Using STEM to Build Brains

Type
Course
Date of Publication
July 7, 2021
Price
See Agrilife Learn

Overview

Developmentally appropriate preschool STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) experiences give young children opportunities to develop divergent thinking, problem solving, and cause and effect. Experiences have great potential to affect brain development during the crucial early childhood window of opportunity.

Course Information

Why should children start STEM learning in the preschool years?

Explore features of a developmentally appropriate preschool STEM program. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences give young children opportunities to develop divergent thinking, problem solving, cause and effect, and sequencing, and they don't have to be expensive!

Experiences have a great potential to affect brain development, and the early years are a crucial window of opportunity. See how positive early experiences with STEM impact children's chances for achievement in future learning.

Funding for this 2-hour training course was generously provided through a grant by The Boeing Company.

Looking for solutions in your county? Contact your local extension experts

More choices in Aging & Caregiving

  • Course

    Promoting creativity in an early childhood setting is critical for the development of children’s brains. Environments, daily interactions, and experiences are all opportunities to promote creativity in young learners. Creativity can be expressed through the visual arts, music and movement, and dramatic arts.

    After completing this 3-hour course, the learner will be able to describe the elements of creativity, explain how environments can encourage creativity, examine how the arts can support development across all domains in early childhood, and discuss the different categories of creative arts with connections to the four developmental domains.

  • Course

    To grow and excel as an early childhood professional, you must reflect on your teaching practices and child observation to make changes and adjustments to your teaching approach. Intentional early childhood professionals engage in reflective practices and create a professional development plan that builds upon their strengths and enhances their teaching.

    After completing this 4-hour course, the learner will be able to describe what an intentional early childhood professional is, explain what reflective practices are and how to implement this information effectively to improve their teaching, explain why being intentional and reflective promotes the development and learning in the children they are teaching, and create a professional development plan based upon their strengthens.

  • Course

    Intentionality is one of the hallmarks of a high-quality learning program. This involves not only using a curriculum that aligns with child development and guidelines, but also ensuring instruction is targeted to the needs of each child in your classroom.

    This 4-hour course for early learning educators discusses how to use the cycle of curriculum learning to plan whole group, small group, and individual level to appropriately meet the needs of all learners.

  • Course

    Although developmental domains are frequently discussed in isolation, that is not the way children learn. Development in one domain impacts the other domains. Children should be engaged in high-quality developmentally appropriate activities that teach multiple areas at one time.

    After completing this 1-hour course, the learner will be able to describe how the integration of activities has a positive impact on children’s learning across the domains and create activities that address components in multiple domains.

  • Course

    Infants and toddlers engage in challenging behaviors as a way of communicating that they have unmet needs. Enroll in this online course to learn how to recognize, understand, and develop responses to these types of behavior as well as working with a team to fully assess and address challenging infant and toddler behavior.

  • Course

    One of the most challenging aspects of child care is deciding upon a style of discipline that is appropriate, effective, and in the best interest of each child. Students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of various disciplinary styles and explore strategies for setting and enforcing healthy limits.