The Future Of Your Child From Connecting The Classrooms To Career Through Stem Education

Over the past few years, there has been a focus on math and science education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Since President Obama has been in office, it seems like almost everyone is jumping on the "how important math and science education is and/or we need our kids to help us create our future STEM workforce" bandwagon. It seems like more resources are being put into enhancing math and science education programs. However, with all this attention on math and science, people are really not paying attention to the how’s and whys we have gotten to this point in education and in our economy.

If you pay attention to economies of the world's wealthiest countries; they have a strong educational system where there kids excel academically in all or most disciplines. However, the current state of our educational system is that students aren't graduating with the skills for the jobs that are currently available in our economy. There are various reasons for this, however my main theory behind this is not enough kids or parents think about their future as it relates to connecting their education with their future careers.

We prepare our children to become a part of the future workforce in two ways; researching the industry trends in the US and global economy and encouraging them to achieve academically and enhance the classroom experience with extracurricular activities. In the United States and global economy it is true that jobs are disappearing as well as sectors, but there are sectors in the economy where there are plenty of jobs that go unfilled. The reasons why jobs in some sectors go unfilled is because there aren't individuals with the skills and knowledge to do the job. The world is moving towards an educated workforce; that means individuals in the future economy will need to have a particular skill set or knowledge base to be employable.

The second thing we need to do is have our children see the connection between what they do in the classroom today and their career options in the future. There are great benefits for students that achieve academically and participate in extracurricular activities. Classroom grades and standardized test scores are the tools that are utilized to measure student achievement. Students and parents shouldn't wait until high school to see the importance of grades and standardized test scores. There is public policy decisions for the society as a whole that are made based on the standardized test scores of third graders. In addition, your child's educational path will be determined by their teachers and principals based on the third grade test scores as well.

Children should participate in extracurricular activities that support their interests and strengths. Students that are interested in math and science should participate in math and science competitions and clubs. Students should also participate in summer and after-school programs in their area of interest. Finally students should participate in as many events as possible in their area of interest such as visiting museums, attending career fairs, etc.

The great thing about education is that is not only a tool to train and equip students with skills, but it opens one's eyes to see the possibilities. If we are going to have STEM Education For Kids workforce, we have to not only give our kids the skills to academically achieve in math and science, but allow them to see the possibility of having a career in those fields. The earlier our kids see this connection, the brighter their future becomes.

How Are School Field Trips Good For Kids?

It is a great way to apply classroom knowledge in a way that it becomes more useful for the kids and a great way to do it is by applying it in field trips. Taking the kids out on field trips provides with out of the ordinary opportunities that help them in learning, what exactly are the real world exposures all about.

Another fact is that planning a complete field trip can be a bit time consuming, detailed and challenging, given it has a kid involved in it, but it also eventually helps the kids in learning better and that comes as a reward. If you feel that you are working with an organization that isn’t very excited about taking kids on a school field trip, it is best to propose ideas that concentrate more on the betterment of their learning by incorporating some school work into the field trip.

You can make the kids write assignments on the field trip they have and take them to some place that is going to give them a good knowledge about the subject they are studying, the day for example museums are always a good idea. This will help them understand their history and environment better in so many ways and also add some fun to their work. 

Other than this, here are a few tips that you can follow for a successful school field trip;

I’ve learned some other things worth sharing, along the road with my students. Here are four points to keep in mind if you are newer to pairing academic tasks with field trips:

1. Start small. Even a very clear-cut project will assist the students in learning more about the field trip and have improved withholding and comprehension. Going for hunting programs can help them greatly in constructing new mental ideas and being more elastic.

2. It is important that before you take the class on their field trip, you brief them about it. Updating the students about the assignment post and pre the trip helps them in getting a better idea of what are they jumping into and what are they supposed to pool out of it.

3. Think of activities that can be done in groups. A lot of times these field trips turn out to be great in helping the students to bond with each other better by doing activities in groups, it increases conversations and also adds to the knowledge at the same time.

4. Explore the places to get all the information you can about the place like would the students be allowed to carry pencils, papers, cameras, or other supplies for them to make notes or else. Once you have figured out what can be carried and what not, forward the information to the students. If it has been clarified that the students will not be allowed to carry all these things with them, then the alternative is to make sure that once their school field trip is complete you give them time to take down whatever they have seen all through the trip and make all possible notes for later use.

These field trips can be of a great help in terms of academics and focus for the students and provide them with a frame through which they can comprehend the outer world in a far better way, so make sure you include these school field trips into the academics and make the learning experience better.

Experiential Learning Makes Immense Contribution In Character Growth

Experimental learning means learning from experience or simply learning by doing. It is very important for kids as it helps increase the IQ level of the Experientiallearning for kids and also enhances the problem-solving capability within the small kids. Community-based learning is one of the best ways for such type of learning as it minutely designs programs and trips for kids keeping various aspects in mind. The determination of best practices in experiential learning is important improving the individual performances of the kids. With experience, kids develop new skills, attitude, or a new way of thinking. Thus it contributes to the overall development of a personality.

What are the ideals of such type of learning? The community based experiential learning for kids is based on interdisciplinary and constructive learning. Also, trips help kids acquire experience in staying in a group or coordinate with other members. Learning starts at a very early age and students are exposed to scenarios, situations, problems, or issues presented by community partners within a classroom. The learning methodology doesn’t treat each subject as being walled off in its own room, unconnected to any other subjects.

