STEM has been a hot topic in education for many years now – and that’s for a good reason! By exposing students to STEM concepts at a young age, students will be better prepared for not only math and science classes in high school, but also the jobs of the future!

STEM – the acronym that groups together Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math disciplines – is an approach to teaching and learning that focuses on math and sciences with an emphasis on building 21st century skills like critical thinking and problem-solving.

STEM education also typically consists of hands-on learning activities that have a direct connection to the real world.

In elementary and middle schools, many students are exposed to STEM through typical math and science classes, while some students may even have a STEM or Technology class as well.

Either way, math and science curriculum is designed to help students build fundamental skills.

At Inspirit AI, we are passionate about teaching STEM education to students of all ages!

Our courses specifically focus on technology and computer science, but we are also experts in teaching science, engineering, and math skills to learners. You can learn more about our classes here.

Let’s take a look at some of the skills that students learn in STEM classes.

What STEM skills do students need to develop?

There are so many essential STEM skills that students need to develop. Some of these skills include:

• Science: Questioning, hypothesizing, and investigating (The Science Process Skills)
• Technology: Computational thinking, coding, and problem-solving
• Engineering: Designing, testing, and building
• Mathematics: Understanding topics from arithmetic to calculus

These are just some of the many technical skills that students learn in STEM classes across grade levels. In addition to these technical skills, students also learn critical “soft” skills, like communication, collaboration, and empathy!

Recommended: Top 5 Reasons Why Every Kid Should Learn to Code

What are some of the benefits of learning STEM?

The most common response to this question is that STEM helps prepare students for future jobs. STEM careers, like engineering, programming, and medicine, are prominent and growing. Other industries, too, are hiring increasingly more employees with STEM backgrounds.

Beyond preparing students for the workforce, STEM also equips students with essential life skills. STEM classes are hard. Learning math and science is tricky! By taking STEM classes, students will learn to persevere and overcome obstacles.

At Inspirit AI, we teach “STEM as a mindset.”

By creating classes with various entry points and open-ended activities, we are able to engage students of all backgrounds. We believe that STEM isn’t just for the techies – STEM is for everyone!

Because of this, we teach students about the intersection of artificial intelligence and art, computer science and music, and so much more! You can learn more about how our students embrace a “STEM mindset” through their AI for social good projects here.

What are some online STEM activities for kids?

A great way to boost STEM skills is by learning at home, outside of the classroom! At Inspirit AI, we are a fan of hands-on, engaging games and activities for kids. We believe that these are some of the best ways to learn STEM at home:

Science:

• NASA Kids’ Club: Learn about space through games, videos, images, and activities from the experts at NASA.
• National Geographic Kids: Explore the world of science with National Geographic.
• Project Noah: Learn about wildlife and conservation from Project Noah.

Technology:

• Code.org: Learn computer science fundamentals with code.org.
• Scratch: With Scratch, kids can create their own block-based coding projects – from coding interactive stories to creative animation!
• MIT App Inventor: With App Inventor, kids can program their own Android apps.

Engineering:

• PBS Kids Design Squad Global: Engage in hands-on engineering and maker challenges with Design Squad Global.
• Curiosity Machine: Develop curiosity, creativity and confidence through family-friendly, hands-on activities with Curiosity Machine.
• DIY: DIY encourages creative kids to complete skill-based, hands-on challenges, while learning, connecting, and inspiring each other.

Math:

• Math Playground: From arcade-style math games to math story games, Math Playground has engaging offerings for students in Kindergarten through 6th Grade.
• MathGameTime: MathGameTime has math games, videos, and worksheets for Pre-K through 8th Grade students.
• Prodigy Math: Discover the magic of math with quests, battles, spells, and rewards in Prodigy Math’s game-based learning platform.

Programming in Scratch

Engage Students in STEM with Inspirit AI!

Looking to engage your child or student in STEM? We recommend taking one of our online coding classes at Inspirit AI!

Does your young learner enjoy playing video games? Is your child fascinated with robots, computers, and new technologies? Does your child like tinkering and building? Or, is your learner interested in storytelling, art, or music?

Dive into the world of computer science with one of our virtual coding camps!

At Inspirit AI, we help your child apply their interests to real-world STEM and computer science projects! Our virtual coding camps and classes help spark interest and curiosity in every type of learner.

Our elementary classes have a program length of 12.5 hours each, whereas our middle school classes are both 25 hours. Our upcoming schedule can be found directly on the respective course tabs on our website:

• AI Adventurers: View our 2nd-5th grade program information here.
• AI Creators: View our 5th-7th grade program information here.
• AI Pioneers: View our 7th-8th grade program information here.

All of our virtual coding camps have small class sizes of just 5 students! Because of this, your child will build close relationships with their instructor, as well as their other classmates from around the world.

Our virtual coding camps are also taught exclusively by a team of alumni and students from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. Our instructors have a tremendous amount of programming and AI experience, and as a result, provide kids with a background in programming fundamentals, through AI-inspired projects and mentorship!

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this blog post about STEM education for kids! If you liked this blog post, you will also enjoy reading about the Top 5 Reasons Why Every Kid Should Learn to Code.

Meet our team here.