Moreover, children are natural scientists, engineers and problem solvers. They ponder the world around them and try to make sense of it the best way they know how by touching, tasting, building, dismantling, creating, discovering, and exploring. They can be absorbed in building lego blocks or solving rubik’s cubes for hours. Research shows that play has a key role in developing, encouraging and promoting problem silving skills from birth and throughout life. So for kids, after school STEM classes or lego plays with a hands-on bent aren’t just educational. They’re fun and boost holistic development!
此外，兒童是自然科學家、工程師和問題解決者。他們思考周圍的世界，並試圖通過觸摸，品嘗，建造，拆除，創造，發現和探索來以他們所知道的最佳方式理解它。它們可以被吸引在玩乐高或玩魔方數小時。研究表明從出生到整個生命周期，遊戲在發展，鼓勵和促進問題解决技能方面發揮著關鍵作用。因此，對於孩子們來說，放學后的STEM課程或動手的樂高遊戲不僅僅是教育。它們不但有趣，而且可以促進整體發展！
STEM education is a spectrum that focuses on solving real problems which have an interdisciplinary nature at its core. Another view is that STEM education is a meta-discipline based on learning standards where teaching has integrated teaching and learning approaches, and where specific content is undivided, contemplating a dynamic and fluid instruction. More recently, STEM education has been defined as an interdisciplinary teaching method that integrates science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and other knowledge, skills, and beliefs, in particular, to these disciplines. The ambit of STEM courses is therefore broad to encompass problem-solving with real-world problems that integrate many disciplines.
This multi-disciplinary character of STEM courses can help prepare a child for longer term career and life success that needn’t be in a STEM-related area such as programming, computer science or laboratory work. Innovative thinking, collaborative skills and engaged curiosity nurture a transformation from child to versatile professional in an evolving workplace. Although it is important to note that in order to optimize the benefits from extracurricular STEM classes, researchers suggest that STEM learning needs to be encouraged from an early age and that STEM interest is largely fully formed by the age of 10-14 years.
