STEAM instructions also aim to build a wholesome student vast in all areas of STEAM. Areas of STEAM education are related. For example, an engineer may need to express his work through art concepts, and an artist needs to quantify and date their work through mathematical concepts. Early learning foundation frameworks need to incorporate STEAM fundamentals in their core (California Department of Education, 2012). 

The California Early Learning Foundations is a framework representing knowledge and skills a child should know at the preschool level of education  . The framework was designed to ensure quality learning based on research to include children who are disabled and those of minority communities. Children entering kindergarten are sometimes lagging behind their classmates. The California Early Learning Development (CELD) program  clearly shows parents, teachers, and the public the knowledge attained by the child who after attending a high-quality preschool program. 

CELD covers some areas of STEAM but not all.  The areas covered are Science, Art, and Mathematics. However, there are more areas absent in STEAM components covered in the CELD  program. The CELD instructions are extensive. Three volumes are covering the CELD instructions. The first one covers socio-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development, and mathematics. The second volume covers visual and performing arts, physical development, and health. The last one covers history-social science and science. 

Implementing STEAM 

There are four conditions for the achievement of high-quality early childhood education that CELD should meet. The four conditions are listed below(California Department of Education, 2012): 

The emphasis on significant developmentally appropriate content and outcomes. 

CELD emphasizes most of the STEAM components in its domains  . CELD  standards address a wide range of fields that a child should develop. In undergoing preschool based on the CELD foundation, a child has wholesome knowledge encompassing most areas of STEAM. 

Content covered in CELD will enable a child to develop a foundation for their future STEAM education as they are educated in arts, mathematics, and science. Children pick up analytical skills, critical thinking, observation, and creativity relevant to their future education programs concerning steam. 

Standards are built forward from early learning—the evaluation does not rank from K-3. Evaluations start from three years towards four years  . The performance is not quantified like in K-3 and above. The experience is meaningful rather than mechanical. CELD outcomes are not tightly linked to yearly accomplishments but rather a demonstration of the ability to learn. 

They are developed and reviewed through informed, inclusive processes. 

CELD development relies on informed scientific decisions to provide an expectation in children learning outcomes that enables them to perform well in the STEAM subjects  . Parents are also included in the CELD curriculum, as they are also key participants in the child's learning. 

Implementation and assessment that support all children's development in ethical ways. 

The assessment principles of the CELD are non-punitive or sort oriented. They focus on identifying abilities and building them in children. Activities in learning are engaging and inclusive for children, whether disabled or vulnerable. Assessments result in the assistance of those children experiencing difficulty. 

Early learning standards support early childhood programs, professionals, and families. 

Teachers are highly educated about the STEAM requirements and instructions, leading to high standards of attainment in children. The teaching strategies involved planting a life-long seed of passion for education in the STEAM areas. 

Implementation in class 

Mathematics Domain 

The mathematical foundations cover five strands (California Department of Education, 2012): 

The number sense (counting, number relationships, and operations) 

Algebra and functions 

Measurement 

Geometry (size, shape, and position of objects) 

Mathematical thinking. 

The preschool learning foundations identify for teachers and other educational stakeholders a set of behaviors in learning mathematics typical of children who will be ready to learn what is expected of them in kindergarten (California Department of Education, 2012). An example implementation in class for each subdomain is shown as a linear learning process is observed in the children (California Department of Education, 2012). 

Number sense 

At four years, a child is expected to begin to conceive numbers and quantities in  the everyday environment (California Department of Education, 2012). At the first level of achievement, a child would recite numbers one to ten with increasing accuracy. This method is exemplified when the child starts to count one to ten without incompletely or with errors while playing (California Department of Education, 2012). As the child progresses, they sing as they count. 

The next level is when a child begins to recognize and name a few written numerals. A child might call a number when it is shown to them (California Department of Education, 2012). They could also point to numerals on a cube or the textbook pages and say the number out loud. 

At around 60 months of age, children are expected to expand their understanding of numbers and quantities in their everyday environment (California Department of Education, 2012). They are expected to recite numbers up to twenty with increasing accuracy. The child recites with or without errors and could do this while swinging or competitively to a friend. On the second level, the child recognizes numbers up to twenty as pointed to by the teacher. 

