Making science fun: From little explorers to critical thinkers

A lot has and is being said about the importance of science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) subjects, and why youth, especially girls need to embrace these fields in readiness for the future.

With the dire shortage of talent and skilled resources within these fields across the globe, it holds to reason that a STEM career would be a safe one, with high demand fuelling lucrative jobs. Statistics also confirm that the growth in STEM and related industries is anticipated to be nearly double that of non-STEM fields. Once again, STEM should then become a de facto choice for parents and students, especially girls.

While all the factors implying economic independence, stability, job security and empowerment can drive parents and older youth towards STEM, it is very unlikely that schoolchildren, young girls and boys will be encouraged to embrace it for these reasons. This is where we see an opportunity to get schoolgoing children, especially girls, interested in STEM. By appealing to their naturally inquisitive and exploratory mindsets, STEM can be introduced in a fun manner, and a love for it can be inculcated.

A scientific mindset benefits everyone

Research also shows that having a STEM background can help students grow and prosper in any career or field and impact a nation’s capacity to innovate and thrive in the modern workforce. A grounding in STEM instills a sense of enquiry and innovation among students, leading to an application-based, interdisciplinary approach later in life, which helps achieve excellence across the board. This can be another way to get more students to engage in STEM. If the study of these subjects isn’t necessarily linked to choosing a related career, it can ease the pressure of excelling in them, allowing students to enjoy it.

Another fact that appeals to slightly older children is making them see how being involved in STEM disciplines allows one to be a part of creating the future. If kids can be made to understand that technology forms the backbone of all innovation and developments today, even more so going forward, their attraction for these subjects can grow manifold.

While my foundation’s initiatives in this regard focus more on girls due to their continued under-representation in STEM sectors, particularly tech and engineering, the future demands both boys and girls the world over graduate with more STEM degrees to be able to lead in the completely digitised era to come. And this needs to be taken on a war footing, with serious government intervention, dialogue and national directives to get efforts focused in this direction. But despite all regulations and initiatives, inculcating a love and passion for STEM can make this transition much easier.

Delving deeper into how to promote STEM among school children, we start with the age-old question: What age is suitable to start teaching STEM? Research and studies indicate that children even as young as three have exceptional cognitive and learning capabilities. What needs to be mapped is how to introduce and implement these STEM concepts into the early childhood education process.

Parents and teachers can benefit from a simplified idea of STEM as a way of thinking that encourages a holistic and connected approach to knowledge, and a questioning mindset, where practical experience takes precedence over conceptual learning. Where children ask “why?” instead of “what?”, digging under the surface for reasons to find out why things happen as they do. These are the first lessons in encouraging innovation — because a question like “why” leaves the door wide open for exploration and enquiry, eventually leading to the ability to solve real-world problems using a foundation of science and mathematics.

Once this definition of STEM is understood, one can think of a million ways of engaging children, even in non-traditional environments. Nature is a big STEM landscape. From the elements to the flora and fauna that surround us, to climate and weather conditions and their impact on our lives, examples of STEM are present everywhere. Simple transactions, measures of goods, weight and textures — the list is endless. Providing children with exposure to these concepts early on can create active and engaged students with investigative minds. Non-academic exposure to STEM concepts, especially in formative years, is even more critical for developing a sustainable interest in later academic years. As mentioned earlier, even if the passion for STEM doesn’t outshine other talents, a foundation in these disciplines can only benefit a child in the long run.

Practical steps

However, for real change to be evident, work needs to begin in earnest at a grassroots level to engage more girls into STEM subjects.

In line with this, my foundation will launch its School Club Programme next month to coincide with International Women’s day. It starts with a couple of schools, and will then replicate the model across multiple schools in the UAE and eventually the region. The Girls in STEM Programme is a result of years of research conducted to ascertain why a large number of women are reticent to take up STEM careers. The programme includes modules such as exploratory workshops, role-model meets, mentoring sessions, mock coding classes, science projects to solve real-world issues, skill development workshops — leadership/communications/visioning, peer support groups, STEM career counseling, exchange programmes, gender roles and prejudice discussions. The aim is to make it a holistic exercise that not only ignites a passion for STEM but also works on all the external and internal parameters to sustain and fuel that passion into a fruitful STEM career.

— The writer is Chair of the Meera Kaul Foundation