Characteristics of Experiential Learning for Kids

The learning process is very open and thus at times it becomes difficult to define what is and what not is experiential activity. Simple participation is a prescribed set of learning experiences which necessarily does not make it experiential. It can be defined as the series of working principles and it is required no matter what activity the student is engaged.

Listed below are some of the characteristics of experiential learning –

• The process has the right mixture of content and process. A proper balance needs to be maintained between the experiential activities and the underlying content.
•  A safe space for students is created by the instructor to work through their own process.
• The learning activities must be relevant to the student and in these learning processes, the learner is the self-teacher.
•  It allows the students to make the connection between the learning and the world. The activities build in students the ability to see relationships in complex systems.The kids and the parents can reflect the learning and gain insights into the kid’s life, with the interaction within them.
• The students or teachers can help understand their own values by working within a space made for self-exploration.

It differs from conventional academic instructions and the kids can manage their own learning. Also, parents or teachers can identify the quality or flaw in the work and accordingly work on that. Learning not necessarily has to be in the classroom and community based learning to integrate social learning within the kid’s behavior.

Importance Of Field Trips For Kids

A regular school will never be able to educate the child in a way a field trip would. There are a variety of places which can be treated for school trips like zoo’s, nature centers, government organizations, orphanages, hospitals, museums, local factories etc. and if there is community service added to these field trips, there could be nothing better in benefiting a child in educating them with such a brilliant alternative way

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There is a hand on experience that they get. Kids that go to different Educational ideas trips have a perk of learning things in a more interactive manner in comparison to school. Say for example museums, kids can go visit, comprehend, touch and explore things on their own unlike in school being fed just theoretically.  They get to experience things up close and personal. Natural centers, zoos or botanical parks let the kids touch displays and feel things in real. There are interactive computer programs specifically made just for these knowledge-based interest building activities.

There is a break to monotony too, I’m sure we all get bored of sitting in the same place and doing the same thing every day. It helps energize the kid. The kid can be given projects or group assignments to do before or after the field trips. This will help build concentration and mutual relationships among them, also it will teach them to learn and work in a team. This will serve both the purpose of the school trying bringing them to teach and the kids of having a break of an educational outing as well. This promotes a variety of learning styles as well, that further helps the kids to succeed no matter what kind of learner they are, audio or video love.

Kids tend to learn about different professions better and extract opportunities and ideas while on these trips, stepping out of their comfort zones. It helps them in wanting to have a desire of experimenting with new things, and maybe pick and do things they previously didn’t want to do or were too shy. It has all the ability to spark a new passion or interest that’s yet to be discovered. It adds to having an open gate to considering a world of new professions altogether.

Learning to help others in the community is an essential trait that should be there for every kid, and there such service-oriented field trips that hold turn them into a more responsible individual. This also cheers the people in the community up. The kids benefit on large extent from this community trip; it benefits both and further helps the kids to individually volunteer to be a part of the community service outside of the field trip as well.

It is a great way of helping the kids in comprehending the importance and relevance of what they are studying in a better way. It’s a greater achievement for kids in all subjects and real-life application of studies that take place in the classroom. 

Imparting Knowledge Through Field Trip Programs

Schools take students to different educational facilities that help them to get a hands-on learning experience and high interaction level than they usually get in school. Visiting aquariums for example, often have massive display tanks for children who can learn a lot from fishes than what they see in their regular textbooks.

Field trips break the general routine of education and give kids an opportunity to look forward to a trip, spend a day different from their classroom environment, and a complete lesson on the subject

after the trip is over. This varied learning style helps children to grasp better on a certain subject in the form of auditory, visual or kinetic learning.

Field trips help children develop a new perception about different profession, opportunities, and ideas when they travel outside their community, and this brings in a desire to persuade their dreams and become successful. Field trips can also instigate job opportunities that can give them new interest and passion to work with in future.

Here Are Tips For Teachers To Decide The Right Educational Destination:

• Curriculum Based Trip -sometimes you have so many choices out there that you often get confused what to choose and what might be the most interesting place for children to visit. However, teachers must remember to choose a place that is an integral part of their curriculum. Research, however, has shown that children tend to learn less when they are taken to field trips that are not linked to their curriculum, and this is exactly the reason why an education trip should be integrated with their textbook. The trip should be a broader demonstration program that makes it most efficient for their learning objectives.

• Demonstration unit - you can turn your field trip to a demonstration unit as each part is independent of the other which makes it as a great model of learning. You can prepare the trip into three parts - preparation of demonstration before you start the journey, the core learning when you are on the journey and lastly, the summary of the whole subject after finishing the trip. This way, children would get a better structure on your demonstration as well as grasp the subject matter with a hands-on learning experience.

• Active demonstration - While you are on your trip, teachers should make sure that children should interact more and engage themselves in activities rather than just absorbing information from guided tours. When children get an opportunity to explore their subject through engaging themselves in interaction or activities, chances are that they would be enjoying as well as learning better on their subject.

Field trips should always be an unconventional mode of learning and the best way is to expose your children into natural settings and multiple opportunities. A field trip necessarily does not restrict itself to a particular subject in their textbook, but can also include several other exposures like overcoming fear in public, learning routes and societal norms. The more comfortable a child becomes with its neighborhood locations, the more comfortable they are in concentrating on their core subject.