On the third level of learning, the child should be able to subitize. Signs that the child can subitize is when they can perceive the number of objects without counting. The child could start estimating the number of objects another child has (California Department of Education, 2012). 

On the fourth level, the child should count up to five objects, using one to one correspondence with increasing accuracy (California Department of Education, 2012). The child could show achievement by counting blocks stacked up from top to bottom as they chant "one, two, three, four…". 

On the fifth level, the child uses the last object counted to answer the question, "How many…?" An example is counting the number of fingers the child has, "one, two, three, four, five," and when asked, "How many fingers do you have?" and the child answers "five." (California Department of Education, 2012). 

On other levels, the child is given blocks and compiles them with his or her friends, and then they say now we have more. Here the aim is to understand that putting two groups of objects together makes a bigger group (California Department of Education, 2012). 

Another level teaches subtraction and addition (California Department of Education, 2012). The child could increase another cart to the end of the train to make it longer and indicates the number with their fingers. The child also recognizes they are left with only one banana after giving one to a friend (California Department of Education, 2012). 

For children with disabilities, the teacher helps control objects for them to count, sort, compare, order, order, measure, and create patterns. 

Visual arts Domain 

There are three strands (California Department of Education, 2012): 

Notice, respond and engage 

Develop skills 

Create invent and express 

The analysis will major on the development of skills due to its high relevance in STEAM. The child should make straight and curved marks and lines; begin to draw rough circle shapes ("Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)", n.d.) . To notice this ability, a child could draw with their figure on a fogged window. They could also draw a circle with vertical lines coming out of it and calls that a man. 

On another level, a child could draw paintings or drawings that suggest people, animals, and objects (California Department of Education, 2012). Here the teacher gives children a paintbrush and paints fruits or family. 

The child could also make regular-shaped balls from clay. The child repeats back and forth rolling motion to form a coil (California Department of Education, 2012). The child should be able to recognize and name tools used for visual arts. The child could request a new glue stick because the one they have is not working. Motor control, while working with visual arts, is another level. An evaluation is when the child draws on the sheet of paper without getting out of the edges (California Department of Education, 2012). 

Science Domain 

The science domain is critical in harnessing the natural curiosity of children. The child's curiosity is put to the task of observing and investigating, documenting, and communicating (California Department of Education, 2012). These skills development is very critical in the STEAM field. The class is set up with objects that trigger curiosity, such as a floating and sinking experiment. 

The child should demonstrate curiosity and raise simple questions about objects and events in their environments. A demonstration of curiosity would be mixing sour cream with applesauce and notes that sour cream changes its colour. Another example is when the child piles up blocks on blocks to see how far it can go without falling apart (California Department of Education, 2012). 

The child should also observe events in the environment and describe them. When given a pumpkin, a child observes the inside and outside using different senses and describes how it looks, smells, and feels. The child could also observe the cylinder's speed rolling down a ramp and then puts it back on top to see it rolling again. The child notices different loudness of balls dropping on the ground (California Department of Education, 2012). 

The child should also begin to use, with adult support, some observation, and measurement tools ("Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)", n.d.) . To trigger curiosity, show the child a leaf with a magnifying glass. The teacher could also use a measuring cup to measure flour during a cooking activity. 

The child should also compare and contrast objects and events and begin to describe similarities and differences (California Department of Education, 2012). The child could observe rocks and sort them by size while indicating which are big and small. When trying to roll down different objects, the child notices that the ball can roll down, but the block slides down. 

Conclusion 

The CELD framework provides standards of knowledge attainment for kids in kindergarten and education readiness in STEAM curricular. The examples of classwork learning activities presented are ideal for a child's quality early childhood and build upon as they grow and develop. 

References 

California Department of Education. (2012). The California Preschool Learning Foundations. (Volume 1) 

California Department of Education. (2012). The California Preschool Learning Foundations . (Volume 2) 

California Department of Education. (2012). The California Preschool Learning Foundations. (Volume 3) 

Naeyc.org. Retrieved 5 December 2020, from https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/executive_summary.pdf. 

Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 - Child Development (CA Dept of Education). Retrieved7December2020, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/psfoundationsvol1intro.asp